Not only will fans at the men’s singles final be treated to some of the world’s best tennis, they’ll also get to experience a world-class musical performance by Grammy Award-winning opera baritone Will Liverman, Metropolitan Opera Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin on piano and members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.
They will perform “America the Beautiful/Lift Every Voice and Sing” on Arthur Ashe Stadium court prior to the 2023 US Open men’s singles championship on Sunday, Sept. 10. This marks the first time Liverman and the Metropolitan Opera will perform at the US Open.
The arrangement of “America the Beautiful” and “Lift Every Voice” for voice, piano and brass is by John Sheppard and Tetsuro Hoshii. Joining Liverman and Nézet-Séguin are members of the Metropolitan Orchestra - Billy Hunter (trumpet), Brad Gemeinhardt (French horn), Anne Scharer (French horn), Sasha Romero (trombone), and Weston Sprott (trombone).
Liverman opened the Metropolitan Opera’s 2021–22 season as the lead role in Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones,” the first opera by a Black composer in the company’s history. He returns in November to star in the title role of Anthony Davis’s “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X.” Also a composer, Liverman’s opera, “The Factotum,” premiered at the Lyric Opera of Chicago earlier this year.
Grammy Award-winning conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin is the Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera, where he has conducted more than 170 performances. Also Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, he has led most of the world’s leading classical music ensembles. Nézet-Séguin conducts the Metropolitan Opera’s opening night premiere of Jake Heggie’s “Dead Man Walking” on September 26th.
“To have the Metropolitan Opera, one of the country’s largest and leading cultural institutions, center stage on tennis’s grandest stage is momentous for the USTA,” said USTA Chairman of the Board and President Brian Hainline. “Just as this match showcases the greatest tennis athletes, Will, Yannick and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra represent the very best of opera and classical music.”
The performance will air live on ESPN as part of the network’s presentation of the conclusion of the US Open. For those hoping to witness the spectacular in-person, tickets can be found here.
