Celebrating Black History Month

The overwhelming success of Fire Shut Up in My Bones brought composer Terence Blanchard back the to the Met for the company premiere of his first opera, Champion, about real-life boxer Emile Griffith. The Grammy-winning performance stars bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green as the young prizefighter, who faces challenges inside and outside of the ring, with Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin leading a knockout new production by James Robinson.

A soprano at the height of her vocal and interpretive powers, Jessye Norman stars alongside bass Samuel Ramey in Göran Järvefelt's atmospheric staging of Bartók's intensely psychological tale—a tour de force for the principal pair and one of the defining operas of the 20th century.

In this classic 1984 telecast of Verdi's cataclysmic drama, the legendary soprano Leontyne Price is seen in one of her greatest roles. Price’s soaring voice encompasses every nuance of Leonora’s emotion as she moves from joy through resignation to ultimate heartbreak in John Dexter's vivid production.

Our exhibition chronicling the extensive contributions made by African American artists at the Met and the decades-long struggle for racial equality at the nation's leading opera company—originally installed in the opera house in connection with the 2019 new production of Porgy and Bess—is now available in digital format.

Created as a companion to the Black Voices at the Met exhibition, this audio playlist features memorable Met performances by great Black singers through the years.

Enjoy a collection of video highlights featuring great performances by African American artists in classic Met telecasts and Live in HD cinema transmissions.

Grace Bumbry, Shirley Verrett, and Denyce Graves were three extraordinary African American stars who made memorable Carmens at the Met in the last half century. Learn about their history in the iconic title role of Bizet's masterpiece. 

To coincide with the new staging of Porgy and Bess in 2019, the company paid tribute to generations of extraordinary Black artists with the album Black Voices Rise. This new playlist showcases even more stellar voices, with selections drawn from the last four decades of live Met performances.