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49-619: The Metropolitan Opera House , also known as the Old Metropolitan Opera House and Old Met , was an opera house located at 1411 Broadway in Manhattan , New York City . Opened in 1883 and demolished in 1967, it was the first home of the Metropolitan Opera . The Metropolitan Opera Company was founded in 1883. The Metropolitan Opera House opened on October 22, 1883, with a performance of Faust . It

98-469: A fourth of the building's interior area; massive storage spaces below the stage allow for production storage within the opera house, and large workshops for scenery construction, costumes, wigs and electric equipment, as well as kitchens, offices, an employee canteen and dressing room spaces for the principals, chorus, supernumeraries, ballet and children's chorus surround the stage complex on multiple floors. Two large rehearsal halls (situated three floors below

147-462: A loud chord from the orchestra and a blast from a shotgun. The new building officially opened on September 16, 1966, with the world premiere of Samuel Barber 's Antony and Cleopatra , directed and designed by Franco Zeffirelli and choreographed by Alvin Ailey starring Leontyne Price as Cleopatra with Thomas Schippers conducting. The Met is one of the most technologically advanced stages in

196-654: A more popular and intimate aspect (see, for example, Adam de la Halle 's Jeu de Robin et Marion ("Play of Robin and Marion"), in the 13th century). At the beginning of the 17th century, in Italy, singing underwent yet another renewal, with the emergence of Baroque art at the height of the Renaissance . Italy continues to have many working opera houses, such as the Teatro Massimo in Palermo (the biggest in

245-451: A publicly supported system. Early United States opera houses served a variety of functions in towns and cities, hosting community dances, fairs, plays, and vaudeville shows as well as operas and other musical events. In the 2000s, most opera and theatre companies are supported by funds from a combination of government and institutional grants , ticket sales, and private donations. In the 19th-century United States, many theaters were given

294-528: A twenty-five acre, eighteen block site on the Upper West Side , chosen by Robert Moses as a major urban renewal and slum clearance project. After a long process of redesigns, revisions and opposing interests (provided by the Met wanting a more traditional design for its home, and the conflicting wishes of the architects of the other Lincoln Center venues), construction of Harrison's forty-third design of

343-461: Is an opera house located on Broadway at Lincoln Square on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City . Part of Lincoln Center , the theater was designed by Wallace K. Harrison . It opened in 1966, replacing the original 1883 Metropolitan Opera House at Broadway and 39th Street. With a seating capacity of approximately 3,850, the house is the largest repertory opera house in

392-556: The Marshall Plan following World War II, and were designed by Dr. Hans Harald Rath of J. & L. Lobmeyr of Vienna. Twelve of the chandeliers in the auditorium are on motorized winches, and raised to the ceiling prior to performances so as not to obstruct sight lines of the audience on the upper levels. In 2008 the lobby chandeliers were dismantled and sent to the J & L Lobmeyr workshop in Vienna to be refurbished prior to

441-572: The RCA Building , which opened in 1933. Young Rockefeller Center architect Wallace Harrison would be approached some 20 years later by officers of the New York Philharmonic Society and the Met to develop a new home for both institutions. As chief architect again for the development of Lincoln Center , Harrison was chosen to design the new opera house, to be built as the centerpiece of the new performing arts complex-

490-579: The biblical Book of Daniel , deals with Israel's captivity in Babylon . The play was written and performed by students of the Episcopal School of Beauvais , located in northern France. In the 15th century, sung theater of a religious nature found a special place in the mystery plays performed on cathedral squares. As before, they dealt with sacred subjects, but they were not about worship per se. Secular musical theater also existed, but had

539-686: The Beach was staged independently at the Met in 1976. Concerts by Barbra Streisand , The Who , Paul McCartney and others have been successful as well. Several notable non-operatic performances occurred in 1986. On July 8, a gala fund raiser performance to benefit ABT and Paris Opera Ballet saw the first joint performance in over ten years of ABT artistic director Mikhail Baryshnikov and Paris Opera Ballet Director Rudolf Nureyev . On August 9 and 10, comedian Robin Williams recorded performances that were shown on HBO and released on compact disc under

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588-422: The Met's 125th anniversary season. Workers re-wired the pieces and replaced any of the 49,000 crystals that were broken or missing. The lobby also contains sculptures by Aristide Maillol and Wilhelm Lehmbruck as well as portraits of notable performers and members of the Met company. 3,000 square feet of velour covers the walls in the front of house spaces, with gold leaf, bronze, Italian marble and concrete being

