Monday evening, after its choir sang its national anthem in support of Ukraine, the "Met Opera" launched the second part of its season with a staple of its repertoire: Don Carlos by Giuseppe Verdi, performed for the first time in French, the language of his debut in Paris in 1867, and not in its usual Italian translation.

A new version, but a classic choice.

The season opened in September with "Fire shut up in my bones", a contemporary and flamboyant work, with jazz and blues accents, composed by trumpeter Terence Blanchard, the man behind the soundtracks of Spike Lee's films.

After 138 years of existence, the Met had presented for the first time an opera composed by a black musician, having in particular for theme racism in the south of the United States.

"We have a very eclectic public," the director of the institution, Peter Gelb, told AFP.

“There are very conservative viewers, but we also attract a younger and more diverse audience,” he adds.

A scene from the opera "Don Carlos" by Giuseppe Verdi during a rehearsal at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, February 25, 2022 ANGELA WEISS AFP

"Not everything can please everyone. But we try to make sure that it appeals to as many people as possible most of the time", sums up Peter Gelb.

Marathon

After a year and a half of curtain down due to the pandemic and the wave of anti-racist demonstrations that followed the death of George Floyd, a black American killed by a white police officer, "Fire shut up in my bones" was seen as the the institution's boldest move to appeal beyond a rather elderly, wealthy, white audience.

Don Carlos, on the contrary, exudes tradition: the story, which takes place in a royal court during the Spanish Inquisition, is populated by characters who plot against each other.

A scene from Terence Blanchard's opera, "Fire Shut Up in My Bones", during a rehearsal at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, September 24, 2021 TIMOTHY A. CLARY AFP/Archives

The work demands vocal performances worthy of a marathon from the tenor who interprets Don Carlos and the soprano who embodies the one he loves, Elisabeth de Valois.

"grunts"

The opera, replete with heartbreaking arias and conflicting duets, is staged against dark settings evoking a world of war and terror.

With such works, "I don't know if innovation is so essential", wonders the concertmaster Ben Bowman.

A scene from the opera "Don Carlos" by Giuseppe Verdi during a rehearsal at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, February 25, 2022 ANGELA WEISS AFP

“What we cherish is the opportunity to continue these traditions, and to maintain them for future generations,” he adds.

For Peter Gelb, the goal is to capture with "emotional historical accuracy" the stifling atmosphere of the Spanish Inquisition in the 15th century.

In his eyes, it is a "beautiful parable of what is happening in the world today with the rise of intolerance and creeping authoritarianism".

On the way to a final general rehearsal, Peter Gelb reports "grunts" from some spectators about the choice of sets.

"I can't always make them happy," he slips.

The director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Peter Gelb, on February 25, 2022 ANGELA WEISS AFP

Appointed in 2006, the director has had his ups and downs with some Met benefactors, but he says the opera is "more daring artistically".

A necessity, he says.

"For this art form to survive, we must innovate. Art is change".

- Ukraine -

The programming for the 2022-23 season still oscillates between tradition and modernity.

Alongside Champion, another opera by Terence Blanchard, and the contemporary opera The Hours, will feature classics by Wagner and Mozart.

In the immediate future, the institution must deal with the consequences on the world of culture of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

A scene from the opera "Don Carlos" by Giuseppe Verdi during a rehearsal at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, February 25, 2022 ANGELA WEISS AFP

In a video released over the weekend, Peter Gelb dedicated the rest of the season to the people of Ukraine and promised that the Met will "no longer engage with artists and institutions that support Putin or are supported by him".

For the moment, the soprano Anna Netrebko, considered as a support of the master of the Kremlin, is scheduled this season for the opera Turandot and next season for Don Carlos.

© 2022 AFP