86-616: (Redirected from Metropolitan Opera Auditions ) American opera competition (1954– ) The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition (formerly the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions ) is an annual singing competition sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera . Established in 1954, its purpose is to discover, assist, promote, and develop young opera singers. The competition
172-611: A Greek church choir. He was encouraged to study voice and after one lesson, had his first audition for the Russian Don Cossack Choir . He was hired on the spot to tour the country singing twenty Russian songs. Lambrinos immediately took the subway from Brooklyn to Manhattan, burst into the Russian Tea Room and asked the waiters to phonetically teach him the Russian words. He subsequently toured throughout
258-454: A chorus, children's choir, and many supporting and leading solo singers. The company also employs numerous free-lance dancers, actors, musicians and other performers throughout the season. The Met's roster of singers includes both international and American artists, some of whose careers have been developed through the Met's young artists programs. While many singers appear periodically as guests with
344-586: A commanding Rigoletto when the Jefferson Performing Arts Society presented its first full operatic production more than a decade ago. His voice remains powerfully solid and rich in operatic arias, such as "Nemico dell patria" from "Andrea Chenier," and the Nelson Eddy trademark, "Stouthearted Men." The delight of A Scandalous Affair comes in hearing two splendid singers tackling a catalog of classic songs." The CD of this musical
430-667: A dozen or more opera performances in Philadelphia throughout the season. Over the years the number of performances was gradually reduced until the final Philadelphia season in 1961 consisted of only four operas. The final performance of that last season was on March 21, 1961, with Birgit Nilsson and Franco Corelli in Turandot . After the Tuesday night visits were ended, the Met still returned to Philadelphia on its spring tours in 1967, 1968, 1978, and 1979. For its second season,
516-492: A long relationship with the Met during this period. From 1900 to 1904, Lionel Mapleson (1865–1937) made a series of sound recordings at the Met. Mapleson, the nephew of the opera impresario James Henry Mapleson , was employed by the Met as a violinist and music librarian. He used an Edison cylinder phonograph set-up near the stage to capture short, one- to five-minute recordings of the soloists, chorus and orchestra during performances. These unique acoustic documents, known as
602-477: A new home in Lincoln Center. While many outstanding singers debuted at the Met under Bing's guiding hand, music critics complained of a lack of great conducting during his regime, even though such eminent conductors as Fritz Stiedry , Dimitri Mitropoulos , Erich Leinsdorf , Fritz Reiner , and Karl Böhm appeared frequently in the 1950s and '60s. Among the most significant achievements of Bing's tenure
688-492: A rotating repertory schedule, with up to seven performances of four different works staged each week. Performances are given in the evening Monday through Saturday with a matinée on Saturday. Several operas are presented in new productions each season. Sometimes these are borrowed from or shared with other opera companies. The rest of the year's operas are given in revivals of productions from previous seasons. The 2015–16 season comprised 227 performances of 25 operas. The operas in
774-899: A season of opera at the new Metropolitan Opera House . Henry Abbey served as manager for the inaugural season, 1883–84, which opened with a performance of Charles Gounod 's Faust starring the brilliant Swedish soprano Christina Nilsson . Abbey's company that first season featured an ensemble of artists led by sopranos Nilsson and Marcella Sembrich ; mezzo-soprano Sofia Scalchi ; tenors Italo Campanini and Roberto Stagno ; baritone Giuseppe Del Puente ; and bass Franco Novara . They gave 150 performances of 20 different operas by Gounod, Meyerbeer, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi, Wagner, Mozart, Thomas, Bizet, Flotow, and Ponchielli. All performances were sung in Italian and were conducted either by music director Auguste Vianesi or Cleofonte Campanini (the tenor Italo's brother). The company performed not only in
860-464: A six-week tour of American cities following its season in New York. These annual spring tours brought the company and its stars to cities throughout the U.S., most of which had no opera company of their own. In Cleveland, for example, Met stops were sporadic until 1924, when underwriting efforts spearheaded by Newton D. Baker led to 3 consecutive years of annual 8-engagement performances. This led to
946-12958: A trip to New York City where they compete on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in the National Semi-Final Competition. Approximately 10 semi-finalists are chosen to compete in the final competition; the five winners are awarded a grand prize of $ 15,000 each, and the remaining finalists receive $ 5,000. National winners [ edit ] 1950s [ edit ] Ethel Wagner DeLong (1954) Charlotte Reincke (1955) William Black (1956) Dorothy Cole Posch (1956) Robert Nagy (1956) Robert Mosley (1957) Joan Wall (1957) Felicia Weathers (1957) Grace Bumbry (1958) Barbara Faulkner (1958) Lucille Kailer (1958) Barbara Leichsenring (1958) Jefferson Morris (1958) Ronald Holgate (1959) Norman Mittelmann (1959) Roald Reitan (1959) Ann Scott (1959) Teresa Stratas (1959) 1960s [ edit ] Mary Jennings (1960) Mary MacKenzie (1960) Spiro Malas (1960) Lavergne Monette (1960) Polyna Savridi (1960) Benita Valente (1960) Billie Lynn Daniel (1961) Maria de Francesca-Cavazza (1961) Edna Garabedian (1961) Francesca Roberto (1961) George Shirley (1961) Shirley Verrett (1961) Elizabeth Fischer (1962) June Genovese (1962) Kay Griffel (1962) Janis Martin (1962) James McCray (1962) Carol Toscano (1962) Veronica Tyler-Scott (1962) William Walker (1962) Russell Christopher (1963) Justino Díaz (1963) Junetta Jones (1963) Michael Trimble (1963) Gene Boucher (1964) Maria Candida (1964) Robert Goodloe (1964) Katherine Kaufman (1964) Mary Beth Peil (1964) Huguette Tourangeau (1964) Loretta Di Franco (1965) Gretchen D'Armand (1965) Theodore Lambrinos (1965) Claudia Lindsey (1965) Maria Pellegrini