Furloughed Artists Of The Met Opera Collaborate To Produce Outdoor Concert, OPEN AIR OPERA: STREET DANCES

Dancers of the Met, an independent collective of dancers who have performed with the Metropolitan Opera throughout the seasons, is joining with furloughed members of the Met Orchestra and Met Chorus Artists to produce an outdoor event, Sunday May 16th from 11 AM to 7 PM, with dance concerts at 4 PM and 5:30 PM.

The full day's events will include a morning of short demonstrations of dance and opera music for the public. The afternoon performances by Dancers of the Met will feature a collaboration with members of the Met Chorus Artists and the Met Orchestra. The all-day exhibition is part of New York City's Open Culture, a new citywide program that brings arts and culture to the five boroughs' streets. This will be a rare opportunity to see artists from the Met up close while learning about the creative and collaborative process of their craft. The program will be emceed by well-known author, lecturer, and commentator William Berger, who is heard on Met Opera Radio's Sirius/XM broadcasts and the podcast series "In Focus."

Dance works will be led by Met dancers and choreographers:

Michelle Vargo, a 20-year Met veteran, who has danced in over 40 productions will choreograph a new piece to "Lascia Ch'io Pianga" by Handel. Soprano Anne Marie Nonnemacher, a Met Opera Chorus member, is the featured soloist, accompanied live by members of the Met Orchestra: Violinists Sarah Vonsattel and Laura McGinnis, Violist Mary Hammann, and Cellist David Heiss;

Belinda McGuire, former member of the Limón Dance Company and guest teacher at Harvard, Marymount Manhattan College, and Canada's National Ballet School, will present selections from Verdi's "La Traviata;"

NYU's Tisch School of the Arts alumnus, Jacoby Pruitt, whose past credits include Ailey II, Company XIV, and who is featured in the upcoming film In The Heights, will also premiere a new work to "Glück, das mir verblieb" from Die Tote Stadt by Erich Wolfgang Korngold;

Danielle Russo, whose choreography has been presented nationally at the American Dance Festival, Jacob's Pillow, and The Yard, and whose work concentrates on choreography for unconventional formats and environments, will set a site-specific piece to an audio recording of "Va, pensiero" from Verdi's Nabucco, performed by members of the Met Orchestra and Met Chorus Artists, conducted by The Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Artists will follow stringent COVID-19 safety protocol and will all be masked and distanced. Audiences will also be encouraged to follow these guidelines while viewing the event.

*Program is subject to change.

The May 16 presentation will be the second collaboration by the furloughed Met Artists. It follows a sold-out presentation performed in March 2021 which included a week-long creative residency at the women-led downtown organization Arts on Site. It was produced as a film version and was captured by New York Times-featured dance videographer Angelo Vasta. As part of their mission, Dancers of the Met seek to expand the visibility of dance and dance within opera, and are continuing to present new work and share the opera art form beyond the boundaries of Lincoln Center. Their collaboration with members of the Metropolitan Chorus Artists and Met Orchestra brings dance, music, and opera back to New York City's diverse and vibrant community.

Met dancers Cesar Abreu, Natalia Alonso, Réka Echerer and Maria Phaegan are leading the production effort, along with a team of fellow Met dancers. They are developing presentations for a variety of outdoor events, exploring and producing concerts in non-traditional spaces beyond the walls of the opera house. They plan to create opportunities that connect and support members of The Metropolitan Opera community in equitable ways and celebrate their diverse artistic backgrounds.

The event is supported in part by DRA: Dancers Responding to AIDS

While this will be an outdoor event, there will, however, be a limited amount of tickets available through Eventbrite. Audiences can also offer support by visiting Dancers of the Met's fundraising campaign on Fractured Atlas. Ticket sales as well as all donations will go towards the production expenses for this special event, as well as supporting the future endeavors of the Dancers of the Met.

The filmed version of the Dancers of the Met's March concert is available through their website: https://www.dancersofthemet.com

Directions by subway: take the 1, 2, or 3 train to 72nd Street station. Walk uptown to 75th Street; event will take place bet. Broadway & West End Ave.

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