The Met Opera will host benefit concert for Ukraine relief efforts
Photo by Ajay Suresh on Flickr
The Metropolitan Opera next week will host a benefit performance to support the people of Ukraine. A Concert for Ukraine will be held on March 14, with all ticket sales and proceeds going to relief efforts in Ukraine. The 70-minute program will be led by Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin and feature some of the opera’s star soloists. Tickets are $50 and go on sale this Wednesday.
The concert will open with Ukrainian bass-baritone Vladyslav Buialskyi leading the Met Chorus in the performance of Ukraine’s national anthem, followed by “Prayer for the Ukraine” by Valentin Silvestrov.
The program will also include the performance of Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber, “Va, pensiero” from Verdi’s Nabucco, Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss performed by soprano Lise Davidsen, and the Finale from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Op. 125 featuring soprano Elza van den Heever, mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, tenor Piotr Beczała, and bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green.
“Music truly has the power to heal, and I hope this special concert will demonstrate our unwavering support for the suffering people of Ukraine,” Maestro Nézet-Séguin said in a statement. “In times of crisis, it is so important that artists unite and provide consolation and inspiration through our work.”
A Concert for Ukraine will be broadcast in the U.S. on all radio stations that carry the Met’s Saturday Matinee Radio Broadcasts, and members stations of the National Public Radio. The performance will also be broadcast on Sirius XM Channel 355 and live-streamed on the Met website.
Last month, the Met Opera cut ties with performers and institutions who voiced support for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The opera also announced that Russian soprano Anna Netrebko would no longer be performing at the opera due to her silence on the Russian invasion and past endorsements of Putin, according to the New York Times.
City Winery is also hosting their own Ukraine benefit concert on March 10 with performances by Craig Finn & Franz Nicolay of The Hold Steady, Jesse Malin, Lady Lamb, Marc Roberge of O.A.R., Matisyahu, Patti Smith, Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields, Suzanne Vega and more to be announced.
The live-streamed event, hosted by Eugene Hutz and Gogol Bordello, will donate proceeds to the Come Back Alive foundation, the largest foundation providing support for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Tickets range from $50 to $75 and are on sale here.
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