Macko (1965) Will Roy (1965) Richard Stilwell (1965) Karan Armstrong (1966) Dominic Cossa (1966) Conrad Immel (1966) Gwendolyn Killebrew (1966) Evelyn Mandac (1966) Marylyn Mulvey (1966) Gail Robinson (1966) Annie Walker (1966) Costanza Cuccaro (1967) Sakiko Kanamori (1967) Paula Page (1967) Jacquelyn Benson (1968) William Cochran (1968) Patricia Craig (1968) Judith Forst (1968) Glenys Fowles (1968) Gwendolyn Jones (1968) Jessye Norman (1968) Nancy Shade (1968) Ruth Welting (1968) Loretta Ziskin (1968) Elaine Cormany (1969) Gilda Cruz-Romo (1969) James Johnson (1969) Eugenie Chopin Watson (1969) Frederica von Stade (1969) 1970s [ edit ] Jeannine Altmeyer (1970) Barbara Pearson (1971) Christine Weidinger (1972) Douglas Ahlstedt (1973) Alma Jean Smith (1974) Carmen Balthrop (1975) John Carpenter (1976) Ashley Putnam (1976) Vinson Cole (1977) Wendy White (1978) Winifred Faix Brown (1978) Jane Bunnell (1979) Pamela Hicks (1979) Dianne Iauco (1979) Sandra McClain (1979) Robert McFarland (1979) Jan Opalach (1979) Robert Wood Overman (1979) Natalia Rom (1979) Susan St. John (1979) Michael Talley (1979) Delores Ziegler (1979) 1980s [ edit ] Marjo Carroll (1980) Louise Deal-Pluymen (1980) John Fowler (1980) Kevin Langan (1980) Darren Nimnicht (1980) Lani Norskog (1980) Robin Reed (1980) Leslie Richards (1980) Margaret Vazquez (1980) Lauren Wagner (1980) Thomas Woodman (1980) Laurence Albert (1981) Lawrence Bakst (1981) Rebecca Cook (1981) Gail Dobish (1981) Gail Dubinbaum (1981) Susan Dunn (1981) Joyce Guyer (1981) Thomas Hampson (1981) Diane Kesling (1981) Laura Brooks Rice (1981) Valerie Yova (1981) Lucille Beer (1982) Angela Maria Blasi (1982) Pamela Coburn (1982) Carla Cook (1982) Nancy Gustafson (1982) Hong Hei-kyung (1982) Walter MacNeil (1982) Sylvia McNair (1982) Katharine Ritz (1982) Kathleen Segar (1982) Eduardo Villa (1982) Harolyn Blackwell (1983) Linda Caple (1983) Jean Glennon (1983) Elizabeth Holleque (1983) Ellen Kerrigan (1983) Joanne Kolomyjec (1983) Alessandra Marc (1983) Cecily Nall (1983) Herbert Perry (1983) Jo Ann Pickens (1983) Stella Zambalis (1983) Elaine Arandes (1984) Philip Bologna (1984) Richard Croft (1984) Gerald Dolter (1984) Marcus Haddock (1984) Theresa Hamm (1984) Cynthia Lawrence (1984) Emily Manhart (1984) Lisa Saffer (1984) Nova Thomas (1984) Jonathan Welch (1984) Stephen Biggers (1985) Maryte Bizinkauskas (1985) Philip Cokorinos (1985) Richard Cowan (1985) Julia Faulkner (1985) Anne Johnson (1985) Victoria Livengood (1985) Deborah Voigt (1985) Karen Williams (1985) Margaret Jane Wray (1985) Donna Maria Zapola (1985) Mark Baker (1986) Susan Bender (1986) Andrea Cawelti (1986) Mark S. Doss (1986) Gordon Hawkins (1986) Barbara Kilduff (1986) Kim Marie Kodes (1986) Marilyn Mims (1986) Stanford Olsen (1986) Deidra Palmour (1986) Michael Sylvester (1986) Ned Barth (1987) Mary Burt (1987) Deborah Lynn Cole (1987) Janet Folta (1987) Amanda Halgrimson (1987) Nikki Li Hartliep (1987) Frederic Kalt (1987) Mi-Hae Park (1987) Celeste Tavera (1987) Steven Tharp (1987) Blythe Walker (1987) Elizabeth Carter (1988) Richard Drews (1988) Renée Fleming (1988) Haijing Fu (1988) Susan Graham (1988) Ben Heppner (1988) Wendy Hoffman (1988) Carolyn James (1988) Lynda Keith (1988) Heidi Grant Murphy (1988) LeRoy Villanueva (1988) Christine Brewer (1989) Dong-Jian Gong (1989) Dominique Labelle (1989) Ning Liang (1989) Mary Mills (1989) Mark Oswald (1989) Kevin Short (1989) Tichina Vaughn (1989) Rosa Vento (1989) Verónica Villarroel (1989) 1990s [ edit ] Jeanne-Michelle Charbonnet (1990) Steven Combs (1990) Catherine Cook (1990) Adrienne Dugger (1990) Clare Mueller (1990) Susan Owen (1990) Phyllis Pancella (1990) Kitt Reuter-Foss (1990) Rebecca Russell (1990) Young-Ok Shin (1990) Roy Cornelius Smith (1990) Brian Asawa (1991) Demareus Cooper (1991) Elizabeth Futral (1991) Paul Groves (1991) Derrick Lawrence (1991) Hong-Shen Li (1991) Kenneth Tarver (1991) Yalun Zhang (1991) Youmi Cho (1992) Michelle DeYoung (1992) Yvonne Gonzales (1992) Clare Gormley (1992) Michaela Gurevich (1992) Marie Plette (1992) Christopher Schaldenbrand (1992) Tony Stevenson (1992) Seung Won Choi (1993) Margaret Lattimore (1993) Ray M. Wade (1993) Kathryn Krasovec (1993) Emily Ann Pulley (1993) Ainhoa Arteta (1993) Elizabeth Bishop (1993) Dennis McNeil (1993) Norah Amsellem (1994) John Robert Autry (1994) Stephanie Blythe (1994) Sheryl H. Cohen (1994) Nathan Gunn (1994) Olga Makarina (1994) Mark Edward McCrory (1994) John J. Osborn (1994) Svetlana Serdar (1994) Daniel Sumegi (1994) Michael Chioldi (1995) Robert Crowe (1995) Amelia Farrugia (1995) Anita Johnson (1995) Sujung Kim (1995) Aline Kutan (1995) Kelley Nassief (1995) Sondra Radvanovsky (1995) Gregory J. Turay, III (1995) Jon Villars (1995) Leah Creek (1996) Tamara Lynn Hummel (1996) Daniele LeBlanc (1996) Lester Lynch (1996) Elizabeth Norman (1996) Eric Owens (1996) Jami Rogers (1996) Jung-Hack Seo (1996) Lynette Tapia (1996) Isabel Bayrakdarian (1997) Angela Brown (1997) Alexandra Deshorties (1997) Karen Henrikson (1997) Sandra Yvonne Lopez (1997) Mary Petro (1997) Susan Tilbury (1997) Andrea Trebnik (1997) Mark Uhlemann (1997) Jennifer Welch (1997) Eric Cutler (1998) Philip Horst (1998) Kyle Ketelsen (1998) Mariateresa Magisano (1998) Keith Phares (1998) Jane Shivick (1998) Indra Thomas (1998) David Walker (1998) Chen-Ye Yuan (1998) Maria Zifchak (1998) Kelly Kaduce (1999) Meagan Miller (1999) Jossie Pérez (1999) Barbara Quintiliani (1999) Stacey Rishoi (1999) 2000s [ edit ] Elizabeth Batton (2000) Esther Heideman (2000) Lindsay Killian (2000) Latonia Moore (2000) Todd Wilander (2000) Lawrence Brownlee (2001) Melissa Citro (2001) Rachelle Durkin (2001) Jesús Garcia (2001) Kristine Winkler (2001) Carolyn Betty (2002) Philippe Castagner (2002) Twyla Robinson (2002) James Valenti (2002) Alyson Cambridge (2003) Michael Maniaci (2003) Christina Pier (2003) Christian Van Horn (2003) Meredith Arwady (2004) Claudia Huckle (2004) Laquita Mitchell (2004) Jordan Bisch (2005) Lisette Oropesa (2005) Susanna Phillips (2005) Rodell Aure Rosel (2005) Paul Corona (2006) Holli Harrison (2006) Katherine Jolly (2006) Marjorie Owens (2006) Donovan Singletary (2006) Jamie Barton (2007) Michael Fabiano (2007) Angela Meade (2007) Alek Shrader (2007) Ryan Smith (2007) Amber Wagner (2007) René Barbera (2008) Jennifer Johnson Cano (2008) Daveda Karanas (2008) Simone Osborne (2008) Edward Parks (2008) Paul Appleby (2009) Anthony Roth Costanzo (2009) Sung Eun