will double cast a portion of Verdi and Puccini revivals and shift some contemporary compositions away from Saturdays at the recommendation of a consultant trying to boost the company鈥檚 finances.
The 2025-26 season announced Wednesday will be the third straight with 18 productions, down from 28 in 2007-08. There will be six new-to-the Met stagings for the third consecutive season, including three company premieres.
Revivals comprise 79% of the 196 staged performances, up from 71% in the current season. Verdi鈥檚 鈥淟a Traviata鈥� will appear 21 times and there will be 52 showings of Puccini staples: 20 of 鈥淟a Boh猫me,鈥� 17 of 鈥淭urandot鈥� and 15 of 鈥淢adama Butterfly.鈥�
鈥淏utterfly" will be presented starring Sonya Yoncheva on March 18 and with Elena Stikhina the following day, and 鈥淭raviata鈥� with Rosa Feola on May 8 and Ermonela Jaho the next day,
鈥淎mongst the recommendations that we鈥檝e had from Boston Consulting Group was for those operas that we play fairly regularly to play more of them and have runs that include more than one cast so that we don鈥檛 have to constantly be moving scenery in and out the theater,鈥� Met general manager Peter Gelb said.
Gelb said the consultants also recommended fewer split runs, in which an opera appears in different parts of the season. The Met has instituted weekly cost-monitoring meetings among department heads but has not taken from its endowment this season after .
Met attendance was 70% of available tickets in the season鈥檚 first half, down from 73% at the same point last year, but the company projects finishing the season at 75%, up from .
opened the season and sold 50%, the lowest of 10 productions, and Osvaldo Golijov鈥檚 鈥淎inadamar鈥� sold 61%. An English-language revival of Julie Taylor鈥檚 staging of Mozart鈥檚 鈥淭he Magic Flute鈥� at holiday time led with 82%, followed by .
Mason Bates鈥� 鈥淭he Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay鈥� opens next season on Sept. 21 and will get seven performances 鈥� the maximum for the new stagings. Gelb said there have been revisions to increase prominence of some characters since its in November.
"Kavalier鈥� was not included among the Met鈥檚 eight high definition video simulcasts to theaters around the world. Gelb said the Met鈥檚 broadcast audience was 55% of its pre-pandemic level and newer works get publicity in the New York area but not in Europe, which draws half the HD viewers.
鈥淏y emphasizing more of the staple repertoire and fewer new works it gives us the opportunity for the live in HD to remain profitable,鈥� he said.
Other new-to-the-Met stagings are Rolando Villaz贸n鈥檚 production of Bellini鈥檚 鈥淟a Sonnambula鈥� (opening Oct. 6), first seen at Paris鈥� Th茅芒tre des Champs-Elys茅es in June 2021 and postponed by the Met from 2023-24 because of budget cuts; Carlos Edwards production of Bellini鈥檚 鈥淚 Puritani鈥� (New Year鈥檚 Eve); Yuval Sharon鈥檚 staging of Wagner鈥檚 鈥淭ristan und Isolde鈥� starring Lise Davidsen (March 9); Kaija Saariaho鈥檚 last opera, 鈥淚nnocence鈥� (April 6), in a Simon Stone production from its premiere at Aix-en-Provence, France, in July 2021; and 鈥淓l ultim贸 sue帽o de Frida y Diego鈥� by Grammy Award winner Gabriela Lena Frank and Pulitzer Prize winner Nilo Cruz (May 14) in a Deborah Colker staging.
Among Met commissions, Carlos Simon鈥檚 opera for 2026-27 has been renamed 鈥淚n the Rush鈥� from 鈥淭he Highlands鈥� and Huang Ruo鈥檚 The Wedding Banquet鈥� will open the 2027-28 season.
Ivo Van Hove鈥檚 production of Weill鈥檚 鈥淩ise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny鈥� and Claus Guth鈥檚 staging of Handel鈥檚 鈥淪emele" have been scheduled for 2027-28.
Handel stagings of 鈥淎lcina鈥� by Richard Jones and 鈥淎riodante鈥� by Robert Carsen remain on track for future seasons along with Simon McBurney鈥檚 production of Mussorgsky鈥檚 鈥淜hovanshchina.鈥�
Plans were dropped for Kevin Newbury鈥檚 staging of Donizetti鈥檚 鈥淟a Favorite.鈥� Barrie Kosky鈥檚 production of Prokofiev鈥檚 鈥淭he Fiery Angel鈥� from the canceled 2020-21 season remains on hold.
Ronald Blum, The Associated Press
