Metropolitan Opera Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin tries on the custom outfit he’ll wear while conducting “La Bohème.” Photo by Landon Nordeman.
“Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Metropolitan Opera’s music director, wears custom-made outfits tailored to each production, challenging conservative norms,” writes Javier C. Hernández in Thursday’s (4/27) New York Times. Nézet-Séguin is also music director at the Philadelphia Orchestra. “There were three days until the opening of Puccini’s ‘La Bohème,’ and Nézet-Séguin, surrounded by a small team of tailors, designers and assistants, was offering feedback on his attire, which had been designed by the Met’s costume shop. His outfit was modeled on one worn onstage by a band leader in Franco Zeffirelli’s classic production. Could the golden braid that dangled from his right shoulder be fastened, so it did not create a distraction in the pit? Was the jacket comfortable enough to accommodate the sweeping gestures that the music demanded?… Since the Met returned from the long pandemic shutdown … Nézet-Séguin has been on a mission to challenge sartorial conventions, wearing eye-catching outfits designed by the Met’s costume shop in eight productions…. The costumes are also part of his efforts to make opera, which has long had a reputation for conservatism, more exciting and accessible. ‘We have to be more modern and approachable,’ he said. ‘We want to welcome everybody.’ ”