Lee (2009) Nadine Sierra (2009) 2010s [ edit ] Leah Crocetto, soprano (2010) Lori Guilbeau, soprano (2010) Elliot Madore , baritone (2010) Nathaniel Peake, tenor (2010) Rachel Willis-Sørensen , soprano (2010) Joseph Barron, bass-baritone (2011) Ryan Speedo Green , bass-baritone (2011) Michelle Johnson, soprano (2011) Joseph Lim, baritone (2011) Philippe Sly , bass-baritone (2011) Janai Brugger , soprano (2012) Anthony Clark Evans, baritone (2012) Matthew Grills, tenor (2012) Margaret Mezzacappa, mezzo-soprano (2012) Andrey Nemzer, countertenor (2012) Michael Brandenburg, tenor (2013) Brandon Cedel, bass-baritone (2013) Sydney Mancasola, soprano (2013) Musa Ngqungwana, bass-baritone (2013) Rebecca Pedersen, soprano (2013) Thomas Richards, bass-baritone (2013) Julie Adams, soprano (2014) Patrick Guetti, bass (2014) Ao Li , bass-baritone (2014) Yi Li, tenor (2014) Amanda Woodbury, soprano (2014) Nicholas Brownlee, bass-baritone (2015) Marina Costa-Jackson , soprano (2015) Joseph Dennis, tenor (2015) Reginald Smith Jr., baritone (2015) Virginie Verrez, mezzo-soprano (2015) Emily D'Angelo, mezzo-soprano (2016) Yelena Dyachek, soprano (2016) Sol Jin, baritone (2016) Jakub Józef Orliński , countertenor (2016) Sean Michael Plumb, baritone (2016) Kirsten MacKinnon , soprano (2017) Vanessa Vasquez, soprano (2017) Richard Smagur, tenor (2017) Samantha Hankey, mezzo-soprano (2017) Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen , countertenor (2017) Kyle van Schoonhoven, tenor (2017) Ashley Dixon, mezzo-soprano (2018) Jessica Faselt, soprano (2018) Madison Leonard, soprano (2018) Carlos Enrique Santelli, tenor (2018) Hongni Wu , mezzo-soprano (2018) Miles Mykkanen, tenor (2019) William Guanbo Su, bass (2019) Elena Villalón, soprano (2019) Thomas Glass, baritone (2019) Michaela Wolz, mezzo-soprano (2019) 2020s [ edit ] Gabrielle Beteag, mezzo-soprano (2020) Blake Denson, baritone (2020) Jonah Hoskins, tenor (2020) Alexandria Shiner, soprano (2020) Denis Vélez, soprano (2020) Duke Kim, tenor (2021) Kim Hyo-young, soprano (2021) Raven McMillon, soprano (2021) Emily Sierra, mezzo-soprano (2021) Emily Treigle, mezzo-soprano (2021) Le Bu, bass-baritone (2022) Matthew Cairns, tenor (2022) Alexandra Razskazoff, soprano (2022) Julie Roset, soprano (2022) Anne Marie Stanley, mezzo-soprano (2022) Esther Tonea, soprano (2022) Anthony León , tenor (2023) Natalie Lewis, mezzo-soprano (2023) Teresa Perrotta, soprano (2023) Sarah Saturnino, mezzo-soprano (2023) Christian Simmons, bass-baritone (2023) Meredith Wohlgemuth, soprano (2023) Daniel Espinal, tenor (2024) Lydia Grindatto, soprano (2024) Navasard Hakobyan, baritone (2024) Meridian Prall, mezzo-soprano (2024) Emily Richter, soprano (2024) References [ edit ] ^ "About
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#17327762040451032-468: A year, as of the 2017–2018 season. In February 2018, Nézet-Séguin succeeded Levine as music director of the Metropolitan Opera. In August 2024, the company announced the extension of Nézet-Séguin's contract as its music director through the 2029–2030 season. In 2017, Daniele Rustioni first guest-conducted at the Metropolitan Opera. In November 2024, the company announced the appointment of Rustioni as its next principal guest conductor, effective with
1118-620: Is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center , situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan . Referred to colloquially as "the Met" , the company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as the general manager. The company's music director has been Yannick Nézet-Séguin since 2018. The Met
1204-466: Is dependent on private financing. Gelb began his tenure by opening the 2006–07 season with a production of Madama Butterfly by the English director Anthony Minghella originally staged for English National Opera. Minghella's highly theatrical concept featured vividly colored banners on a spare stage, allowing the focus to be on the detailed acting of the singers. The abstract concept included casting
1290-531: Is held in four stages: Districts, Regional, Semi-Final, and Final competitions. Each stage is judged by a panel of representatives from the Metropolitan Opera. There are a total of 14 regional competitions within the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, and 42 district competitions within each region. Winners from the district competition compete in Regionals, and then the winners of regionals are awarded
1376-480: The COVID-19 pandemic , coaching tenors, baritones and basses. Lambrinos continued singing into 2021; age had never affected his voice. In February 2021, he and his wife Hallie sang their last duet, “Sweethearts”, singing the high A-flat together, holding it as long as possible. A month later, he was hospitalized for a non-life threatening condition but contacted COVID-19 viral pneumonia while there. When advised by
1462-469: The Edinburgh Festival . Serving from 1950 to 1972, Bing became one of the Met's most influential and reformist leaders. Bing modernized the administration of the company, ended an archaic ticket sales system, and brought an end to the company's Tuesday night performances in Philadelphia. He presided over an era of fine singing and glittering new productions, while guiding the company's move to
1548-561: The Mapleson Cylinders , preserve an audio picture of the early Met, and are the only known extant recordings of some performers, including the tenor Jean de Reszke and the dramatic soprano Milka Ternina. The recordings were later issued on a series of LPs and, in 2002, were included in the National Recording Registry . Beginning in 1898, the Metropolitan Opera company of singers and musicians undertook
1634-487: The Morgan , Roosevelt , and Vanderbilt families, all of whom had been excluded from the academy. The new Metropolitan Opera House opened on October 22, 1883, and was an immediate success, both socially and artistically. The Academy of Music's opera season folded just three years after the Met opened. In its early decades the Met did not produce the opera performances itself but hired prominent manager/ impresarios to stage
1720-431: The 1933–34 season. Called the committee to Save Metropolitan Opera, the group was headed by the well-loved leading soprano, Lucrezia Bori . Bori not only led the committee, but also personally carried out much of its work and within a few months her fundraising efforts produced the $ 300,000 that were needed for the coming season. In April 1935, Gatti stepped down after 27 years as general manager. His immediate successor,
