Associated Press

An opera based on Melville’s masterpiece, ‘Moby-Dick,’ docks at the Met
February 2024

When Leonard Foglia was invited to direct an opera based on Herman Melville’s masterpiece about a white whale, his first reaction was: “Moby-Dick. That’s great! Then I ran to a used bookstore and got the book,” he recalled, “and I thought: ‘Oh my God, what am I in for here?’ It’s so daunting. I didn’t panic, but I thought, ‘How do we do this?’”

How he and his collaborators did it will be on display at the Metropolitan Opera beginning March 3. The opera is composed by Jake Heggie to a libretto crafted by Gene Scheer.