HAILED AS THE BEST CHORUS IN THE WORLD
METROPOLITANÂ OPERA
CHORUS ARTISTS
The Metropolitan Opera Chorus is one of the world’s premier vocal ensembles, setting the standard for excellence on the opera stage. Comprising 75 singers, it is the only full-time professional opera chorus in the United States. With an extraordinary range and depth of talent, the Chorus performs in over 18–20 productions each season, thrilling audiences in approximately 200 performances with their artistry, power, and musical precision.
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Since its founding, each member of the Metropolitan Opera Chorus has collectively brought countless operatic masterpieces to life. The demands of a Met Chorister involve performing in multiple languages across a broad repertoire that spans centuries of opera history. From the grandeur of Wagner’s epics to the delicacy of Mozart, the singers of the Chorus seamlessly navigate a diverse array of styles and genres, earning praise from audiences, critics, and conductors alike. Their ability to blend as one while maintaining an individual commitment to storytelling makes them an integral part of the Met’s world-renowned productions.
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Chorus members are chosen through a highly competitive audition process that draws exceptional singers from around the globe. Their voices transform each production into an unforgettable experience, creating the emotional depth and dramatic intensity that opera demands. In addition to their work at the Met, many of the artists are accomplished soloists and educators, sharing their passion for music with students and audiences beyond the opera house.
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Beyond their performances, members of the Met Chorus are deeply engaged in the larger musical community. They have performed at international music festivals, collaborated on special projects, and participated in educational outreach programs to inspire the next generation of artists and opera lovers. During the pandemic, the Met Chorus Artists, In.c was formed by members of the Chorus. Together they offered virtual performances, bringing the healing power of music to audiences around the world when theaters were closed.
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The Metropolitan Opera Chorus is an artistic cornerstone of the Met and a testament to the transformative power of the collective human voice. Their devotion to excellence, storytelling, and musical agility supports the ever-evolving versatility of the operatic art form.
WELCOME OUR NEW CHORUS DIRECTOR
Tilman Michael,
The C. Graham Berwind, III
Chorus Director
Tilman Michael joins the Metropolitan Opera on the heels of a 10 year tenure as choir director at Oper Frankfurt. He previously held this position at the Nationaltheater Mannheim. Under his direction, both choirs received the "Opera Choir of the Year" award from the magazine "Opernwelt" - most recently in 2023 for their performances in the new production of "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" and Handel's "Hercules". Tilman Michael was also nominated as "Conductor of the Year". He was engaged as second choir director at the Hamburg State Opera directly after completing his studies. He also worked as assistant to the choir director at the Bayreuth Festival for over ten years.
Tilman Michael has made guest appearances at the opera houses in Amsterdam, Dresden, Munich, Moscow, Stuttgart and Vienna as well as with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and the radio choirs of BR, MDR, NDR and WDR. He has also performed with various vocal ensembles in major concert halls and churches in 25 countries (Europe, Asia and South America). As a choir director, Tilman Michael has rehearsed over 150 different operas. But a cappella choral music, choral symphonic literature and new music (world premieres by Adriana Hölszky, Bernhard Lang, Olga Neuwirth and Salvatore Sciarrino) are also of great importance to him.
Tilman Michael is a lecturer and juror at the Conductors' Forum (German Music Council). Last season, he appeared as a guest conductor at the Tyrolean Festival Erl (Bach's "Christmas Oratorio") as well as for choral rehearsals at the Bavarian State Opera ("Lohengrin"), in Hong Kong with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Chorus (Brahms' "Requiem") and with the WDR Choir at the Elbphilharmonie, the Cologne Philharmonie and the Konzerthaus Dortmund.
“Choral singing and choral conducting is my life — it’s what I’ve done since I was a child,” he said. “I’ve loved this work from the very first day.” – NY Times
CHORUS HISTORYÂ
The chorus has always been an integral part of opera. What we today call opera was invented in the 16th century by Italian nobles looking for a way to recreate the dramas of ancient Greece. Although none of the music of these ancient dramas survived, these scholars knew from surviving texts that the chorus played an important role in the dramatic performances of the ancient world. The first operas, written at beginning of the Baroque period, thus always included a chorus. As in ancient dramas, the operatic chorus commented on the action. Playing the part of bystanders, they could also represent society’s response to the action of the drama. (Note how Ophelia tells Hamlet that he is “as good as a chorus” during the play in scene 5 [of Hamlet.]
As the genre of opera developed over time, the presence and role of the chorus shifted. In France, the tradition of what is called “grand opera” was based in large part on spectacle and the inclusion of impressive technical elements, of which a large chorus was one. Meanwhile in Italy, when large choruses were employed they were often responsible for revealing the mood of “the people,” as with the chorus of enslaved Egyptians in Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida, or as an entertaining contrast to the individual voices of the main characters, as with the crowded Paris street scene in Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème.
Excerpted from MetOpera.org
HISTORY OF THE MET CHORUS
1883: The Metropolitan Opera is founded at its original location in a new building on 39th & Broadway, now known as the "Old Met."
1966: Rudolph Bing, along with officers of the Met joined forces with the New York Philharmonic to build the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, where the current Metropolitan Opera
House building presently resides.
1977: The Met began a regular series of televised productions with a performance of La Bohème,
viewed by more than four million people on public television. Over the following decades, more than 70 complete Met performances have been made available
to a huge audience around the world.
1943: Kurt Adler begins his long tenure as chorus master and staff conductor until 1973.
1973: David Stivender serves as chorus master until his passing in 1990.
1991: Raymond Hughes is appointed chorus master by James Levine. He holds the position for 17 seasons until his departure.
2006: The Metropolitan Opera's "Live in HD" series, broadcasting performances to movie theaters worldwide, began on December 30, 2006, with a transmission of Mozart's "The Magic Flute".
2007: Donald Palumbo, following a 16 year post at Lyric Opera Chicago, serves as chorus master until his retirement in 2024.
2024: C. Graham Berwind, III, Vice President of the Metropolitan Opera Board of Directors, generously endows the Met Chorus Director position.
2024: After a decade presiding over the Frankfurt Opera Chorus, Tilman Michael signs on as the
C. Graham Berwind, III Chorus Director.