1806-585: The 1966 Met National Company tour, when impresario Rudolf Bing hired him. Lambrinos made his 1968 debut as the Herald in Wagner's Lohengrin . While on tour with the Met National Company, singing different operas every night around the country, Lambrinos was relaxing with colleagues when he was suddenly pushed into a swimming pool, in a prank by another singer. He experienced a violent reaction to
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#17327762040451892-622: The 2025-2026 season, with an initial contract of three seasons. Theodore Lambrinos Theodore Lambrinos (25 July 1935 – 29 March 2021) was an American baritone opera singer known for his performance of Rigoletto and other works by Giuseppe Verdi . Lambrinos was born in Brooklyn to Greek immigrant parents. His father became the Greek featherweight champion, with 80 fights in New York City. While working in his father's furniture refinishing business after high school, Lambrinos joined
1978-767: The Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia and Cairo. Lambrinos also sang with the New York Grand Opera Company, which under its founding director Vincent La Selva presented free staged operas in Central Park. The New York Times critic Tim Page reviewed Lambrinos's 1983 performance of the title role in Nabucco at the Naumberg Bandshell, noting that his portrayal “proved that there is a place for refinement and elegance in
2064-623: The European touring company Teatro Lirico d'Europa throughout Europe and the US. His performances took him from the Middle East to the Far East including Beijing, China; and he sang with Plácido Domingo , Renée Fleming and Franco Corelli . Rigoletto was one of his most popular roles. "Lambrinos sang the part of Rigoletto with the confidence of someone who has appeared in the role on the stage of
2150-633: The Hellene composers left for Italy to study with the great masters during the Ottoman occupation of Greece in the late 1800’s, they returned with this nearly forgotten legacy of beautiful classical melodies and heartbreaking stories. I have always believed that if the public heard these beautiful Hellenic songs, as much as the Italian Neapolitan songs, they would have been just as popular. In May 1999 my dreams were realized. I produced “Tribute to
2236-732: The Hellenic Spirit" at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center , offering a special tribute to the Greek Metropolitan opera basso, Nicolo Moscona. He frequently sang in Greek Orthodox churches and released the album Theodore Lambrinos Sings Hellenic Songs . In his unpublished memoirs, Lambrinos wrote: ”I had always dreamed of presenting a program of Hellenic songs after searching through many, many hundreds of old torn up music sheets until I found pure gems. When
2322-802: The Hellenic Spirit” with Anton Coppola conducting at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center. Standing ovation with many new fans of these unique songs. My hope today is that the heritage of these classical songs will not be lost but preserved for future generations.” His first wife, Parthena Karipides, was his manager. When she fell ill with ALS, Lambrinos cared for her while juggling his singing career and supporting his family. They had two children, daughter Kari and son Ted. Parthena died in 1992. He met his second wife, soprano Hallie Neill, in Cairo when they sang together in Carmen . They married in 1999. During
2408-639: The Laffont Competition" . www.metopera.org . Retrieved 2021-12-24 . ^ "Tenor Wins 'MET' Prize; Robert Nagy Gets $ 2,000 Audition Scholarship 2 M.P's to Attend Screening" . The New York Times . March 21, 1956. (subscription required) External links [ edit ] Official website Winners and History List of all winners Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Metropolitan_Opera_National_Council_Auditions&oldid=1259451893 " Categories : Metropolitan Opera Winners of
2494-582: The MOA to create the Metropolitan Opera National Company (MONC); a second touring company that would present operas nationally with young operatic talent. Supported by President John F. Kennedy and funded largely by donations given by philanthropist and publisher Lila Acheson Wallace , the company presented two seasons of operas in 1965–1966 and 1966–1967 in which hundreds of performances were given in hundreds of cities throughout
2580-485: The Met board's Eleanor Robson Belmont , the former actress and wife to industrialist August Belmont , was appointed head of a new organization—the Metropolitan Opera Guild—as successor to a women's club Belmont had set up. The Guild supported the producing company through subscriptions to its magazine, Opera News , and through Mrs. Belmont's weekly appeals on the Met's radio broadcasts. In 1940 ownership of
2666-738: The Met considerably expanded its repertory, offering four world premiers and 22 Met premiers, more new works than under any manager since Gatti-Casazza. Volpe chose Valery Gergiev , who was then the chief conductor and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre , as Principal Guest Conductor in 1997 and broadened the Met's Russian repertory. Marcelo Álvarez , Gabriela Beňačková , Diana Damrau , Natalie Dessay , Renée Fleming , Juan Diego Flórez , Marcello Giordani , Angela Gheorghiu , Susan Graham , Ben Heppner , Dmitri Hvorostovsky , Salvatore Licitra , Anna Netrebko , René Pape , Neil Rosenshein , Bryn Terfel , and Deborah Voigt were among
Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions - Misplaced Pages Continue
2752-623: The Met during Bing's tenure include: Roberta Peters , Victoria de los Ángeles , Renata Tebaldi , Maria Callas , who had a bitter falling out with Bing over repertoire, , Birgit Nilsson , Joan Sutherland , Régine Crespin , Mirella Freni , Renata Scotto , Montserrat Caballé , Elisabeth Schwarzkopf , Anna Moffo , James McCracken , Carlo Bergonzi , Franco Corelli , Alfredo Kraus , Plácido Domingo , Nicolai Gedda , Luciano Pavarotti , Jon Vickers , Tito Gobbi , Sherrill Milnes , and Cesare Siepi . The Met's 1961 production of Turandot , with Leopold Stokowski conducting, Birgit Nilsson in
