Lizzo brought her flute to the Met Gala, and performed Debussy on the red carpet steps

3 May 2022, 11:18 | Updated: 4 May 2022, 10:02

The hottest look of Met Gala 2022? Lizzo’s 18 karat green gold flute worth $55,000 – obviously.

The opening lines of French composer Claude Debussy’s Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune could be heard drifting down the steps of last night’s Met Gala 2022.

But instead of coming from a speaker, perhaps providing background music to the annual high-class event which gathers the brightest lights in fashion, film, television, music, sports, and social media, the music came from R&B American singer-songwriter Lizzo.

The classically trained flautist accompanied her stunning black and gold baroque themed hand-embroidered look by American designer, Thom Browne, with an equally beautiful green gold flute.

But Lizzo’s flute was no mere accessory to her outfit, and she delighted the Gala’s press and fans across the world by raising the instrument to her lips to perform short renditions of the opening flute solo of Debussy’s symphonic poem for orchestra. Watch below.

Read more: Lizzo plays Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’ on the flute in hilarious orchestra sketch

Lizzo plays opening bars of Debussy on the flute as she attends Met Gala red carpet

The flute, titled The Dryad’s Touch, is worth $55,000 (£44,000) and is made out of 18 karat green gold. It was designed by concert flute maker, John Lunn, who has 45 years of experience in the art.

The musical instrument is the latest addition to Lizzo’s collection, which already includes her trusted solid silver Muramatsu flutes, named Sasha and Blue Ivy.

The musical instrument has intricate depictions across its body, including ladybirds, spiders and a web, other beetles, flowers and leaves, bark, a turtle and a fairy.

Lizzo originally introduced fans to The Dryad’s Touch ahead of the gala, posting a video on her dedicated flute instagram account (yes, it’s a thing) showing her reaction to playing and hearing the expensive instrument for the first time.

To demonstrate the flute’s capabilities, Lizzo played through the opening of 19th-century composer, Franz Doppler’s work for solo flute and orchestra, Fantaisie pastorale hongroise.

Read more: Lizzo has boosted beginner flute sales by a third, music store reveals

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sasha Flute (@sashabefluting)

Fans were excited to point out the instrument’s exceptional tone, and some even asked if she could work in a few bars of the Doppler into her next chart-topping hit.

Well if anyone could, it would be Lizzo. We look forward to the remix!

For more Debussy and music for flute, head to our Classic FM Hall of Fame Live Playlist on Global Player.