637-520: The Metropolitan Opera House began in the winter of 1963, the last of the three major Lincoln Center venues to be completed. Construction delays due to the finishing of the neighboring New York State Theatre (in time with the opening of the 1964 World's Fair ), resulted in the excavation site being nicknamed "Lake Bing" after then-Met General Manager Rudolf Bing . Although the house would not officially open for several more months,

686-479: The Metropolitan Opera House faces Columbus Avenue and Broadway and forms an axis with Philip Johnson 's David Koch Theater (formerly the New York State Theater) and David Geffen Hall (formerly Avery Fisher Hall), designed by Max Abramovitz , with the plaza's fountain at the center. Although west–east roads do not run through Lincoln Center itself, the Metropolitan Opera House is parallel to

735-611: The Metropolitan Opera House including Danny Kaye's Look-In at the Metropolitan Opera ( CBS , 1975) and Sills and Burnett at the Met (CBS, 1976). In 1999 and 2001, the Opera House was the venue for the MTV Video Music Awards . As of May 2017 , its 50th anniversary, the Metropolitan Opera House had hosted over 11,000 performances and 164 separate operas (67 of them added after the Met moved to

784-469: The Old Met as a city landmark in 1966; if the building had been protected as a landmark, it would have been one of the first such designations in the city. The Metropolitan Opera left its old house on April 16, 1966, with a sentimental gala farewell performance featuring nearly all of the company's current leading artists. Despite a plea from conductor Leopold Stokowski and others, the Met management opposed

833-604: The US premiere of Nico Muhly's Two Boys in 2013. When the Metropolitan Opera is on hiatus, the Opera House is home to the annual Spring season of American Ballet Theatre (ABT). It regularly hosts touring opera and ballet companies including the Kirov , Bolshoi , and the La Scala companies. In addition, the Met has presented recitals by Vladimir Horowitz , Renée Fleming , Kathleen Battle , and others. Philip Glass 's Einstein on

882-418: The abandonment of ancient theaters, which were transformed into gigantic stone quarries , like many other ancient buildings, both public or private. Music still had its place in worship. It continued to bring audiences together, but its content was completely renewed. The Jeu de Daniel ("Play of Daniel") was a sung play, characteristic of the medieval Renaissance of the 12th century . The subject, taken from

931-537: The architectural surfaces in these spaces. A restaurant occupies space on the Grand Tier level, and spaces for patrons, guild members, and the Metropolitan Opera Club exist as well throughout the lobbies. A restaurant known as "Top of the Met", which occupied a balcony overlooking the plaza and lobbies below was a success upon opening, but closed after low attendance in the mid-1970s. The space

980-483: The block from West 63rd Street to West 64th Street. The rear of the House meets Amsterdam Avenue , and extends to the plaza entrance. The building is clad in white travertine and the east facade is graced with its distinctive series of five concrete arches and large glass and bronze facade, towering 96 feet above the plaza. On the north, south and west sides of the building, hundreds of vertical fins of travertine running

1029-475: The company and designs for new opera houses were created by various architects including Joseph Urban . Proposed new locations included Columbus Circle and what is now Rockefeller Center , but none of these plans came to fruition. Only with the development of Lincoln Center on New York's Upper West Side did the Met finally have the opportunity to build an adequate, modern opera house. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission considered designating

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1078-614: The country), the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples and the Teatro alla Scala in Milan . The Teatro San Cassiano in Venice was the world's first public opera house, inaugurated as such in 1637. In the 17th and 18th centuries, opera houses were often financed by rulers, nobles, and wealthy people who used patronage of the arts to endorse their political ambition and social position. There

1127-433: The current building), with 251 productions having been created there. James Levine had conducted 2,583 of the Opera House's 11,000 performances; Charles Anthony had sung there 2,296 times; and The Three Tenors had performed there a combined 1,298 times. Additionally, the Met had broadcast 1,931 performances on live radio, 198 on television, and 109 for movie theaters. Situated at the western end of Lincoln Center Plaza,

1176-484: The eyes." The auditorium is fan-shaped and decorated in gold and burgundy with seating for 3,794 and 245 standing positions on six levels. Over 4,000 squares of gold leaf cover the domed petal-shaped ceiling from which the 21 crystal chandeliers hang. The walls of the auditorium are paneled in kevazingo bubinga , a rosewood noted for its acoustic quality. The auditorium is known to be acoustically significant—small conversation and quiet moments in music can be heard well at

1225-466: The first public performance at the new Metropolitan Opera House was a performance of Giacomo Puccini 's La fanciulla del West on April 11, 1966, with Beverly Bower as Minnie, Gaetano Bardini as Dick Johnson, and Cesare Bardelli as Jack Rance. The production was attended by 3,000 high school students, and began with the playing of the National Anthem and a series of sound tests that included