2838-431: The Met found new controversy with a production of John Adams 's opera The Death of Klinghoffer , due to criticism that the work was antisemitic. In response to the controversy Gelb canceled the scheduled worldwide HD video presentation of a performance, but refused demands to cancel the live performances scheduled for October and November 2014. Demonstrators held signs and chanted "Shame on Gelb". On April 14, 2016,
2924-413: The Met from 1896 to 1903. The early 1900s saw the development of distinct Italian, German and later French "wings" within the Met's roster of artists including separate German and Italian choruses. This division of the company's forces faded after World War II when solo artists spent less time engaged at any one company. The administration of Heinrich Conried in 1903–08 was distinguished especially by
3010-478: The Met in 1891 in a glittering season of stars organized by the returning Henry E. Abbey, John B. Schoeffel and Maurice Grau as Abbey, Schoeffel and Grau . After missing a season to rebuild the opera house following a fire in August 1892 which destroyed most of the theater, Abbey and Grau continued as co-managers along with John Schoeffel as the business partner, initiating the so-called "Golden Age of Opera". Most of
3096-457: The Met in 1973 as Desdemona in Verdi 's Otello , the same role she debuted there in 1955. From 1975 to 1981 the Met was guided by a triumvirate of directors: the general manager (Anthony A. Bliss), artistic director ( James Levine ), and director of production (English stage director John Dexter ). Bliss was followed by Bruce Crawford and Hugh Southern . Through this period the constant figure
3182-520: The Met's current stars as well as appearances by 26 veteran stars of the Met's the past. Among the artists, Leonard Bernstein and Birgit Nilsson gave their last performances with the company at the concert. This season also marked the debut of bass Samuel Ramey , who debuted as Argante in Handel's Rinaldo in January 1984. The immediate post-Bing era saw a continuing addition of African-Americans to
3268-498: The Met's directors turned to Leopold Damrosch as general manager. The revered conductor of the New York Symphony Orchestra was engaged to lead the opera company in an all German language repertory and serve as its chief conductor. Under Damrosch, the company consisted of some the most celebrated singers from Europe's German-language opera houses. The new German Met found great popular and critical success in
3354-407: The Met's own SiriusXM radio channel. In 2010, the company named Fabio Luisi as its principal guest conductor in 2010, and subsequently its principal conductor in 2011, to fill a void created by Levine's two-year absence because of illness. In 2013, following the severance of the dancers' contracts, Gelb announced that the resident ballet company at the Met would cease to exist. In 2014, Gelb and
3440-694: The Met's own original productions. Theater directors Bartlett Sher , Mary Zimmerman , and Jack O'Brien joined the list of the Met's directors along with Stephen Wadsworth, Willy Decker, Laurent Pelly , Luc Bondy and other opera directors to create new stagings for the company. Robert Lepage , the Canadian director of Cirque du Soleil , was engaged by the Met to direct a revival of Der Ring des Nibelungen using hydraulic stage platforms and projected 3D imagery. To further engage new audiences Gelb initiated live high-definition video transmissions to cinemas worldwide, and regular live satellite radio broadcasts on
3526-506: The Met's principal conductor (but with no official title) from 1908 to 1915, leading the company in performances of Verdi, Wagner and others that set standards for the company for decades to come. The Viennese composer Gustav Mahler also was a Met conductor during Gatti-Casazza's first two seasons and in later years conductors Tullio Serafin and Artur Bodanzky led the company in the Italian and German repertories respectively. Following Toscanini's departure, Gatti-Casazza successfully guided
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3612-541: The Met's regular visits ceased. On April 26, 1910, the Met purchased the Philadelphia Opera House from Oscar Hammerstein I . The company renamed the house the Metropolitan Opera House and performed all of their Philadelphia performances there until 1920, when the company sold the theater and resumed performing at the Academy of Music. During the Met's early years, the company annually presented
3698-462: The Met's repertoire consist of a wide range of works, from 18th-century Baroque and 19th-century Bel canto to the Minimalism of the late 20th and 21st centuries. These operas are presented in staged productions that range in style from those with elaborate traditional decors to others that feature modern conceptual designs. The Met's performing company consists of a large symphony orchestra,
3784-528: The Met's wealthy supporters had significantly declined. Soon after his appointment, Cravath obtained new revenue through a contract with the National Broadcasting Company for weekly radio broadcasts of Met performances. The first national broadcast took place December 25, 1931, when Hansel and Gretel was aired. With Gatti's support, Cravath also obtained a ten percent reduction in the pay of all salaried employees beginning with
3870-400: The Met. He used the full range of his rich baritone voice to shape a convincing character performance, moving from bitter sarcasm in the court scenes, to the most tender love for his daughter, before his final fall into despair. Lambrinos was particularly effective in conveying the lightning-quick shifts of mood in his aria 'Pari siamo'." For Opera Tampa , he created the role of Carlo Tresca in
3956-712: The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Opera competitions Recurring events established in 1954 Opera-related lists 1954 establishments in the United States Hidden categories: Pages containing links to subscription-only content Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Official website different in Wikidata and Misplaced Pages Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera
4042-837: The Metropolitan Opera to a prolonged era of artistic innovation and musical excellence. He brought with him the fiery and brilliant conductor Arturo Toscanini , the music director from his seasons at La Scala. Many of the most noted singers of the era appeared at the Met under Gatti-Casazza's leadership, including sopranos Rosa Ponselle , Elisabeth Rethberg , Maria Jeritza , Emmy Destinn , Frances Alda , Frida Leider , Amelita Galli-Curci , Bernice de Pasquali , and Lily Pons ; tenors Jacques Urlus , Giovanni Martinelli , Beniamino Gigli , Giacomo Lauri-Volpi , and Lauritz Melchior ; baritones Titta Ruffo , Giuseppe De Luca , Pasquale Amato , and Lawrence Tibbett ; and basses Friedrich Schorr , Feodor Chaliapin , Jose Mardones, Tancredi Pasero and Ezio Pinza —among many others. Toscanini served as
