A Message to Our Audience:
We regret to inform you that the Metropolitan Opera has made the extremely difficult decision to cancel the entirety of the 2020–21 season, based on the advice of health officials who advise the Met and Lincoln Center. Because of the many hundreds of performers who are required to rehearse and perform in close quarters and because of the company’s large audience, it was determined that it would not be safe for the Met to resume until a vaccine is widely in use, herd immunity is established, and the wearing of masks and social distancing is no longer a medical requirement. Health officials have said this will likely take at least five to six months after a vaccine is initially made available. We want nothing more than to get back to creating operatic magic as only the Met can, but the safety of our company and the audience we serve must come first.
In the meantime, we are pleased to be able to announce the Met’s 2021–22 season, which will open September 27, 2021, with the Met premiere of Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut up in my Bones—the first opera by a Black composer to be performed at the Met. Please take a moment to watch a message from General Manager Peter Gelb about the cancellation and the ambitious artistic plans for the 2021–22 season:
Click here for more information about the newly announced season.
The Met also continues its commitment to bringing opera to our loyal audience even while the stage is dark. The free Nightly Opera Streams will continue through the entire closure, and we hope you’ll join us for the remainder of the groundbreaking Met Stars Live in Concert series, featuring opera’s greatest stars performing live from striking locations around the globe, transmitted via satellite in state-of-the-art HD quality.
2020–21 Ticketing Options:
The value of any tickets you purchased for the 2020–21 season will automatically be credited to your Met Opera account within the next 10 days. Any on-account credit from the 2019–20 or 2020–21 season can be donated or used to purchase tickets to the 2021–22 season, or you may request a refund at any time, including after the dates of your canceled performances.
At your convenience, you may take the following actions by calling Met Customer Care at 212-362-6000, Monday through Friday, 10AM to 6PM ET:
Help the Met by generously donating the value of your credit to help the company through this financially perilous time. We would be tremendously grateful for your support.
Use your credit to purchase tickets to the 2021–22 season.
Request a full refund to your original method of payment.
Please be aware we are currently experiencing a very high volume of inquires and long wait times in our call center. Thank you for your patience, support, and understanding during this uncertain time.
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Piercing Ken Thoughts: Sadly, “The Chronicles” have not been on point at as many operas that we might have enjoyed. With the small creative team its hard to be a part of everything despite the interest and as you longer term readers know, this site wasn’t doing event reviews outside of the occasional convention until only a few years ago. Though this news saddens me, the reality of it all is that it makes sense. I truly don’t expect anything to happen this year anymore and to be brutally honest we will be lucky if a sense of normal is back in place by next Summer. This news while a complete bummer is being done for all the right reasons. Feel free to chime in down below with your own thoughts about it if you’d like. See you next time.
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