1274-471: The full height of the structure give the impression that the facade is an uninterrupted mass of travertine when viewed from certain angles. The building totals 14 stories, 5 of which are underground. On display in the lobby, and visible to the outside plaza, are two murals created for the space by Marc Chagall , The Sources of Music and The Triumph of Music . The murals are approximately 30 ft (9.1 m) by 36 ft (11 m). The south wall holds

1323-407: The house was praised for its acoustics and interior, the backstage facilities of the theater were quickly deemed to be severely inadequate for a large opera company. Scenery and sets were a regular sight leaning against the building exterior on 39th Street where crews had to shift them between performances, often in inclement weather. Various plans were put forward over the years to build a new home for

1372-413: The last major change to the auditorium's interior was completed. The second tier of privately held boxes (the "grand tier") was converted into standard row seating. This enlarged the seating capacity and left only the first tier of boxes from the "golden horseshoe" of the opera house's origins as a showplace for New York society. The Met had a seating capacity of 3,625 with 224 standing room places. While

1421-443: The main level with the lower level lounges and upper floors. The centerpiece of the lobby is an array of eleven "crystal chandeliers resembling constellations with sparkly moons and satellites spraying out in all directions"; the auditorium contains 21 matching chandeliers, the largest of which measures 18 ft (5.5 m) in diameter. The chandeliers were donated by the government of Austria as repayment for American help during

1470-445: The main stage, each capable of holding a complete stage setting), the upstage one containing a 60 ft (18 m) diameter turntable; 103 motorized battens (linesets) for overhead lifting; and two 100 ft (30 m)-tall fully enveloping cycloramas . The large and highly mechanized stage and support space smoothly facilitates the rotating presentation of up to four different opera productions each week. The auditorium occupies

1519-428: The name "opera house", even ones where opera was seldom if ever performed. Opera was viewed as a more respectable art form than theater ; calling a local theater an "opera house" therefore served to elevate it and overcome objections from those who found the theater morally objectionable. Notes Sources Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) The Metropolitan Opera House (also known as The Met )

Metropolitan Opera House (39th Street) - Misplaced Pages Continue

1568-540: The names of six composers ( Gluck , Mozart , Beethoven , Wagner , Gounod and Verdi ), dated from this time. The first of the Met's signature gold damask stage curtains was installed in 1906, completing the look that the Old Metropolitan Opera House maintained until its closing. In 1940, ownership of the opera house shifted from the wealthy families who occupied the theater's boxes to the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association. At this time

1617-497: The preservation of its old house; New York state senator John J. Marchi introduced legislation to preserve the opera house, but he was unsuccessful. The final performance at the opera house was given by the Bolshoi Ballet , which concluded a short run of appearances on May 8, 1966, and the Met moved to the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center that September. The theater was purchased by Jack D. Weiler The Old Met

1666-559: The relationship of consonance that it will have with one of these vases." The odeon built by Pericles near the Theater of Dionysus in Athens was, according to the Suda , intended for the rehearsal of music that was to be sung in the grand theater or, according to Plutarch , for the jury to audition musicians competing for a prize. Ancient theaters provided the ideal conditions, but it

1715-409: The term opera house is often used as a term of prestige for any large performing arts center. Based on Aristoxenus 's musical system, and paying homage to the architects of ancient Greek theater , Vitruvius described, in the 1st century BC, in his treatise De architectura , the ideal acoustics of theaters. He explained the use of brazen vases that Mummius had brought to Rome after having had

1764-446: The theater of Corinth demolished, and as they were probably used in the Theater of Pompey . As wooden theaters were naturally sonorous, these vases, placed between the seats on the stands, served as resonators in the stone buildings: "By means of this arrangement, the voice, which will come from the stage as from a center, will extend in circles, will strike in the cavities of the vases, and will be made stronger and clearer, according to

1813-478: The theater was gutted by fire. The 1892−93 season was canceled while the opera house was rebuilt along its original lines. The Vaudeville Club (which eventually became the Metropolitan Opera Club ) was founded that season, hosting entertainment in the undamaged portions of the house. In 1903, architects Carrère and Hastings extensively redesigned the interior of the opera house. The golden auditorium with its sunburst chandelier, and curved proscenium inscribed with

