Classical Arts: Cherubini's Medea at the Met, an ABT World Premiere & More in NYC This Week

The week of Oct. 26-Nov. 1 is busy at Lincoln Center. The Metropolitan Opera opens two productions in three days. Cherubini's Medea arrives Friday with Sonya Yoncheva in the title role, and Puccini's Tosca returns Sunday. Missy Mazzoli's Lincoln in the Bardo continues its first run, and La Bohème plays on.

Across the plaza, American Ballet Theatre's fall season changes programs midweek. Kylián's Petite Mort closes Tuesday. A world premiere by corps member Brady Farrar follows, alongside Ashton's The Dream and a one-night gala. London City Ballet is at the Joyce all week.

There is plenty for the curious and the budget-minded too. Tippett's wartime oratorio A Child of Our Time gets a rare Geffen Hall outing, and Juilliard students play an offbeat, free Halloween program.

The Week's Highlights

Rare revival: Medea

Metropolitan Opera House · Oct. 30–Nov. 21 · 2 hrs 50 mins

Cherubini's Medea premiered in Paris in 1797 and has never been a repertory staple. It asks for a soprano with stamina, fury and a seamless line, and only a handful of singers take it on. The Met's revival gives the role to Sonya Yoncheva. Michael Spyres sings Giasone, the Argonaut who leaves her. David McVicar's staging tells the myth as a domestic tragedy that turns to vengeance, ending in the act everyone knows is coming. The run opens Friday, Oct. 30, and continues through Nov. 21, so this weekend is the first chance to hear it. Plan for a long evening, close to three hours.

Tickets & info · Details

New production: Lincoln in the Bardo

Metropolitan Opera House · Oct. 19–Nov. 14

Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek have adapted George Saunders's Booker Prize-winning novel. The setting is the bardo, a limbo where the dead linger. The young Willie Lincoln is held there by his father's grief. Peter Mattei sings Abraham Lincoln. The large company of restless spirits includes Christine Goerke, Stephanie Blythe and countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo. Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts, and Lileana Blain-Cruz directs. A new American opera with this cast is a significant Met event. Mazzoli writes for orchestra with real color and invention, and the novel's chorus of voices suits the stage. The run continues through Nov. 14, so there are still several weeks to catch it.

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World premiere: ABT: Trio Élégiaque

David H. Koch Theater · Oct. 28–31

Brady Farrar dances in ABT's corps de ballet and has already made several pieces for ABT Studio Company. Trio Élégiaque is his first premiere for the main company. It is set to the opening movement of Rachmaninoff's Trio Élégiaque No. 2, a brooding piano trio the composer wrote in memory of Tchaikovsky. Watching a dancer emerge as a choreographer from inside the company is one of the pleasures of following ABT. The new ballet plays at the David H. Koch Theater on the same dates as Jae Man Joo's Flight and Frederick Ashton's The Dream. It has only four days, Wednesday through Saturday, Oct. 28-31.

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One night only: The New York Choral Society Presents: A Child of Our Time

David Geffen Hall · Mon., Oct. 26

Michael Tippett wrote A Child of Our Time as Europe moved toward war. The oratorio grew out of the events of 1938, when a young Jewish refugee's shooting of a German diplomat was used as a pretext for Kristallnacht. Tippett modeled the work on Bach's Passions. In the places where Bach would place chorales, he used African American spirituals. The effect is direct and deeply moving. The piece first played in London in 1944. It is heard in New York far less often than it deserves. The New York Choral Society brings it to David Geffen Hall for a single performance on Monday, Oct. 26.

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Free concert: The New Series | A Halloween Concert

The Juilliard School · Tue., Oct. 27

Juilliard's New Series marks Halloween a few days early with an annual free concert. The program is full of music that bends instruments out of their usual shapes. Henry Price plays Berio's Sequenza V for trombone, and Madeline Hall takes on Steve Reich's Electric Counterpoint for guitar and tape. Angeline Ma plays Lera Auerbach's Ludwig's Nightmare. Soprano Maya McGuire sings works by Yoko Ono, Robert Ashley and Pauline Oliveros. Music by Kaija Saariaho and R. Murray Schafer rounds out the bill. The performers lean into the holiday with costumes. It all happens Tuesday, Oct. 27, at no cost. Viewers at home can watch the live stream, which will not be posted afterward.

