An Introduction to the Metropolitan Opera of New York

From its opening in 1883, the Metropolitan Opera has been one of the world’s leading opera companies. Today, the Met’s preeminent position rests on the elements that established its reputation: high quality performances with many of the world’s most renowned artists, a superior company of orchestral and choral musicians, a large repertory of works, and the resources to make performances available to the public.

The first Metropolitan Opera House was built on Broadway and 39th Street by a group of wealthy businessmen who wanted their own opera house. In the company’s early years, the management changed course several times, first performing everything in Italian (even Carmen and Lohengrin), then everything in German (even Aida and Faust), before finally settling into a policy of performing most works in their original language — with some notable exceptions.

The final scene of Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West (The Girl of the Golden West) at the world premiere in 1910.

The Metropolitan Opera has always engaged many of the world’s most important artists. Christine Nilsson and Marcella Sembrich shared leading roles during the opening season. In the German seasons that followed, Lilli Lehmann dominated the Wagnerian repertory and anything else she chose to sing. In the 1890s, Nellie Melba and Emma Calvé shared the spotlight with the De Reszkes (Jean and Edouard), and two American sopranos, Emma Eames and Lillian Nordica. Enrico Caruso arrived in 1903 and by the time of his death had performed more times with the Met than with all other opera companies combined. American singers acquired even greater prominence with Geraldine Farrar and Rosa Ponselle becoming important members of the company. In the 1920s, Lawrence Tibbett became the first of a distinguished line of American baritones for whom the Met was home. Today, the Metropolitan continues to present the best available talent from around the world, and also concentrates on finding and training artists through its National Council Auditions and Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.
Great conductors have helped shape the Metropolitan, from Wagner’s disciple Anton Seidl in the 1880s and 1890s to Arturo Toscanini who made his debut in 1908. There were two seasons with both Toscanini and Gustav Mahler on the conducting roster. Later, Artur Bodanzky, Bruno Walter, George Szell, Fritz Reiner, and Dimitri Mitropoulos contributed powerful musical direction. James Levine made his debut in 1971 and has been Music Director since 1976 (holding also the title of Artistic Director between 1986 and 2004).

Renata Scotto and Luciano Pavarotti in the 1977 "Live from the Met" telecast of La Bohème.

The Metropolitan Opera has given the American premieres of some of the most important works in the repertory. Among Wagner’s masterpieces, Die Meistersinger, Das Rheingold, Siegfried, Götterdämmerung, Tristan und Isolde, and Parsifal were first performed in this country by the Met. Other American premieres have included Boris Godunov, Der Rosenkavalier, Turandot, Simon Boccanegra, and Arabella. The Met’s twenty-nine world premieres include Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West and Il Trittico, and three recent works, John Corigliano and William Hoffman’s The Ghosts of Versailles in 1991, Philip Glass’s The Voyage in 1992, and John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby in 1999. The Met has commissioned new works from Tobias Picker and Tan Dun for future seasons. An additional thirty-four operas have had their Met premieres since 1976.
Hansel und Gretel was the first complete opera broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera on Christmas Day 1931. Regular Saturday afternoon live radio broadcasts from December to April quickly made the Metropolitan Opera a permanent presence in communities throughout the United States and Canada. The radio broadcasts are now heard not only across North America but in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South America, China, and Japan.
In 1977, the Metropolitan began a regular series of televised productions with a performance of La Bohème viewed by more than four million people. “The Metropolitan Opera Presents” has made seventy-eight complete Met performances available to a huge audience around the world. Many of these performances have been issued on videotape, laserdisc, and DVD.

Deborah Voigt and Plácido Domingo in Act I of Die Walküre.

Almost from the beginning, it was clear that the opera house on 39th Street did not have adequate stage facilities. However, it was not until the Metropolitan Opera joined with other New York institutions in forming Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts that a new home became possible. The new Metropolitan Opera House, which opened at Lincoln Center in September of 1966, was equipped with the finest technical facilities.
In 1995, the Metropolitan introduced “Met Titles,” a unique system of simultaneous translation. “Met Titles” appear on individual computerized screens mounted in specially built railings at the back of each row of seats, for those members of the audience who wish to utilize them, but with minimum distraction for those who do not. “Met Titles” are provided for all Metropolitan Opera performances.
Each season the Metropolitan stages more than two hundred performances of opera in New York. More than 800,000 people attend the performances in the opera house during the season. Millions more, throughout the world, experience the Metropolitan Opera on television, radio, on tour and recordings.

Design for the 2004–05 production of Die Zauberflöte, production by Julie Taymor, designs by George Tsypin, conducted by James Levine.