1862-679: The title Robin Williams Live at the Met . On October 19, Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic were scheduled during their North American tour for a matinee concert at the Opera House, but Karajan had fallen ill and was replaced by James Levine . The opera house has been featured in a number of movies and television programs, including the climax of Norman Jewison's 1987 film Moonstruck . In addition to regular Metropolitan Opera radio and television broadcasts, several other television programs have been produced at

1911-476: The top of the Family Circle some 146 feet (45 m) away from the stage. As a result, the Opera House is the only Lincoln Center auditorium that has not been rebuilt because of acoustic problems. The square gold proscenium is 54 ft (16 m) wide and 54 ft (16 m) high. The main curtain of custom-woven gold damask , a gift of the Metropolitan Opera Club , is the largest tab curtain in

1960-414: The work entitled The Triumph of Music while the north wall contains The Sources of Music . In 2009, the Met's board of directors decided to use the paintings as collateral for a long-term loan which previously relied on cash for backing. Some sources estimate the value of the paintings at $ 20 million. The multi-story lobby is dominated by a concrete and terrazzo cantilevered stairway that connects

2009-580: The world. Home to the Metropolitan Opera Company, the facility also hosts the American Ballet Theatre in the summer months. Planning for a new home for the Metropolitan Opera began as early as the mid-1920s, when the backstage facilities of the former house were becoming vastly inadequate for growing repertory and advancing stagecraft. As part of the development of the present-day Rockefeller Center site , there

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2058-626: The world. Above the proscenium is an untitled bronze sculpture by Mary Callery . The orchestra pit is very large and open to the auditorium, with the capacity for up to 110 musicians. The stage complex is one of the largest and most complex of its kind in the world, extending 80 ft (24 m) deep from the curtain line to the rear wall. The overall dimensions of the stage with wing space are 90 ft (27 m) deep and 103 ft (31 m) wide. The stage contains 7 hydraulic elevators that are 60 ft (18 m) wide, with double decks; three slipstages (large spaces on either side of and behind

2107-598: The world. Its vast array of hydraulic elevators, motorized stages and rigging systems have made possible the staging requirements of grand opera in repertory and have made possible complex productions such as Franco Zeffirelli's 1981 production of La bohème , as well as productions of mammoth operas, including Prokofiev 's War and Peace , Verdi's Aida and Wagner 's four-part, 16-hour Der Ring des Nibelungen . The Met stage has also been home to numerous world premieres of operas, including John Corigliano 's The Ghosts of Versailles , Philip Glass's The Voyage and

2156-422: Was designed by Harrison himself and featured murals by French impressionist Raoul Dufy . Other public spaces in the Opera House were decorated by such interior designers of the time as Angelo Donghia , William Baldwin , and L. Garth Huxtable, husband of then- New York Times architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable , who upon the opening of the building would famously write, "There is a strong temptation to close

2205-578: Was located at 1411 Broadway, occupying the whole block between West 39th Street and West 40th Street on the west side of the street in the Garment District of Midtown Manhattan . Nicknamed "The Yellow Brick Brewery" for its industrial looking exterior, the original Metropolitan Opera House was designed by J. Cleaveland Cady . Critical reception of the original Metropolitan Opera House was largely negative; one source called it "Disappointing . . . flat, forceless and ineffective". On August 27, 1892,

2254-785: Was no opera house in London when Henry Purcell was composing and the first opera house in Germany, the Oper am Gänsemarkt , was built in Hamburg in 1678, followed by the Oper am Brühl in Leipzig in 1693, and the Opernhaus vorm Salztor in Naumburg in 1701. With the rise of bourgeois and capitalist social forms in the 19th century, European culture moved away from its patronage system to

2303-579: Was not yet time for opera: the aim was to worship the deities, not to venerate the muses . The subject was religious, it was accompanied by singing and instrumental music. Worship was public, and the audience was made up of citizens as well as other categories of the population. Four centuries later, the Church abandoned spectacles as practiced in Antiquity. Histrions , representative of Greco-Roman civilization , gradually disappeared. The Middle Ages saw

2352-405: Was razed in 1967 and was replaced by a 40-story office tower, 1411 Broadway, designed by Irwin S. Chanin . Notes Bibliography 40°45′15″N 73°59′15″W  /  40.75417°N 73.98750°W  / 40.75417; -73.98750 Opera house While some venues are constructed specifically for operas, other opera houses are part of larger performing arts centers. Indeed,

2401-484: Was to be a development with a new 4,000-seat opera house at its center. Financial problems and the following stock market crash of 1929 postponed the relocation of the Metropolitan Opera, and the complex became more commercially based. With the development moving forward, John D. Rockefeller Jr. replaced the opera house development with the Rockefeller Center complex; this included a 70-story skyscraper,

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