The Metropolitan Opera has revealed plans to implement a double casting approach for certain revivals of works by Verdi and Puccini while rescheduling some contemporary pieces away from Saturday performances. This decision comes following recommendations from a financial consulting group aimed at enhancing the organization’s economic viability.
During the 2025-26 season announcement, it was noted that this would be the third consecutive year featuring 18 productions, a significant decrease from the 28 productions seen during the 2007-08 season. The upcoming season will include six new stagings, maintaining the trend of three new company premieres for the third year in a row.
Revival performances are projected to make up 79% of the 196 total shows, an increase from 71% in the current season. Among the notable revivals, Verdi’s “La Traviata” will be staged 21 times, while Puccini’s famous operas will have a notable presence with 52 showings: “La Bohème” will have 20, “Turandot” 17, and “Madama Butterfly” 15.
In terms of specific casting, “Madama Butterfly” is set to feature Sonya Yoncheva on March 18, followed by Elena Stikhina on March 19. “La Traviata” will showcase Rosa Feola on May 8 and Ermonela Jaho the next day.
Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager, noted that the Boston Consulting Group suggested increasing the frequency of operas performed regularly and making use of multiple casts to minimize the logistical challenges of constantly changing scenery during performances. Additionally, fewer split runs — where an opera is staged during different periods throughout the season — have also been advised by the consultants.
This season, the Met has committed to weekly meetings focused on budget monitoring among departmental leaders, while also refraining from withdrawing from its endowment after a substantial $40 million withdrawal in the 2023-24 season.
Despite a drop in attendance to 70% of available seats during the season’s first half, which is down from 73% at the same time last year, projections suggest an increase to 75% attendance by the season’s conclusion, surpassing last year’s 72%. Jeanine Tesori’s “Grounded” opened the current season, achieving a modest 50% attendance, the lowest among ten productions. In contrast, an English-language revival of Julie Taymor’s staging of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” captured the highest audience share at 82%, with Michael Mayer’s new production of Verdi’s “Aida” closely following at 79%.
Looking ahead, Mason Bates’ adaptation of “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay” will kick off the next season on September 21, featuring the maximum of seven performances for new work. Gelb mentioned that adjustments have been made to enhance character visibility since its initial debut at Indiana University with a student cast.
Although “Kavalier” won’t be part of the Met’s eight high-definition video simulcasts to global theaters, the Met’s broadcast audience currently stands at 55% of its pre-pandemic level, with more contemporary works attracting attention locally in New York while not resonating as strongly in Europe, which traditionally hosts half of the HD viewership.
By focusing on a stronger lineup of popular operas and reducing the frequency of new productions, Gelb believes this strategy will help ensure that live screenings in HD remain profitable.
Upcoming new stagings include Rolando Villazón’s rendition of Bellini’s “La Sonnambula,” set for October 6; Carlos Edwards’ “I Puritani” on New Year’s Eve; and Yuval Sharon’s version of Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde,” featuring soprano Lise Davidsen on March 9. Additionally, Kaija Saariaho’s final opera, “Innocence,” is scheduled for an April 6 performance following its premiere in France, and Gabriela Lena Frank’s “El ultimó sueño de Frida y Diego” is slated for May 14.
Among future commissions, Carlos Simon’s opera for the upcoming 2026-27 season has been retitled to “In the Rush,” while Huang Ruo’s “The Wedding Banquet” will inaugurate the 2027-28 season. Productions of Weill’s “Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny” by Ivo Van Hove and Handel’s “Semele” by Claus Guth are now scheduled for the 2027-28 season as well.
Additionally, new Handel productions such as “Alcina” directed by Richard Jones and “Ariodante” by Robert Carsen remain part of the Met’s future planning alongside Simon McBurney’s staging of Mussorgsky’s “Khovanshchina.” Plans for Kevin Newbury’s direction of Donizetti’s “La Favorite” have been withdrawn, and Barrie Kosky’s adaptation of Prokofiev’s “The Fiery Angel,” initially planned for 2020-21, remains pending.
