An opera adaptation of the 1987 romantic comedy In the Moonlight, with a libretto by screenwriter Gene Patrick Shanley. A musical comedy about the Asian-American experience of the Chinese-born composer Huang Ruo. “Demons” by 33-year-old composer, conductor, pianist and writer Matthew Acoin.

This is not a schedule for some experimental music scene, but some orders for the next five seasons from the Met. New York Opera House (Met). As a recent article in the New York Times reports, the Met has long been trying to attract new audiences to classics like Tosca, Carmen or Don Juan. But when he staged The Hours, an adaptation of Michael Cunningham’s famous novel, last year with an excellent cast, more than 40% of the tickets were bought by audiences who had never seen the opera before. That’s why he’s reshaping his schedule next season to fit in with the revival of The Watch production.

Does this shift indicate a new artistic trend towards new works more connected to the present, or a need to secure the future of opera, an art form that seems to be in an existential crisis?

In response to a question, Peter Gelb, general manager of the Met, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, its music director, noted that the question is not the choice of modern opera in general, but what kind of modern opera will appeal to the audience. hearts of listeners and will use music to connect with the public, aware of its reflection in modern society.

In our opinion, it is interesting that in a relatively recent interview with the French newspaper Figaro, the artistic director of ELLS, Giorgos Kumentakis, said: “Opera will not survive without light creativity. If it doesn’t want to wither until it’s gone, it can’t be content with being a kind of past. He needs living composers who speak on behalf of modern society.”

This belief of his seems to have been put into practice. Over the past six years, ELS has completed over 100 commissions for major projects (operas, chamber operas, musicals) and smaller ones. On the main stage, for example, we saw Angelos Triantafyllos’ Mesa Chorus directed by Nikos Karatanos, Dimitra Trypanis’s Andrey with a libretto by Pantelis Bukala, Koumendakis’ Fonisa with a libretto by Giannis Svolos, Medea by Nikos Kipurga with a libretto by Lena Kitsopoulou, and others. The musical “Cheap Cigarettes” by Panagiotis Kalantsopoulos and Renos Charalambidis based on the film of the same name and the chamber opera “Strell” staged by Giorgos Kutlis based on the film by Panos Koutras made a splash on the Alternative Stage. .

Will this modern recipe attract new audiences to opera? Time will show. It is sure to stir up the calm waters of classical works.