Welcome to the Met Chorus Artists website, managed by members of the Metropolitan Opera Chorus! You’ll find articles, photos, roster information, and other delightful sundries here. We’re pretty stoked that you stopped by!
All in Around the Met
The life of a Met Chorister is full of “top ten” (or twenty, or thirty) performances for all time, but nothing could prepare us for the emotional experience of performing Verdi’s Requiem inside the Metropolitan Opera House for the first time in over a year and a half…
When Chelsey Hill isn’t a dresser at the Metropolitan Opera, she’s using her incredible talents as an illustrator to create brilliantly quirky masterpieces featuring opera stars, female composers, and more. She even designed the Met Chorus Artists fancy new logo!
Though the annual Metropolitan Opera Service Awards, normally held in the spring, were canceled along with the rest of the season, the Met Artists Newsletter still wants to give two very special Met Chorus members their moment in the sun! Join us in congratulating Kurt Phinney and Gloria Watson for 25 years of service at the Met!
What happens when artists can’t make art together? Met Chorister Brandon Mayberry interviewed many of his colleagues to get a sense of how the chorus was faring during the extended closure of the Metropolitan Opera due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and wonders what the future may hold for all of us.
Met Chorus Soprano Abigail Mitchell was a guest contributor to the newsletter back in 2018, giving us an illuminating (and amusing) picture of what it's like to work for the Met Opera for the first time as an extra chorister (spoiler: it involves getting lost in the building. A lot.). Now a beloved full-time chorus member, she gives us an equally illuminating take on what it's like to balance a new baby with the Met Chorus's often heroic schedule.
In this edition of Meet The Dancers, we introduce you to Michelle Vargo, a talented dancer who has been an important part of the Metropolitan Opera's productions for the past 22 years. "I never imagined I'd have such a long career here", Vargo said. But we're so glad she has!
The Met Opera Chorus is deeply saddened by the news of the cancellation of the remainder of the 2019-2020 Metropolitan Opera season. You can read our statement here.
Hector Berlioz called La Damnation de Faust a "dramatic legend,”", not an opera or an oratorio. However you define it, the piece is a tour-de-force for the chorus. Tenor Daniel Clark Smith gives us an idea of how we express the text and story line without sets or costumes.
Ned Hanlon. The man, the myth, the mystery. A Met Chorus bass-baritone and our beloved Chorus Committee Chair, you'd think he had enough on his proverbial plate, but recently he had his sights set on winning the Met's annual Bake-Off competition. Ned planned to win the judges panel over with his savory Chicken, Pesto, Sun-Dried Tomato and Feta Pie (shaped like a viking helmet, because opera), and he loved his idea so much, he's sharing the recipe with us!
In the spirit of the holidays, we are paying homage to a fabulous foursome of Metropolitan Opera Chorus retirees who, between the four of them, experienced a combined 129 seasons at the Met and four different chorusmasters! Chorister Brandon Mayberry had a lot of fun looking back on their experiences. Let's see what they're up to post-retirement!
Well, we all blinked, and another incredible season somehow passed us by. But what a season it was!
Meet two married members of the Metropolitan Opera Chorus, Christina and Brian Anderson, who give us an enlightening glimpse of what it’s like to raise a family while working one of the most difficult jobs in the opera business!
It's always bittersweet when a beloved production closes after many successful years. Mezzo-soprano Annette Spann-Lewis, a member of the Met Chorus for over 25 years, was present for all 247 performances of Frisell’s Aida, and was asked by the Met to give a chorister’s perspective on the evening of the production’s closing night.
What exactly is The Metropolitan Opera Club? Chorister Daniel Clark Smith introduces us to this generous group of opera aficionados who have a long history at the Met.
While we have enjoyed working with Maestro Nézet-Séguin since his debut conducting Carmen in 2009, this year is full of even more excitement and promise, as Maestro has stepped into the role of Music Director with gusto, and the palpable energy felt in the opera house these days is an auspicious beginning to a long, productive musical and artistic collaboration.
Between scenes in an opera, Met choristers can sometimes have a bit of time on their hands. For some of us, this time was spent reading, and discussing, some great literature. Now we'd like to open up our Met Opera Chorus Book Club to all of YOU! Bass chorister (and Met Chorus Committee Chair) Ned Hanlon will get you up to speed on what we're reading at the beginning of the season.
The Metropolitan Opera Chorus may be one of the hardest working groups of people in the business, but giving back to the community is still a priority! Chorus members participated in two educational outreach opportunities this month, both with fabulous groups of attentive kiddos in Manhattan, our own backyard!
Just who exactly are the Met Chorus Artists, Inc.? Chorister Meredith Woodend (who is also the president of the MCA board) is here to introduce you to the outreach arm of the Met Chorus...
Recalling warmer, sunnier days back in October when the Met Chorus Artists (the non-profit arm of the Metropolitan Opera Chorus) partnered with the Met Opera Education department to hand out candy, raffle off tickets to Hansel & Gretel, and meet some extremely cute costumed kiddos.
Met Chorus Artists are out in the community providing singing lessons for children in New York City's foster care system with Culture for One.
