Peter Gelb dials up knockdown concert

Press statement from the Met:

On Sunday, May 16, at the Knockdown Center, the Queens performing arts space, Yannick Nézet-Séguin will lead members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus, and soloists Angel Blue, Stephen Costello, Justin Austin, and Eric Owens, in A Concert for New York, an eclectic program ranging from the “Lacrymosa” movement of the Mozart Requiem to the aria “Peculiar Grace” from Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones, set to have its Met premiere in September. There will be two performances of the 45-minute program at 6pm and 8:30pm. Due to current Covid-19 restrictions, attendance is limited to 150 people per performance, and tickets are being distributed by lottery to Met audience members and to first responders affiliated with Mount Sinai’s hospital in Queens.

“As the city’s largest performing arts company, we are determined to participate in New York’s re-opening, even though there is much still to be settled with our unions and in preparing the opera house for next season,” said Peter Gelb, the Met’s General Manager. “With the Met currently unavailable, we’re excited to present this concert at the Knockdown Center.”

Knockdown sounds about right.