Following a historic 18-month closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Met returned to live performances in the opera house on September 11, 2021, with an unforgettable concert of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, presented in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the company’s dynamic Music Director, took the podium to lead this moving musical event, which showcased the full forces of the Met Orchestra and Chorus and featured a quartet of compelling soloists—soprano Ailyn Pérez, mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung, tenor Matthew Polenzani, and bass-baritone Eric Owens. From the somber opening bars to the anguished cries for salvation in the final “Libera me,” the performance was both a touching tribute and a stirring reminder of the power of music even in the most challenging times.