New York Classical Review

The Metropolitan Opera has cancelled all fall performances of its 2020-21 season. The celebrated house will not reopen until  December 31 when it will present a New Year’s Eve gala (details TBA).

“Given the enormous organizational complexity of the Met’s schedule, we have no choice but to cancel our fall season,” said general manager Peter Gelb in a statement released by the Met. “The health and safety of our company members and our audience is our top priority, and it is simply not feasible to return to the opera house for a September opening while social distancing remains a requirement.”

The lining out of the 2020 fall schedule mean that new productions of The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni have been put off to future seasons due to lack of rehearsal time. The two Mozart operas will be presented in the company’s existing Julie Taymor and Michael Grandage stagings, respectively. 

New productions of Verdi’s Aida and Prokofiev’s The Fiery Angel will also be delayed to a future season. The Met-premiere staging of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, however, will take place as scheduled.

The Met is waiving all exchange fees for tickets purchased for the 2020–21 season. Ticketbuyers will have the value of their tickets automatically credited to their Met account to be used through the end of the 2021–22 season. Tickets to canceled performances can also be refunded or their value donated to the Met. 

For more information on the season changes, rescheduling and ticket options, go to metopera.org and metopera.org/2021cancellations.