The Met Orchestra/Yannick Nézet-Séguin by Tchaikovsky, P. I., Aucoin, Berlioz, Verdi, Déa 29 Méit 2023, Ó (2023/2023), Seoltóir Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Barbican Centre, London, United Kingdom

Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming and Russell Thomas: if this dream team of singers wasn’t enough, add in Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the fabled Met Orchestra and you’ve got an unmissable end to our season. Celebrating the genius of Shakespeare in musical form, the Met Orchestra open with Tchaikovsky’s swoon-inducing depiction of star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet. Matthew Aucoin fuses classical and jazz harmonies to describe one of the playwright’s most devastating tragedies in Lear Sketches. Shakespeare’s influence is everywhere: Berlioz’s Les Troyens borrows themes from The Merchant of Venice. And Verdi describes the heart-breaking story of Otello, with its anger and jealousy, and of course exquisite music, all the better to pierce the heart. Yannick Nézet-Séguin brings his lightning-rod energy to direct the Met Orchestra in their first UK appearance in over 20 years, and the operatic power combination of Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming and Russell Thomas will prove that all the world is a stage. If you’re not there, wherefore art thou? Programme Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet Matthew Aucoin Lear Sketches Hector Berlioz 'Chers Tyriens' from Les Troyens 'Royal Hunt and Storm' from Les Troyens 'Adieu, fière cité' from Les Troyens Giuseppe Verdi Act IV from Otello Show less Performers The Met Orchestra Yannick Nézet-Séguin conductor Joyce DiDonato soprano Renée Fleming soprano Russell Thomas tenor