NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Jake Heggie recalls that after 鈥淒ead Man Walking鈥� premiered in San Francisco in 2000, his first was quickly taken up by other companies, but there was 鈥渘ot even a whisper of possibility鈥� that the Metropolitan Opera might be interested.
When Anthony Davis' first opera, 鈥淴: The Life and Times of Malcolm X,鈥� was staged at New York City Opera in 1986 it was such a hit he says 鈥渁udiences were around the block waiting to get in.鈥� Yet it was ignored by the larger company right next door at Lincoln Center.
And Peter Gelb, the Met鈥檚 general manager, met with Daniel Catan before the Mexican composer鈥檚 death in 2011 to discuss staging his 鈥淔lorencia en el Amazonas,鈥� which had premiered at Houston Grand Opera in 1996. But he couldn鈥檛 find an established Met star willing to take on the title role.
What a difference a few years make.
This fall the Met is presenting all three works as part of a season unparalleled in its recent history. Aiming to from post-pandemic lows by attracting younger and more diverse ticket-buyers, the company is devoting fully one-third of 18 staged productions to contemporary works.
So 鈥淒ead Man,鈥� 鈥淴鈥� and 鈥淔lorencia鈥� will play in repertory alongside classics like Puccini鈥檚 鈥淟a Boheme,鈥� Verdi鈥檚 鈥淣abucco鈥� and 鈥淯n Ballo in Maschera鈥� and Wagner鈥檚 鈥淭annh盲user.鈥�
And in the spring, three more recent works will be on the schedule: Revivals of and Kevin 鈥� both big hits in their premiere seasons 鈥� and John Adams鈥檚 鈥淓l Ni帽o,鈥� an opera-oratorio receiving a full staging.
鈥淔or a long time in the 20th century it was about producing old works and then updating them with new productions,鈥� Heggie said. 鈥淭hat can only go so far. If you鈥檙e going to make news, you have to have something fresh and new. I think companies have recognized that you can be surprising presenting an opera.鈥�
Indeed, it has surprised the composer himself that the Met chose to open its season on Sept. 26 with 鈥淒ead Man Walking,鈥� starring mezzo Joyce DiDonato as , whose book about counseling inmates on Death Row also inspired a film.
Although the piece is 23 years old and has seen more than 75 productions worldwide, Heggie said that 鈥渉opefully and sadly it will resonate with Met audiences because of its subject.鈥�
And he鈥檚 excited iconoclastic director Ivo van Hove is staging the production. 鈥淗e鈥檚 going to do something very bold with it that no one else has thought of,鈥� Heggie said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the proof of a piece that can stand the test of time.鈥�
Davis, who like Heggie has gone on to write numerous other operas 鈥� including the Pulitzer Prize-winning 鈥淐entral Park Five鈥� 鈥� thinks the fact that 鈥淴鈥� was 鈥渁head of its time in the political issues鈥� may account for why it has only recently been revived.
When Yuval Sharon, artistic director of the Detroit Opera, wanted to do a new production in 2022, he found several other companies eager to sign on as co-producers, including the Met. The title role in New York will be portrayed by baritone Will Liverman, who starred in 鈥淔ire Shut Up in My Bones鈥� when it opened the 2021-22 season and became the first opera in Met history by a Black composer.
Davis said he鈥檚 content to be following in Blanchard鈥檚 footsteps in that respect. 鈥淚鈥檓 the Larry Doby of opera,鈥� he joked, referring to the baseball player who was the second Black man after Jackie Robinson to break the major league color barrier.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a new commitment toward the fact that African American composers have been ignored,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd there鈥檚 a new interest in subject matter that relates to where we are and who we are as a people.鈥�
Gelb says star singers are increasingly eager to be part of such projects.
鈥淲hen I came to the Met in 2006 I was determined to bring new works,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut the process began somewhat slowly because the audience was much more conservative and also the leading artists were less willing to be featured in them.
鈥淭oday everything is different,鈥� he added. 鈥淎rtists understand that new work is key to the future of opera.鈥�
His experience with 鈥淔lorencia鈥� 鈥� which will be the first Spanish-language opera at the Met in nearly a century 鈥� is telling.
Back then he said he couldn鈥檛 find an established Met star to take on the title role, that of an opera singer journeying down the Amazon in search of a lost lover.
鈥淏ut today any number would clamor to do it,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen I offered it to Ailyn Perez she practically jumped up and down in joy."
This season鈥檚 lineup is just a taste of what鈥檚 to come. Gelb and said the Met plans to continue presenting recent operas that have had success elsewhere, while also commissioning brand new operas from talented composers. One such commission will open the 2024-25 season: 鈥淕rounded,鈥� with music by Jeanine Tesori and a libretto adapted by George Brant from his own play. It will have its world premiere in Washington this fall.
The stakes could not be higher for the company, which is facing serious financial challenges. This year鈥檚 18 staged productions is the lowest number in more than a century, and the total number of performances has been cut as well,
Marc Scorca, president and CEO of Opera America, noted that the Met is benefitting from the vision and risk-taking of other opera companies that mounted these operas originally.
鈥淭hey are harvesting from this big investment in new work some of the best,鈥� he said, 鈥淥n the others hand, the fact that the nation鈥檚 largest opera company has devoted a third of its season to American opera is also a bold leadership move, an experiment, around the sustainability of an audience around this repertoire.
鈥淲e鈥檙e cheering for them, and they will learn things,鈥� Scorca said.
鈥淎nd maybe it will be an unmitigated success, maybe it won鈥檛. But if it isn鈥檛, what do we learn and how do we go forward. And that is part of the enterprise, to try things out.鈥�
Mike Silverman, The Associated Press