4128-562: The Metropolitan Opera's founding subscribers determined to build a new opera house that would outshine the old Academy in every way. A group of 22 men assembled at Delmonico's restaurant on April 28, 1880. They elected officers and established subscriptions for ownership in the new company. The new theater, built at 39th and Broadway , would include three tiers of private boxes in which the scions of New York's powerful new industrial families could display their wealth and establish their social prominence. The first subscribers included members of
4214-892: The Swedish opera manager Göran Gentele , died in an auto accident before the start of his first season. Following Gentele's tragic loss came Schuyler Chapin , who served as general manager for three seasons. The greatest achievement of his tenure was the Met's first tour to Japan for three weeks in May–June 1975 which was the brainchild of impresario Kazuko Hillyer . The tour played a significant role in popularizing opera in Japan, and boasted an impressive line-up of artists in productions of La traviata , Carmen , and La bohème ; including Marilyn Horne as Carmen, Joan Sutherland as Violetta, and tenors Franco Corelli and Luciano Pavarotti alternating as Rodolfo. Soprano Renata Tebaldi retired from
4300-714: The USA and performed in Broadway , off-Broadway and summer stock productions. Anton Coppola changed the course of Lambrinos' career when, after hearing him sing, told him, “You should be in opera!” Lambrinos began listening to recordings of the great opera singers. With only three arias learned, he sang for the Metropolitan Opera Auditions and won a spot in the finals onstage, winning the Gladys Axman Taylor award. His big break occurred during
4386-1075: The United States. Bing publicly supported the organization, but privately detested the idea and actively worked to dismantle the company which he ultimately achieved in a vote of the board in December 1966. The MONC's directors were mezzo-soprano Risë Stevens and Michael Manuel , a long time stage manager and director at the Met. Several well known opera singers performed with the MONC, including sopranos Clarice Carson , Maralin Niska , Mary Beth Peil , Francesca Roberto , and Marilyn Zschau ; mezzo-sopranos Joy Davidson , Sylvia Friederich, Dorothy Krebill, and Huguette Tourangeau ; tenors Enrico Di Giuseppe , Chris Lachona, Nicholas di Virgilio, and Harry Theyard ; baritones Ron Bottcher , John Fiorito , Thomas Jamerson , Julian Patrick , and Vern Shinall; bass-baritones Andrij Dobriansky , Ronald Hedlund, and Arnold Voketaitis ; and bass Paul Plishka . During Bing's tenure,
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#17327762040454472-532: The arrival of the Neapolitan tenor Enrico Caruso , the most celebrated singer who ever appeared at the old Metropolitan. He was also instrumental in hiring conductor Arturo Vigna . Conried was followed by Giulio Gatti-Casazza , who held a 27-year tenure from 1908 to 1935. Gatti-Casazza had been lured by the Met from a celebrated tenure as director of Milan's La Scala Opera House . His model planning, authoritative organizational skills and brilliant casts raised
4558-479: The artists first heard at the Met under his management. He retired as general manager in 2006. Joseph Volpe's post was given to Peter Gelb , formerly a record producer. Gelb began outlining his plans in April 2006; these included more new productions each year, ideas for shaving staging costs, and attracting new audiences without deterring existing opera-lovers. Gelb saw these issues as crucial for an organization which
4644-415: The broadcasts and savings from both salary cuts and reorganization were not sufficient to cover the company's deficits. Representatives of the opera house, the producing company, and the artists formed a committee for fundraising among the public at large. Mainly though appeals made to radio audiences during the weekly broadcasts, the committee was able to obtain enough money to assure continuation of opera for
4730-481: The chlorine which caused a gradual loss of his voice. He did not renew his contract which infuriated Rudolph Bing, who argued that Lambrinos had a great future at the Met. But after diagnosis and treatment for severe chlorine allergic reaction, Lambrinos quietly bowed out, hopeful that in time he could reclaim his vocal health. He and his wife Parthena left music and took a different livelihood, gradually bringing his voice back, note by note. Five years later, he returned to
4816-450: The company announced the conclusion of James Levine's tenure as music director at the conclusion of the 2015–16 season. Gelb announced that Levine would also become Music Director Emeritus. On June 2, the Met board announced the appointment of Yannick Nézet-Séguin as the company's next music director, as of the 2020–2021 season, conducting five productions each season. He took the title of music director-designate, conducting two productions
4902-504: The company through the years of World War I into another decade of premieres, new productions and popular success in the 1920s. The 1930s, however, brought new financial and organizational challenges for the company. In 1931, Otto Kahn , the noted financier, resigned as head of the Met's board of directors and president of the Metropolitan Opera Company. He had been responsible for engaging Gatti-Casazza and had held
4988-554: The company, others maintain a close long-standing association with the Met, appearing many times each season until they retire. The Metropolitan Opera Company was founded in 1883 as an alternative to New York's old established Academy of Music opera house. The subscribers to the academy's limited number of private boxes represented the highest stratum in New York society. By 1880, these " old money " families were loath to admit New York's newly wealthy industrialists into their long-established social circle. Frustrated with being excluded,
