Met Opera’s Orchestra Will Tour Asia for the First Time

The coronavirus pandemic forced the Metropolitan Opera to shut its doors for more than a year and a half. It also upended plans that had been in the works for the Met Orchestra’s first Asian tour.

Now, that idea is being revived. The Met announced on Thursday that the orchestra and its music director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, would visit South Korea, Japan and Taiwan in June, performing the music of Bartok, Wagner, Debussy and others alongside star soloists.

The Met musicians have toured overseas just twice since 2000. Peter Gelb, the company’s general manager, said that, beyond showcasing them, the tour was meant to help the Met expand its network of fans abroad.

“It’s important that we serve our global constituency with live performances in person when we can,” he said. “It’s very good for the morale of the orchestra to be able to perform in major cities of the world.”

The tour, which includes stops in Seoul, Taipei, Tokyo and Hyogo, Japan, will feature more than 110 orchestra players, as well as the mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca, the soprano Lisette Oropesa and the bass-baritone Christian Van Horn. The program includes concert performances of Bartok’s “Bluebeard’s Castle” and excerpts from various operas, including Wagner’s “Der Fliegende Holländer” and Debussy’s “Pelléas et Mélisande,” as well as Jessie Montgomery’s “Hymn for Everyone.”

Last year Nézet-Séguin, who became the Met’s music director in 2018, led a company tour, the first since 2002, in Europe. (A 2021 tour there had also been canceled by the pandemic.) “Bringing live music and performances to audiences around the world is my passion,” he said in a statement.