The Met Orchestra Announces First International Tour in Over 20 years

From June 2023, the orchestra and conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin will travel to France, England, and Germany

This summer, New York’s Metropolitan Opera Orchestra will visit three countries, following its June annual residency at Carnegie Hall. 

The tour was initially planned for Summer 2021, however was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Met Orchestra’s last tour in Europe was 21 years ago in 2002.

The ensemble and its music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin will appear at the Philharmonie in Paris, France, on June 27 and June 28; the Barbican Centre in London, England, on June 29; and the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden, Germany, on July 1 and July 2. 

The five concert programs will feature selections from Berlioz’s Les Troyens and Verdi’s Otello, plus works by Bernstein, Matthew Aucoin, and Tchaikovsky. Opera singers joining the tour include Joyce DiDonato, Russell Thomas, and Angel Blue.

For New York audiences, one of the tour programs can be heard at Carnegie Hall on June 22, 2023, at 8 PM. The program features Act IV from Otello, Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, the world premiere of Aucoin’s Heath (King Lear Sketches), and Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture.

“It has been more than 20 years since the Met Orchestra was last on tour in Europe, and I am so delighted to lead these wonderful musicians in programs that reflect the new vision of the Met,” said Nézet-Séguin. “We spend many hours together in the pit, and it is a joy to stand before them as they bring their unique artistry to the greatest stages of the world.”