5074-562: The formation of the Northern Ohio Opera Association led by future U.S. Senator Robert J. Bulkley with the express purpose of underwriting long-term touring contracts with the Met. Cleveland was a particular lucrative stop for the Met, which had no competition in the form of a local opera company, and performances were held in the enormous Public Auditorium, which sat well over 9,000 people. The Met's national tours continued until 1986. Italian opera returned to
5160-487: The former Met bass Herbert Witherspoon , died of a heart attack barely six weeks into his term of office. This opened the way for the Canadian tenor and former Met artist Edward Johnson to be appointed general manager. Johnson served the company for the next 15 years, guiding the Met through the remaining years of the depression and the World War II era. The producing company's financial difficulties continued in
5246-652: The greatest operatic artists in the world then graced the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House in Italian as well as German and French repertory. Notable among them were the brothers Jean and Édouard de Reszke , Lilli Lehmann , Emma Calvé , Lillian Nordica , Nellie Melba , Marcella Sembrich , Milka Ternina , Emma Eames , Sofia Scalchi , Ernestine Schumann-Heink , Francesco Tamagno , Francesc Viñas , Jean Lassalle, Mario Ancona , Victor Maurel , Antonio Scotti and Pol Plançon . Henry Abbey died in 1896, and Maurice Grau continued as sole manager of
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#17327762040455332-487: The last 18 years of his career, Lambrinos toured in operas and performances, often with his wife, Hallie Neill. They sang in opera/Broadway concerts around the world, and in Neill's original operetta, A Scandalous Affair , which was favorably reviewed. "Neill and Lambrinos are well matched both vocally and as actors. The couple, married in real life, bring a delightful chemistry to the stage...Audiences may remember Lambrinos as
5418-490: The many home grown artists to become stars at the Met in the 1940s. Ettore Panizza , Sir Thomas Beecham , George Szell and Bruno Walter were among the leading conductors engaged during Johnson's tenure. Kurt Adler began his long tenure as chorus master and staff conductor in 1943. Succeeding Johnson in 1950 was the Austrian-born Rudolf Bing who had most recently created and served as director of
5504-492: The new Rockefeller Center . The plan was dropped in 1929 when it became apparent that it would produce no savings, and because the Met did not have enough money to move to a new opera house. It soon became apparent that the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and subsequent depression had resulted in a dangerously large deficit in the company's accounts. Between 1929 and 1931 ticket sales remained robust, but subsidies from
5590-493: The new Manhattan opera house, but also started a long tradition of touring throughout the country. In the winter and spring of 1884 the Met presented opera in theaters in Brooklyn, Boston, Philadelphia (see below), Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Washington D.C., and Baltimore. Back in New York, the last night of the season featured a long gala performance to benefit Mr. Abbey. The special program consisted not only of various scenes from opera, but also offered Marcella Sembrich playing
5676-727: The officers of the Met joined forces with the officers of the New York Philharmonic to build the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts , where the new Metropolitan Opera House building opened in 1966. The Met's first season at Lincoln Center featured nine new productions, including the world premiere of Marvin David Levy 's Mourning Becomes Electra . However, the company would not premiere any new operas for decades afterwards, until 1991's The Ghosts of Versailles by John Corigliano . One critic described
5762-400: The opera season of 1931/32. Cravath also engineered a reorganization of the management company by which it was transformed from a corporation, in which all participants were stockholders, to an association, whose members need not have a financial interest in operations. Apart from this change, the new Metropolitan Opera Association was virtually identical to the old Metropolitan Opera Company. It
5848-589: The performing company and the opera house was transferred to the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association from the company's original partnership of New York society families. Zinka Milanov , Jussi Björling , and Alexander Kipnis were first heard at the Met under Johnson's management. During World War II when many European artists were unavailable, the Met recruited American singers as never before. Eleanor Steber , Dorothy Kirsten , Helen Traubel (Flagstad's successor as Wagner's heroines), Jan Peerce , Richard Tucker , Leonard Warren and Robert Merrill were among
5934-416: The period as "a quarter-century in which the notion of commissioned work reminded Met administrators of the emblematic failure of Samuel Barber 's Antony and Cleopatra and the lukewarm reception of Marvin David Levy's Mourning Becomes Electra ." Following Bing's retirement in 1972, the Met's management was overseen by a succession of executives and artists in shared authority. Bing's intended successor,
6020-424: The position of president since the beginning of Gatti-Casazza's term as manager. The new chair, prominent lawyer Paul Cravath , had served as the board's legal counsel. Retaining Gatti-Casazza as manager, Cravath focused his attention on managing the business affairs of the company. In 1926, as part of the construction of Rockefeller Center , a plan was floated to move the opera from the building on 39th Street to
6106-533: The roster of leading artists. Kathleen Battle , who in 1977 made her Met debut as the Shepherd in Wagner's Tannhäuser , became an important star in lyric soprano roles. Bass-baritone Simon Estes began a prominent Met career with his 1982 debut as Hermann, also in Tannhäuser . The model of General Manager as the leading authority in the company returned in 1990 when the company appointed Joseph Volpe . He
6192-420: The son of Cio-Cio San as a bunraku -style puppet, operated in plain sight by three puppeteers clothed in black. Gelb focused on expanding the Met's audience through a number of fronts. Increasing the number of new productions every season to keep the Met's stagings fresh and noteworthy, Gelb partnered with other opera companies to import productions and engaged directors from theater, circus, and film to produce