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Last chance: ABT: Petite Mort

David H. Koch Theater · Oct. 25–27 · 17 minutes

Jiří Kylián made Petite Mort for the 1991 Salzburg Festival, on the 200th anniversary of Mozart's death. It sets the slow movements of two Mozart piano concertos. Six men and six women dance with six fencing foils. The 17-minute piece moves between menace and tenderness, and it remains one of Kylián's most admired works. ABT's run closes Tuesday, Oct. 27. Two other ballets share those final dates at the Koch Theater. Makarova's staging of the Paquita grand divertissement offers classical showpiece dancing. Helen Pickett's colorful Petal is set to Philip Glass and Thomas Montgomery Newman.

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The Week at a Glance

Monday, Oct. 26
Juilliard Orchestra Conducted by Gemma New at Alice Tully Hall
The New York Choral Society Presents: A Child of Our Time at David Geffen Hall

Tuesday, Oct. 27
London City Ballet at The Joyce Theater (opens; through Nov. 1)
The New Series | A Halloween Concert at The Juilliard School

Wednesday, Oct. 28
ABT: Flight at David H. Koch Theater (opens; through Oct. 31)
ABT: The Dream at David H. Koch Theater (opens; through Oct. 31)
ABT: Trio Élégiaque at David H. Koch Theater (opens; through Oct. 31)
Ambrose Akinmusire and Aszure Barton at Lincoln Center (opens; through Oct. 30)
Get Out in Concert at David Geffen Hall

Thursday, Oct. 29
ABT: Fall Gala at David H. Koch Theater
Baby Mozart: Babies & Toddlers at David Geffen Hall
Baby Mozart: Toddlers at David Geffen Hall

Friday, Oct. 30
Dvořák, Debussy, and Chaminade at Alice Tully Hall
Medea at Metropolitan Opera House (opens; through Nov. 21)

Sunday, Nov. 1
Tosca at Metropolitan Opera House, 7:30 pm (opens; through May 27)
Alison Cook Beatty Dance presents ARTISTS IN MOTION 2026 at The Ailey Citigroup Theatre
Juilliard415 and Yale Schola Cantorum Conducted by Grete Pedersen | Bach’s "St. Matthew Passion" at The Juilliard School
New York Philharmonic Ensembles at Merkin Hall, Kaufman Music Center

Opera

La Bohème — Metropolitan Opera House · Sept. 25–Apr. 29. Puccini's story of young artists in Paris continues in Franco Zeffirelli's crowded, detailed staging. The Met has played this production for more than four decades. Tickets · Details

Tosca — Metropolitan Opera House · Nov. 1–May 27 · 7:30 pm. Puccini's political thriller returns in David McVicar's large-scale production, set in three Roman locations. Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Daniele Rustioni share conducting duties over the course of the long run. Tickets · Details

Orchestras & Large Ensembles

Juilliard Orchestra Conducted by Gemma New — Alice Tully Hall · Mon., Oct. 26. Gemma New, chief of the New Zealand Symphony, conducts the Juilliard Orchestra. The program has Kelly-Marie Murphy's Hamlet-inspired A Thousand Natural Shocks, Kernis's Viola Concerto with soloist Amelia Krinke, and Brahms's Second Symphony. Ticket holders can attend a free preconcert talk. Tickets · Details

Chamber Music & Recitals

Baby Mozart: Babies & Toddlers — David Geffen Hall · Thu., Oct. 29. A Baby Mozart session for mixed ages, from newborns to 3-year-olds. Pianists and guest musicians lead the hands-on class with the New York Philharmonic. Tickets · Details

Baby Mozart: Toddlers — David Geffen Hall · Thu., Oct. 29. An interactive music class for toddlers aged 15 months to 3 years. It is led by professional pianists and visiting musicians, from the UK team behind Mini Mozart, in partnership with the Philharmonic. Tickets · Details

