Mansfield's Michael Spyres to appear at the Met

(Edtior's Note: We have been attempting to get an interview with Michael Spyres for a few weeks, but to no avail. It is important to this basic information to get out as he is set to make his Met debut.)

New York, NY (January 29, 2026)—The Metropolitan Opera premieres a new production of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde on March 9 by director Yuval Sharon in his company-debut. Soprano Lise Davidsen makes her long-anticipated company role debut as Isolde, following a triumphant run at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. One of the most in-demand dramatic sopranos of her generation, Davidsen marks a major artistic milestone in her Wagnerian repertoire with these performances.

Opposite Davidsen, tenor Michael Spyres stars as Tristan, also making his Met role debut. The performances are conducted by the Met’s Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director, Yannick Nézet‑Séguin, who leads Tristan und Isolde at the Met for the first time.

The cast also features mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova reprising her acclaimed portrayal of Brangäne, bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny as Kurwenal, and bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green, who makes an important role debut as King Marke following previous appearances this season as Crown in the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess and the title character of Mozart’s Don Giovanni.

In his Met debut, Sharon approaches Wagner’s masterpiece as a meditation on reality, hallucination, and transformation—imagining the opera as one transcendent episode within an endless cycle of death and rebirth. Sharon will also helm the company’s new Ring cycle in future seasons.

The production brings together a celebrated creative team, including set designer Es Devlin, costume designer Clint Ramos, choreographer Annie-B Parson, and projection designer Jason H. Thompson. Lighting designer John Torres and video designer Ruth Hogben both make their Met debuts.

Gallery Met

In connection with the new production of Tristan und Isolde and as part of the company’s Gallery Met initiative, the Met will display a banner by artist Celia Paul on the façade of the opera house from February 13 to April 7. The piece on which the banner is based will also be on view inside the opera house. A gift from Marie Schwartz made the Gallery Met initiative possible in 2006.