6278-630: The stage in La Boheme with the New York Grand Opera, and his opera career resumed. In 1992, Lambrinos was hired for a second contract at the Metropolitan Opera at age 57. Lambrinos sang over 60 major baritone roles in his career internationally and with the Metropolitan Opera in productions including Stiffelio , Rigoletto and Aida . He sang nearly 200 performances of Rigoletto , Nabucco , Il trovatore , Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci , Aida and Tosca with
6364-493: The title role, and Franco Corelli as Calàf, was called the Met's "biggest hit in 10 years". For the 1962/1963 season, Renata Tebaldi , popular with Met audiences, convinced a reluctant Bing to stage a revival of Adriana Lecouvreur , an opera last presented at the Met in 1907. In 1963, Anthony Bliss, a prominent New York lawyer and president of the Metropolitan Opera Association (MOA), convinced
6450-503: The violin and the piano, as well as the famed stage actors Henry Irving and Ellen Terry in a scene from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice . Abbey's inaugural season resulted in very large financial deficits. The Metropolitan Opera began a long history of performing in Philadelphia during its first season, presenting its entire repertoire in the city during January and April 1884. The company's first Philadelphia performance
6536-576: The works of Wagner and other German composers as well as in Italian and French operas sung in German. Damrosch died only months into his first season at the Met. Edmund Stanton replaced Damrosch the following year and served as general manager through the 1890–91 season. The Met's six German seasons were especially noted for performances by the celebrated conductor Anton Seidl whose Wagner interpretations were noted for their almost mystical intensity. The conductor Walter Damrosch , Leopold's son, also initiated
6622-459: The world of early Verdi.” In an interview with Opera News , Lambrinos described singing 21 performances of Scarpia in 26 days while on tour, and why he preferred touring. "I just want to sing. I have got my voice all lined up and I want to use it." His Rigoletto was the historical first performance of opera in Hanoi, Vietnam . In honor of his Greek heritage, Lambrinos presented "A Tribute to
6708-662: The world premiere of Anton Coppola 's Sacco and Vanzetti . Lambrinos additionally traveled with the Ambassadors of Opera as part of a quartet performing opera to Broadway concerts to over 20 countries including command performances for Indira Gandhi in India, and for Queen Sirikit , Bangkok, Thailand, for Imelda Marcos in Manila, Philippines, and for sheiks, emirs and princesses in Bahrain, Dubai, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and in all of
6794-485: The years immediately following the desperate season of 1933–34. To meet budget shortfalls, fundraising continued and the number of performances was curtailed. Still, on given nights the brilliant Wagner pairing of the Norwegian soprano Kirsten Flagstad with the great heldentenor Lauritz Melchior proved irresistible to audiences even in such troubled times. To expand the Met's support among its national radio audience,
6880-539: Was James Levine. Engaged by Bing in 1971, Levine became principal conductor in 1973 and emerged as the Met's principal artistic leader through the last third of the 20th century. During the 1983–84 season the Met celebrated its 100th anniversary with an opening night revival of Berlioz's mammoth opera Les Troyens , with soprano Jessye Norman making her Met debut in the roles of both Cassandra and Dido. An eight-hour Centennial Gala concert in two parts followed on October 22, 1983, broadcast on PBS . The gala featured all of
6966-474: Was featured on the 50th Annual Grammy Awards first ballot in the category of "Best Musical Show Album". Another of their shows together was The Diva and the Baritone – Cole Porter to Puccini , also well-reviewed. Lambrinos also taught at his New York City vocal studio the technique which had sustained his 60-year career right through to his last recording at age 83. He maintained an active voice studio until
7052-521: Was founded in 1883 as an alternative to the previously established Academy of Music opera house and debuted the same year in a new building on 39th and Broadway (now known as the "Old Met"). It moved to the new Lincoln Center location in 1966. The Metropolitan Opera is the largest classical music organization in North America. Until 2019, it presented about 27 different operas each year from late September through May. The operas are presented in
7138-561: Was hoped the association would be able to save money as it renegotiated contracts which the company had made. During this period there was no change in the organization of the Metropolitan Real Estate Opera Company which owned the opera house . It remained in the hands of the society families who owned its stock, yet the subsidies that the house and its owners had given the producing company fell off. In March 1932, Cravath found that income resulting from
7224-500: Was of Faust (with Christina Nilsson) on January 14, 1884, at the Chestnut Street Opera House . The Met continued to perform annually in Philadelphia for nearly eighty years, taking the entire company to the city on selected Tuesday nights throughout the opera season. Performances were usually held at Philadelphia's Academy of Music , with the company presenting close to 900 performances in the city by 1961 when
7310-422: Was the Met's third-longest serving manager, and was the first head of the Met to advance from within the ranks of the company after having started his career there as a carpenter in 1964. During his tenure the Met's international touring activities were expanded and Levine focused on expanding and building the Met's orchestra into a world-class symphonic ensemble with its own Carnegie Hall concert series. Under Volpe
7396-434: Was the opening of the Met's artistic roster to include singers of color. Marian Anderson 's historic 1955 debut was followed by the introduction of a gifted generation of African American artists led by Leontyne Price (who inaugurated the new house at Lincoln Center), Reri Grist , Grace Bumbry , Shirley Verrett , Martina Arroyo , George Shirley , Robert McFerrin , and many others. Other celebrated singers who debuted at
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