About the Show

An opera that draws inspiration from a series of paintings and engravings by William Hogarth.

Igor Stravinsky created the dark comedy opera during the neoclassical phase of his career, building the score around stylistic references to the work of earlier composers while also maintaining his uncanny, even macabre sense that is distinctly modern.

The opera had its world premiere in 1951 at Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Italy. Jonathan Miller’s surreal staging was last seen at the Met in 2015.

Susanna Mälkki returns to the Met to lead the opera. She is joined by young star tenor Ben Bliss as Tom Rakewell, soprano Golda Schultz as Anne Trulove, and bass-baritone Christian Van Horn as Nick Shadow.

Critic Reviews (2)

"At 25, the show is looking a bit scuffed. But the action is clear — and, as ever, the lullaby Anne sings to Tom in the madhouse near the end rends the heart, a benediction over a troubled man and a troubled world."
Read more

"The production ... puts Stravinsky’s (and Auden’s) modernism into visual form, using simplicity, clarity, and proportion to set the basic tableaux of the countryside, London, Tom’s apartment, and Bedlam. The touches of interwar British modern art and design color the stage with depth. This revival will always be welcome."
Read more

Trailer

Creative team

The Metropolitan Opera House