Met Opera to stage March 14 benefit for Ukraine relief

NEW YORK

The Metropolitan Opera will stage a benefit concert on March 14 for Ukraine relief efforts that will be broadcast on radio worldwide.

Music director Yannick Nezet-Seguin will lead a program that will feature Ukrainian bass-baritone Vladyslav Buialskyi and the Met chorus in Ukraine’s national anthem and “A Prayer for the Ukraine,” a choral work by a Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov.

The 70-minute program also will include Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings, “Va, pensiero” from Verdi’s Nabucco,” soprano Lise Davidsen in Richard Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder (Four Last Songs) and the finale of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Davidsen, mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, tenor Piotr Beczala, and bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green.

“I hope this special concert will demonstrate our unwavering support for the suffering people of Ukraine,” Nezet-Seguin said on March 7.

Tickets are $50. The concert will be broadcast by the European Broadcasting Union, Sirius XM and streamed on the Met’s website.