Met Opera scraps set from Russia, builds own for `Lohengrin’

By RONALD BLUM
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — At a cost of more than $1 million, the Metropolitan Opera has built duplicate sets for Francois Girard’s upcoming staging of “Lohengrin” instead of using the Russian set. Girard’s staging of Wagner’s “Lohengrin” opened at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre on Feb. 24 last year, just 13 hours after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The staging was slated to travel to New York, but after the invasion, the Met cut ties with Russian institutions. “Lohengrin” is the Met’s most-seen Wagner opera with 717 performances. Girard is directing his third Wagner opera at the Met, following an acclaimed “Parsifal” and “The Flying Dutchman.” The 10-performance run opens Sunday.