The number of people who experience opera on a regular basis may seem limited, but the Metropolitan Opera in New York City—and other major opera companies around the world—haven’t given up trying to engage the attention of a broader audience. Over the past few years, various opera houses have begun simulcasting performances as well as offering on-demand streaming services in an effort to reach people who might not normally set foot in an opera house. But after we fight our way through that particular Russian wilderness, nine more operas will follow over the next few months, including the first opera by an African American composer that the Met has ever staged—Fire Shut Up in My Bones by Terence Blanchard, based on the wonderful memoir by Charles M. Blow.