+++
author = ["authors/jenna.md"]
categories = "Humour"
date = "2016-11-25T22:10:00+00:00"
lastmod = "2016-11-26T14:35:00+00:00"
primary_image = "https://res.cloudinary.com/schmopera/image/upload/v1545409169/media/webhook-uploads/1480113577369/2016-11-25---Met-Chandelier.jpg.jpg"
publishDate = "2016-11-26T12:16:00+00:00"
related_articles = ["articles/missing-the-point-the-mets-201516-season.md","articles/is-it-time-for-the-met-to-move.md","articles/a-tale-of-big-hair-at-the-met.md","articles/recording-dame-smyth-pretty-good-for-a-woman.md"]
related_companies = ["scene/companies/the-metropolitan-opera.md"]
related_people = ["scene/people/eric-owens.md","scene/people/susanna-phillips.md","scene/people/tamara-mumford.md"]
short_description = "On the one hand, this is great news. There are indeed operas - and good ones - written by women, and Saariaho&#039;s mesmerizing tale of 12th-century troubadour Jaufré Rudel is one of them. On the other hand, it&#039;s fairly stunning that after Der Wald, there was a 113-year wait for the Met (the Met, for goodness&#039; sake!) to stage a second opera by a woman composer."
slug = "teddy-roosevelt-the-chicago-cubs-operas-by-women-at-the-met"
title = "Teddy Roosevelt, the Chicago Cubs, &amp; operas by women at the Met"
+++

The Metropolitan Opera is gearing up for its production of [Kaaija Saariaho's *L'amour de loin*](http://www.metopera.org/Season/2016-17-Season/amour-de-loin-saariaho-tickets/), which runs December 1-29; it marks the first opera by a woman to go up at the Met since Ethel Smyth's *Der Wald* in 1903.

On the one hand, this is great news. There are indeed operas - and good ones - written by women, and Saariaho's mesmerizing tale of 12th-century troubadour Jaufré Rudel is one of them. On the other hand, it's fairly stunning that after *Der Wald*, there was a 113-year wait for the Met (*the Met*, for goodness' sake!) to stage a second opera by a woman composer.

So, we were left feeling half justified in our exasperation, and half tickled by a few tweets on the topic, by [@PianistswKittens](https://twitter.com/PianistswKitten) and [@mccanner](https://twitter.com/mccanner). First comes the shock:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;Further signs of the Apocalypse - Met puts on opera written by woman.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/w50JHt3n6j">https://t.co/w50JHt3n6j</a></p>&mdash; PianistswithKittens (@PianistswKitten) <a href="https://twitter.com/PianistswKitten/status/802161249379352576">November 25, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Met Opera hasn&#39;t performed a work written by a woman IN OVER A CENTURY??? <a href="https://t.co/DcIJ5KiSOc">https://t.co/DcIJ5KiSOc</a></p>&mdash; erin mccann (@mccanner) <a href="https://twitter.com/mccanner/status/802159766730604544">November 25, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

And just to put into perspective just how long it's been since 1903:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The last time the Met Opera performed a work by a woman, women couldn&#39;t vote. <a href="https://t.co/ng4EhsdC52">https://t.co/ng4EhsdC52</a></p>&mdash; erin mccann (@mccanner) <a href="https://twitter.com/mccanner/status/802258905799671808">November 25, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">So, the Cubs World-Series drought was actually SHORTER than the Met&#39;s performing-an-opera-by-a-woman drought? <a href="https://t.co/w43WlpEYk8">https://t.co/w43WlpEYk8</a></p>&mdash; PianistswithKittens (@PianistswKitten) <a href="https://twitter.com/PianistswKitten/status/802208981540290562">November 25, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

At this point, @mccanner seemed just about done:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The last time the Met Opera performed a work by a woman TEDDY ROOSEVELT WAS THE FUCKING PRESIDENT <a href="https://t.co/DcIJ5KiSOc">https://t.co/DcIJ5KiSOc</a></p>&mdash; erin mccann (@mccanner) <a href="https://twitter.com/mccanner/status/802160391824572416">November 25, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Twitter fun aside, we're excited to see the combination of Saariaho's trance-inducing music, Robert Lepage's notorious visual feasts, and the small-but-mighty cast of [Eric Owens](/scene/people/eric-owen/s) as Jaufré Rudel, [Susanna Phillips](/scene/people/susanna-phillips/) as Clémence, and [Tamara Mumford](/scene/people/tamara-mumford/) as Pèlerin (The Pilgrim).

And, who knows? If the Met keeps up their newly revived habit of staging operas by women, they'll soon join the ranks of illustrious companies like [Santa Fe Opera](/scene/companies/santa-fe-opera/), [Minnesota Opera](/scene/companies/minnesota-opera/), [Tapestry Opera](/scene/companies/tapestry-opera/), [Opera Philadelphia](/scene/companies/opera-philadelphia/), and the [Canadian Opera Company](/scene/companies/canadian-opera-company/). 
