Classic Arts News
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Begins World Tour
The 2023 European tour will be the band’s first since 2002.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Marco Borgrave
This summer, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra will visit Paris, London, and Baden-Baden, on its first international tour in more than 20 years. Led by Met music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the orchestra will present two programs on tour. The first program will have Symphonic Dances from West Side Story to Leonard Bernstein, Matthew Aucoin’s Heath (King Lear Sketches), Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, is Verdi’s fourth movement Othello, featuring soprano Angel Blue as Desdemona and tenor Russell Thomas as Otello. The second program will feature Berlioz’s works, including recordings Les Troyens, and mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato.
The tour will begin on June 27 at the Philharmonie de Paris. The first program will be held on June 27, and the second the following day. The musicians will travel to London, where a joint program will be held on June 29 at the Barbican Center. Finally, the tour will end at the Baden-Baden Festspielhaus, with concerts July 1 and 2.
Before the musicians leave New York, they will perform a second program at Carnegie Hall on June 22.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin said in his speech, “It’s been more than 20 years since the Met Orchestra went to Europe, and I’m happy to lead these wonderful musicians in programs that reflect the Met’s new vision. We spend many hours in the pit, and it’s fun to stand before them as they bring their most unique talents to the world.”
