Photos of the MET: Jonathan Tichler/Metropolitan Opera


Disclaimer: This website is owned and operated by The Metropolitan Opera Music Staff Members.

It does not represent the views, positions, or opinions of the Metropolitan Opera but only those of the musicians and their union,

The Associated Musicians of Greater New York, Local 802, American Federation of Musicians

Brian Wagorn

Bryan Wagorn

Howard Watkins

Howard Watkins

Steven White

Steven White

Lunn Baker

Lynn Baker

Stefano Baldasseroni

Stefano Baldasseroni

Marianne Barrett

Marianne Barrett

Hemdi Kfir

Hemdi Kfir

Kathryn LaBouff

Kathryn LaBouff

Nicolò Sbuelz
Nicolo Sbuelz

Nicolò Sbuelz

Brian Fitzsousa

Brian Fitzsousa

Linda Hall

Linda Hall

Derrick Inouye

Derrick Inouye

Carol Isaac

Carol Isaac

J. David Jackson

J. David Jackson

Bénédicte Jourdois

Bénédicte Jourdois

John Keenan

John Keenan

Jonathan C. Kelly

Jonathan C. Kelly

Yelena Kurdina

Yelena Kurdina

Joseph Lawson

Joseph Lawson

Juan Jose Lazaro

Juan José Lázaro

Marie-France Lefebvre

M. F Lefebvre

Ksenia Leletkina

Ksenia Leletkina

Caren Levine

Caren Levine

Timothy Long

Timothy Long

William Long

William Long

Liora Maurer

Liora Maurer

Kevin Miller

Kevin Miller

David H. Moody

David H. Moody

Bradley Moore

Bradley Moore

Gareth Morrell

Gareth Morrell

Adam Nielsen

Adam Nielsen

Steven Osgood

Steven Osgood

Nimrod David Pfeffer

Nimrod Pfeffer

Matthew Piatt

Matthew Piatt

Ksenija Polstiankina Barrad

K. Polstiankina Barrad

Donna Racik

Donna Racik

Milos Repicky

Miloš Repicky

Dan Saunders

Dan Saunders

Katelan Terrell

Katelan Trần Terrell

Pierre Vallet

Pierre Vallet

ABOUT MUSIC STAFF



Preparing the Metropolitan Opera’s enormous repertoire poses a tremendous challenge due to the intensity of the work and the lengthy season. Helping to meet the challenge is one of the most intrepid groups of musicians in New York City – the Metropolitan Opera Music Staff.


Represented by the American Federation of Musicians, Local 802, the current Staff numbers forty-eight members who are contracted for specific productions.  Individual contracts specify a wide range of responsibilities to be covered by the eleven full-time and thirty-seven part-time members.  Though all are designated either as assistant/associate conductors, staff pianists, or diction coaches according to their specific skill sets, their unique responsibilities in the rehearsal process contribute the first points of musical contact between singers, dancers, directors, and the MET Opera at the beginning of each production preparation.


Assistant Conductors


Cover Conductors lead rehearsals musically in the absence of the principal conductor and are prepared to lead performances, in case of emergency.


Prompters assist the cover conductor in preparing and coaching singers, as well as prompting (reminding of the upcoming text) during rehearsals and performances.


Pianists/Repetiteurs help to prepare and coach singers, playing the orchestra reductions in staging and musical rehearsals.  They sometimes perform keyboard parts in the pit or backstage, playing recitative accompaniment and conducting backstage, as needed.


Ballet Pianists play for ballet rehearsals and classes, singing cues as needed to rehearse dance sequences.


Diction Coaches


Diction Coaches are hired according to the specific language of a given opera and work to achieve idiomatic pronunciation and language usage by the singers.


Once an opera begins a run of performances, the work of the Music Staff continues.  Assistant conductors, cover conductors and prompters attend performances, helping with singer warmups, corrections from the dress rehearsal or previous performances, or by assisting in case of a cast change.  By working to ensure that a high musical level is maintained through the entire run of an opera, the Music Staff completes the process begun on the first day.

Click on each photo to read bios

Thomas Lausmann

Thomas Lausmann

Lydia Brown

Lydia Brown

Dimitri Dover

Dimitri Dover

Patrick Furrer

Patrick Furrer

Joshua Greene

Joshua Greene

Israel Gursky

Israel Gursky