Upcoming Talks and Events

October 3 | 6:30PM Doors, 7PM Event
Fast and Furious at the Opera: The Art of Flamenco Meets the Legacy of Lorca
Judson Memorial Church

Highlighting the flamenco energies in Ainadamar, the Metropolitan Opera and Judson Arts present an evening of dance, music, and conversation about Lorca’s enduring influence on contemporary artists. Join composer Osvaldo Golijov, director and choreographer Deborah Colker, performers from the Met’s production of Ainadamar, and legendary artist Joan Jonas for a singular celebration of one of Spain’s greatest voices. Free; registration required.
This event has limited seating. Standing room will be made available once the seating has been filled. 
SOLD OUT.  Walk ins will be welcomed based on capacity

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Past Events

September 20, 6:30PM Doors | 7pm Event
Taking Flight: Adapting Grounded for the Met Stage

The Metropolitan Opera opens its 2024–25 season with Tony Award–winning composer Jeanine Tesori’s new opera, Grounded, based on librettist George Brant’s harrowing one-woman play, which thrilled audiences when it appeared at the Public Theater a decade ago. Centering on a female fighter pilot turned drone operator, the work explores the psychological costs of modern warfare and the challenges of balancing service, family, and a sense of self. Join the Met at the Public on September 20 for an evening of performance from both the play and the opera, as well as a conversation between Tesori and Brant about adapting Grounded for the operatic stage, moderated by Oskar Eustis. 

September 19 | 6PM Event
Film Works Alfresco with Inwood Arts

Hispanic Society Museum & Library

Inspired by The Metropolitan Opera’s production of Ainadamar which dramatizes the life of poet-playwright Federico García Lorca, the Hispanic Society and Inwood Art Works co-presents a screening of the 1987 film La Casa de Bernarda Alba based on the 1945 Lorca play of the same name. The film will be shown in Spanish with English subtitles and will feature a pre-show performance from the opera. Free; registration is required.

September 16 | 7PM Doors, 7:30PM Event
Grace Under Fire: Moth stories inspired by the Met's Grounded

The Moth Mainstage is coming to the Metropolitan Opera. Join us on September 16 to experience a night of vibrant true stories in this quintessential Moth experience at one of the world's most iconic arts institutions. Four storytellers will share tales connected to Jeanine Tesori's new opera Grounded, followed by a special sneak-peek performance by mezzo-soprano Emily D'Angelo. 

September 13 | 6:30PM Doors, 7PM Event
A History and Innovation Series: Women in the Military
Intrepid Museum, Lutnick Theater

This month, the Intrepid Museum and the Metropolitan Opera have teamed up for a behind-the-scenes program featuring its newest opera, Grounded. A special performance begins the evening, followed by a panel discussion featuring decorated female officers and artists reflecting on how work affects their domestic life, the roles of service to one’s country and one’s home, and the challenges of volleying identities between service and domestic life. 

September 8, 1–2:30PM
Second Sundays
Pioneer Works, Brooklyn

Join composer Jeanine Tesori and librettist George Brant in conversation around the ethics of drone warfare, the gamification of remote piloting, and the psychological toll of 21st-century warfare, as depicted in their opera, Grounded. Mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo portrays Jess, a hot-shot fighter pilot whose unplanned pregnancy takes her out of the cockpit and lands her in Las Vegas, where she operates a Reaper drone halfway around the world. The opera explores the mental health challenges that follow combat experience and the morality of death rained down by remote control. D'Angelo and Tesori will perform excerpts from the opera, and Tesori and Brant will discuss how Brant's 2014 play became a Met-commissioned opera. Free; registration is required

September 9, 7PM
Works & Process
The Guggenheim Museum, Peter B. Lewis Theater 

See highlights from two-time Tony Award–winning composer Jeanine Tesori’s newest opera Grounded, with a libretto by George Brant, author of the original play. Wrestling with the ethical quandaries and psychological toll of 21st-century warfare, this Met commission focuses on Jess, a hot-shot fighter pilot whose unplanned pregnancy takes her out of the cockpit and lands her in Las Vegas, operating a Reaper drone halfway around the world. As she struggles to adjust to this new way of doing battle, she fights to maintain her sanity, and her soul, as she is called to rain down death by remote control. Met General Manager Peter Gelb moderates a discussion with Met’s Music Director and Grounded Conductor, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Director Michael Mayer, Tesori, and Brant. Emily D’Angelo, Ben Bliss, and Kirsten MacKinnon perform selections from the opera.


