Maria Callas... Leontyne Price... Shaggy and Sting?

Yes, they may be better known as recording artists, but both are bound for NYC's Metropolitan Opera, one of the genre's preeminent venues, for a newly revised version of Sting's The Last Ship, a musical that played a brief Broadway run in 2014. The work will take the stage at the Lincoln Center space June 9-14, 2026, as announced last week.

But how did this notable meeting of musical genres come to be? For that we went straight to the source, with Playbill's Jeffrey Vizcaíno sitting down with Sting to talk all things The Last Ship and The Met shortly after the production was revealed. Watch the full interview in the video below.

The Last Ship is set in the English shipbuilding town of Wallsend, and is inspired by Sting's own childhood there. The production, directed by Leo Warner, features a new book by Barney Norris, and co-stars Sting's long-time collaborator Shaggy as the Ferryman. Sting will reprise the role of shipyard foreman Jackie White, which he played during the musical's original Broadway run in 2014.

Presented by Karl Sydow, the engagement is part of an international series of runs in Amsterdam, Paris, and Brisbane.

Said Sting in an earlier statement: “I grew up in the shadow of a shipyard, watching thousands of men walk past my front door every morning to work there, and imagining that would be my destiny too. I dreamed of escaping—and I succeeded, traveling far and earning my living on some of the world’s greatest stages—including the Metropolitan Opera House in 2010. But the further I got, the more that shipyard called to me. The Last Ship is my tribute to the people and the place that shaped me. Bringing it to the Met feels like a full-circle moment.”

The production features scenic and video design by 59 Studio, choreography by Rebecca Howell, costumes by Loren Elstein, lighting by Adam Bassett, and sound design by Tom Gibbons.

The Last Ship played Broadway's Neil Simon Theatre in 2014, opening October 26. It closed in January the following year. The production was nominated for two Tony awards—for Sting's score, and Rob Mathes' orchestrations. A revised version, from director Lorne Campbell, premiered in Toronto in 2019, with Sting again starring. This series of international presentations marks the third major version of the musical.

Ahead of these performances, an extended version of Sting's The Last Ship album will be released December 5. The Last Ship (Expanded Edition) will feature five brand-new recordings. The album is produced by Sting and Rob Mathes, and mixed by Donald Hodgson and Robert "Hitmixer" Orton.

Visit MetOpera.org.