The Metropolitan Opera will present a pre-season performance of Verdi’s Requiem to commemorate the 20th anniversary of September 11. On Saturday, September 11, 2021, at 7:45pm, Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin will conduct the Met Orchestra and Chorus with a quartet of star soloists: soprano Ailyn Pérez, mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča, tenor Matthew Polenzani, and bass-baritone Eric Owens. The concert marks the first performance inside the Metropolitan Opera House since the March 2020 closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Audiences in New York City and beyond will also be able to see a live stream of the performance with closed captioning as part of Great Performances on PBS, with ballet star Misty Copeland hosting the program from nearby the site of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. Live audio from the performance will also be broadcast directly outside the Met in Lincoln Center Plaza. As part of a citywide remembrance, the Met will be participating in the 9/11 Tribute in Lights, bathing its façade in sky blue light. The English-language text of the Requiem will be projected onto the façade of the opera house during the performance. The Great Performances program premieres Saturday, September 11 at 8pm on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/gperf and the PBS Video app.
The Met has made 500 free tickets available to families of the victims of 9/11 to attend the concert. The remaining tickets are $25. Since the Met is a fully vaccinated venue, audience members must provide in-person verification of vaccination against Covid-19. For this concert, audience members must also wear masks.