May 20, 7PM
Story/Teller Arts: The Hours

The Met partners with the Center for Fiction in Brooklyn for an evening focused on Kevin Puts’s The Hours. Michael Cunningham, whose Pulitzer Prize–winning novel inspired the opera, joins librettist Greg Pierce and mezzo-soprano Eve Gigliotti in conversation with Anne Fernald, author of Virginia Woolf: Feminism and the Reader. Free with code METOPERAMEMBER; registration required. 

May 6, 7PM
The Metropolitan Opera Celebrates Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage with WQXR The Greene Space

The Met and WQXR celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month with a concert in the Greene Space, featuring AAPI artists singing favorite repertoire and musical selections that reflect their heritage. Met Radio Host Debra Lew Harder also moderates a conversation with soprano Ying Fang, countertenor Siman Chung, and Tony Award–winning set designer Mimi Lien. Complimentary pre-performance light bites will be provided courtesy of Pearl River Mart. Free, registration required.

April 18, 7:30PM
The Divine Feminine in El Niño: An Evening of Latinx Poetry, Music, and Dance
Judson Memorial Church

The Met and Qween Jean of Judson Memorial Church present an evening of Latinx poetry, music, and dance, with a special focus on the work of Rosario Castellanos. Director Lileana Blain-Cruz and Choreographer Marjani Forté-Saunders joins Ghanian artist JOJO ABOT in conversation, and a diverse lineup of women artists present performances of opera, multi-media art, dance, and poetry curated by CantoMundo's Deborah Paredez. Free; registration required. 

April 9, 7:30PM
Opera Evolved: Revival of New Work by Living Composers
National Sawdust
 

The compelling conclusion to this three-part series unveils the forefront of operatic innovation, offering a deep dive into the symbiosis of traditional support and cutting-edge creation in opera. This event compares the Metropolitan Opera’s groundbreaking initiative of presenting 17 contemporary works over the next five seasons with National Sawdust’s visionary plan to commission five new pieces in their 2024–25 season. The discussion will center on the transformative impact of these artistic endeavors by exploring the Met’s dedication to works by living composers and examining the pivotal role a burgeoning institution like National Sawdust can play in supporting this progressive shift.

April 3, 7:30PM
Leading Ladies: Kamilah Forbes and Lileana Blain-Cruz in Conversation

The Apollo Stages at the Victoria

The Apollo and the Metropolitan Opera join forces to highlight the dynamic careers of two of New York’s boldest theater and opera directors. Kamilah Forbes, executive producer at The Apollo, and Lileana Blain-Cruz, director of the Met premiere of John Adams’s El Niño, conduct an intimate conversation centered on directing in different genres, scales, and subjects.

April 1, 7PM
Works & Process
The Guggenheim Museum, Peter B. Lewis Theater 

Prior to the April 23 company premiere of John Adams’s El Niño, Met General Manager Peter Gelb moderates a discussion with members of the creative team, and cast members perform highlights from the powerful score. Eminent American composer John Adams returns to the Metropolitan Opera after a decade-long hiatus with his acclaimed opera-oratorio, an extraordinarily dramatic retelling of the Nativity, which incorporates sacred and secular texts in English, Spanish, and Latin, from biblical times to the present day. El Niño brings together some of contemporary opera’s fiercest champions, all of whom make highly anticipated company debuts: Marin Alsop, one of the great conductors of our time, who has led more than 200 new-music premieres; soprano Julia Bullock, a leading voice on and off stage; and pathbreaking bass-baritone Davóne Tines. Radiant mezzo-sopranos J’Nai Bridges and Daniela Mack take turns completing the principal trio. The moving, fully staged new production also marks the Met debut of Lileana Blain-Cruz, Resident Director at Lincoln Center Theater, who received universal acclaim for her Tony-nominated 2022 production of The Skin of Our Teeth.  

February 22, 7:30PM
Opera Evolved: Genre Fluidity
National Sawdust

The second installment of this three-part series celebrates artistic convergence by investigating the intersection of innovation and tradition at National Sawdust. This event brings together a diverse array of multi-faceted artists, including Paola Prestini, esteemed composer and co-founder and artistic director of National Sawdust, and dynamic theater and opera director Lileana Blain-Cruz. Attendees will be treated to rich discussions and captivating performances that highlight genre-blending compositions and illustrate the transformative power of opera.