From "Nessun Dorma" to Nina Simone, the classic arts scene in New York is never quiet. Here is just a sampling of some of the classic arts events happening this week.
The Metropolitan Opera's 2025-2026 season opened last night with Mason Bates' The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Based on Michael Chabon's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, the opera follows Josef Kavalier and Samuel Klayman, two Jewish cousins who break into the burgeoning comic book industry of the 1930s with the creation of an anti-fascist superhero called The Escapist, inspired by Josef's escape from Nazi-occupied Prague. Baritone Andrzej Filończyk and tenor Miles Mykkanen star as the titular Kavalier and Clay. The Met's opening week also includes revivals of Mozart's Don Giovanni and Puccini's Turandot. Don Giovanni stars bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green as the infamous Don Juan whose rakish ways finally catch up to him, while soprano Angela Meade stars in Turandot as the titular princess, opposite tenor Michael Fabiano as the mysterious prince who risks his head to win her hand.
New York City Ballet presents Eclectic NYCB I, a collection of works by four choreographers in contrasting styles, running September 25-October 5. The program includes Gianna Reisen's Signs, Peter Martins' Zakouski, Ulysses Dove's Red Angels, and Justin Peck's Heatscape. Meanwhile, performances continue of the two all-Balanchine programs which opened the company's season last week. The first such program includes Donizetti Variations, set to music from Donizetti's final completed opera Dom Sébastian; Ballade, set to music by Gabriel Fauré; and a one-act version of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. The second all-Balanchine program includes Square Dance, an American reinterpretation of music by Italian Baroque composers Vivaldi and Corelli; Episodes, an avant-garde work set to music by Anton von Webern; and Western Symphony, set to traditional American folk songs arranged and orchestrated by Broadway orchestrator Hershey Kay.
The New York Philharmonic's 2025-26 season has been going on for two weeks now, but its official Opening Gala will be held September 25. Conductor Anthony Parnther will lead the orchestra in a concert of classic songs by Gershwin, Sondheim, Bizet, Ellington, and more, with Grammy-winning jazz vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant. Marta Gardolińska will then take the baton for two concerts September 27 and 30, featuring the New York premiere of Mason Bates' Devil's Radio, Lutosławski's Concerto for Orchestra, and Szymanowski's Violin Concerto No. 2 with soloist Leila Josefowicz.
Tenor Pene Pati will give recitals at the Park Avenue Armory September 24 and 26. The Samoan tenor made his Met Opera debut earlier this year playing the Duke in Rigoletto, and will now make his North American recital debut with a program of songs by Gabriel Fauré, Henri Duparc, Lili Boulanger, Roger Quilter, Benjamin Britten, and Richard Strauss.
New York City Center's annual Fall for Dance Festival continues this week through September 27. The festival comprises five dance programs featuring over a dozen different companies and choreographers around the world including the Stuttgart Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, and the Dutch National Ballet. This year's festival also includes two commissioned works, by Roderick George and Clara Furey.
Philadelphia-based ballet company BalletX kicks off its 20th anniversary season at the Joyce Theater this week. The program includes two New York premieres by Gregory Dawson and Noelle Kayser, as well as favorites from the company's repertoire by choreographers including Darrell Grand Moultrie and Nicola Wills.
A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham returns to Lincoln Center September 25-27. The touring dance company will perform three pieces: 2x4, set to an experimental classical score by Shelley Washington; The Gettin', created in collaboration with visual artist Glenn Ligon and set to music by jazz artist Robert Glasper; and If We Were a Love Song, set to Nina Simone's songs performed by singer-songwriter Baby Rose.
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