The Metropolitan Opera will hold a special benefit Concert for Ukraine [ on Monday, March 14th, at 6.00 pm (ET), in solidarity with the citizens of Ukraine. All ticket sales and other proceeds will go to supporting relief efforts in Ukraine.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin will lead the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chorus and soloists Lise Davidsen, Elza van den Heever, Jamie Barton, Piotr Beczała and Ryan Speedo Green in a 70-minute concert which will be broadcast live on radio, and streamed throughout the world.
Announcing the special concert, Met General Manager Peter Gelb said, “The Met and its artists, led by Yannick, wish to lend our support to the innocent victims of Ukraine, whose lives have been torn asunder. We hope the power of our performance will provide some measure of artistic solace, while helping to inspire empathetic people around the world to make donations.”
Maestro Nézet-Séguin said: “Music truly has the power to heal, and I hope this special concert will demonstrate our unwavering support for the suffering people of Ukraine. In times of crisis, it is so important that artists unite and provide consolation and inspiration through our work.”
The performance opens with Ukrainian bass-baritone Vladyslav Buialskyi leading the Met Chorus in a performance of the Ukranian National Anthem. Valentin Silvestrov’s orchestral work A Prayer for the Ukraine is followed by Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings. The Met Chorus will perform the emotional Va, pensiero from Verdi’s Nabucco, and soprano Lise Davidsen will sing Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs. The last movement from Beethoven’s Symphony No 9 in D minor, Op 125, features soloists Elza van den Heever, Jamie Barton, Piotr Beczala and Ryan Speedo Green in a stirring finale to the performance.
The concert itself has already sold out, but the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has information on a number of ways in which the country can be helped.
On radio, the concert will be broadcast in the US via many of the stations that regularly carry the Met’s Saturday matinee radio series, as well as member stations of National Public Radio. Please check your local listing for details. Internationally, the concert will be broadcast via the European Broadcasting Union, enabling it to be heard in most countries in the world.
The Concert for Ukraine will also be broadcast live on Met Opera Radio on Sirius XM Channel 355, and streamed around the world via the Metropolitan Opera website.