Dvořák, Debussy, and Chaminade — Alice Tully Hall · Fri., Oct. 30. The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center pairs music by Dvořák, Debussy and Cécile Chaminade. The listing does not yet name the performers or the specific works. Tickets · Details

New York Philharmonic Ensembles — Merkin Hall, Kaufman Music Center · Sun., Nov. 1. New York Philharmonic players step out in small groups. They play Shostakovich's Five Pieces, Beethoven's String Trio in C minor, Op. 9, No. 3, and Dvořák's String Quintet No. 2. Tickets · Details

Early Music, Choral & Vocal

Juilliard415 and Yale Schola Cantorum Conducted by Grete Pedersen | Bach’s "St. Matthew Passion" — The Juilliard School · Sun., Nov. 1. Grete Pedersen leads Juilliard415 and the Yale Schola Cantorum in Bach's St. Matthew Passion, with its double choir and double orchestra. Note that this performance takes place at Woolsey Hall, Yale University, in New Haven. Admission is free. Tickets · Details

New Music & Crossover

Get Out in Concert — David Geffen Hall · Wed., Oct. 28. The New York Philharmonic plays Michael Abels's unsettling score live while Jordan Peele's horror film Get Out screens in full above the stage. Tickets · Details

Dance

ABT: Paquita — David H. Koch Theater · Oct. 25–27. ABT dances the grand divertissement from Paquita in Natalia Makarova's staging after Petipa. A lead ballerina heads a series of classical variations to music by Minkus, with additional music by Wynton Marsalis. Tickets · Details

ABT: Petal — David H. Koch Theater · Oct. 25–27. Helen Pickett's 2008 ballet takes its palette from gerbera daisies. It is a warm study of touch and connection, set to music by Philip Glass and Thomas Montgomery Newman. Tickets · Details

London City Ballet — The Joyce Theater · Oct. 27–Nov. 1. London City Ballet, once the resident company at Sadler's Wells, makes a return visit after its 2024 revival tour. It brings two mixed bills of new ballets and older repertory. Tickets · Details

ABT: Flight — David H. Koch Theater · Oct. 28–31. Jae Man Joo's 2012 work pairs fast, demanding dancing with solo cello music by Bach. It explores strength under pressure. Tickets · Details

ABT: The Dream — David H. Koch Theater · Oct. 28–31. Frederick Ashton's compact version of A Midsummer Night's Dream sets Shakespeare's mix-ups in a moonlit wood to Mendelssohn's score. It runs just under an hour. Tickets · Details

Ambrose Akinmusire and Aszure Barton — Lincoln Center · Oct. 28–30. Jazz trumpeter and composer Ambrose Akinmusire joins choreographer Aszure Barton for a Lincoln Center Presents collaboration. The production uses haze and fog effects. Tickets · Details

ABT: Fall Gala — David H. Koch Theater · Thu., Oct. 29. American Ballet Theatre's annual fall gala, a single festive evening at the Koch Theater. The listing does not give the program. Tickets · Details

Alison Cook Beatty Dance presents ARTISTS IN MOTION 2026 — The Ailey Citigroup Theatre · Sun., Nov. 1 · $20–$100. Alison Cook Beatty Dance hosts eight companies and choreographers led by women. The bill includes BoSoma Dance Company, LaHa Dance Group, Neville Dance Theatre and an excerpt from Beatty's own Manifestations. Tickets · Details

Last Chance: Closing This Week

ABT: Paquita at David H. Koch Theater closes Tue., Oct. 27. Tickets · Details
ABT: Petal at David H. Koch Theater closes Tue., Oct. 27. Tickets · Details
ABT: Petite Mort at David H. Koch Theater closes Tue., Oct. 27. Tickets · Details

Medea continues at the Met through Nov. 21, and Lincoln in the Bardo plays through Nov. 14, so both remain options after this week. Full dates, times and ticket links appear under each listing above.