The Met Announces 2026 European Festival Tour August 26–September 2, 2026
Debut at the BBC Proms; Return to Lucerne Festival and the Philharmonie de Paris
Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts
Featuring soprano Elza van den Heever and mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato; Programs include works by Saariaho, Mazzoli, Mahler, and Strauss
New York, NY (April 21, 2026)—The Metropolitan Opera announced today the Met Orchestra’s 2026 European Festival Tour, led by the Met’s Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and joined by soprano Elza van den Heever and mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. Concerts will take place at London’s Royal Albert Hall on August 26 and 27 as part of the BBC Proms, Lucerne’s KKL Luzern on August 30 as part of the Lucerne Festival, and the Philharmonie de Paris on September 1 and 2 as part of Les Prem’s, the symphonic festival of the Philharmonie de Paris.
Peter Gelb, the Met’s Maria Manetti Shrem General Manager, said, “Although the Met is widely regarded as one of the world’s greatest orchestras with one of the world’s greatest conductors, we rarely have the time to perform concerts other than at Carnegie Hall. But our rarity also makes this tour historic, with our first performances ever at the Proms and our return to Lucerne after nearly 25 years.”
Programs for the tour pair cornerstone works of Strauss and Mahler with music by Kaija Saariaho, whose opera Innocence received critical acclaim when it debuted at the Met this spring, and Missy Mazzoli, whose opera Lincoln in the Bardo receives its world premiere at the Met this fall. Van den Heever joins the orchestra for the final scene of Strauss’s Salome, and DiDonato is featured in Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder and Symphony No. 4.
Maestro Nézet-Séguin said, “It is always a joy to bring the Met Orchestra to European audiences, and returning for our second tour—while making our debut together as a team at the BBC Proms, one of the world’s most storied summer festivals—is exciting for all of us.
“The programs we have created for this tour are meaningful to me, because they reflect both the heart of the orchestral repertoire and the living, evolving voice of opera today. Pairing Strauss and Mahler with the music of Kaija Saariaho and Missy Mazzoli allows us to explore a wide emotional and sonic landscape.
“To do this in collaboration with my dear friends, the extraordinary Elza van den Heever and Joyce DiDonato, makes it all the more special. This is what defines the Met Orchestra for me: Everything we create, we create together.”
In recent years, the Met Orchestra has resumed touring, with a European tour in 2023 and the orchestra’s first tour to Asia in 2024.
The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra’s European tour is generously sponsored by Seifi and Ellen Ghasemi, and Ann Ziff.
The Met Orchestra 2026 European Festival Tour
Wednesday, August 26, 2026, 7PM
Royal Albert Hall, London
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor
Elza van den Heever, soprano
Strauss: Suite from Der Rosenkavalier
Final scene from Salome, featuring Elza van den Heever
Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40
Thursday, August 27, 2026, 6PM
Royal Albert Hall, London
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor
Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano
Saariaho: Lumière et Pesanteur
Mahler: Rückert-Lieder, featuring Joyce DiDonato
Symphony No. 4 in G Major, featuring Joyce DiDonato
The August 26 performance, An Evening of Strauss from the Met, will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3, as well as presented in a deferred television broadcast on BBC Four and BBC iPlayer. The August 27 performance will also air live on BBC Radio 3.
Sunday, August 30, 2026, 6:30PM
KKL Luzern (Lucerne Culture and Congress Centre), Lucerne
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor
Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano
Mazzoli: Sinfonia (for Orbiting Spheres)
Mahler: Rückert-Lieder, featuring Joyce DiDonato
Symphony No. 4 in G Major, featuring Joyce DiDonato
Tuesday, September 1, 2026, 8PM
Philharmonie de Paris, Paris
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor
Elza van den Heever, soprano
Strauss: Suite from Der Rosenkavalier
Final scene from Salome, featuring Elza van den Heever
Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40
Wednesday, September 2, 2026, 8PM
Philharmonie de Paris, Paris
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor
Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano
Saariaho: Lumière et Pesanteur
Mahler: Rückert-Lieder, featuring Joyce DiDonato
Symphony No. 4 in G Major, featuring Joyce DiDonato
Additional details, including ticketing and broadcast information, will be announced at a later date.