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.”

“Health officials have said this will likely take at least five to six months after a vaccine is initially made available. “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,” the Met further specified in a press release. It will reopen next year with its first ever opera by a black composer, Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones,” said Peter Gelb, the Met Opera’s general manager, in a video announcement. “However, we are pleased to be able to announce the Met’s 2021–22 season, which will open Sep. “We regret to inform you that we have made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020–21 season, based on the advice of health officials,” the Met tweeted Wednesday just after noon. Manhattan’s Metropolitan Opera, the largest classical music organization in the country, will remain shuttered until at least next fall as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Sex accuser of late Met Opera maestro James Levine sues for $25M Met returns with first work by a Black composer in its history Russian musicians don't deserve cancellation for Putin's crimesĪnna Netrebko, Russian soprano with ties to Putin, out at Metropolitan Opera

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