Sting on Bringing ‘The Last Ship’ to the Met Opera: “Lucky, Privileged, Honored, Terrified”

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“I suppose I’m obsessive, and it’s a very personal story to me. It’s been one of the greatest adventures of my life, and I’ve had a few, but this one is just very compelling to me, and I love the fascinating complexity of it, working with directors, different actors, producers, writers, so many moving parts. It’s like a ship, and I’m the captain,” Sting told The Hollywood Reporter. 

“I’m constantly changing the whole thing. Every time we put a production out, I put something different in, or I take something out,” he said.

In addition to the Met, Sting is bringing the musical to Amsterdam, Paris and Brisbane next year, with stops coming amid his Sting 3.0 world concert touring schedule. He appeared in New York Wednesday, singing and playing several songs from the show on his guitar in the gilded opera house, where he joked that the theater wasn’t big enough and said he felt “lucky, privileged, honored, terrified” to be performing there.

This came after he had to cancel three concert performances in the days preceding, which Sting attributed to a virus and a temperature over the weekend (“Just about better today,” he said). He expects to resume the tour Nov. 14, and said it was important for him to continue to carve out time for The Last Ship. 

“I think I owe it to the show. I really feel it’s my baby. I want it to develop and thrive. I want people to see it,” he said. 

The Met Opera run will see Sting portray Jackie White, the shipyard foreman who is dealing with failing health and trying to rally shipbuilders amid the closure of the shipyard. Reggae star and longtime collaborator Shaggy will co-star as the Ferryman. Sting previously stepped in to play Jackie White on Broadway, which he noted came with one-day’s notice from the musical’s producer in an effort to boost ticket sales. 

After the Broadway run, Sting brought the show back to England and around the world to Canada, Los Angeles, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland and more, with productions in different languages. Throughout that time, he’s also tweaked the plot, including changing the gender of one character and adding a love triangle. The young character at the story’s center does share some similarities with Sting (real name Gordon) and his upbringing, but Sting said it’s not an autobiography. 

“There are obviously elements of my own life in this thing. Gideon is a name that’s quite close to Gordon, but his story and my story are not exactly the same. We both escaped from the community. We both felt guilt about escaping from the community. We both went back for the death of our parents. And so there is that. I had love affairs that were unrequited, and, unfinished and all of that. There is an element of autobiography in it, but it’s not entirely about me,” he said. 

And while it may seem atypical to have a non-operatic show at the Met, this marks a return for Sting. 

“Throughout its storied history, the Met has hosted performances by legendary artists outside of opera or ballet. Sting made his memorable Met debut with a concert in 2010, and we’re thrilled to be Sting’s theatrical home for these nine fully staged performances in June,” said Peter Gelb, general manager of the Met.