New York News Portal: Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center

Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center
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newyorker on 23/01/2010 20:02:00
 
About Metropolitan Opera House
The Metropolitan Opera Association of New York City, founded in April 1880, is a
major presenter of all types of opera including Grand Opera. Peter Gelb is the
company's general manager. The music director is James Levine.
The Metropolitan Opera presents a wide array of about 27 operas each year in a
season which lasts from mid-September through May. The operas are presented in a
rotating repertory schedule with seven performances of four different works
presented each week. Performances are given in the evening Monday through
Saturday with a matinée on Saturday. Several new opera productions are offered
each season. Sometimes these are borrowed from or shared with other major opera
houses. The rest are given in revivals of productions from previous seasons.
The Met's artistic standards are considered to be among the highest in the
world. The company's stage facilities and technical staff offer leading
directors and designers a state of the art environment in which to create any
kind of production. The Met's production designs range from elegant and
traditional to highly innovative and avant-garde.
Beyond performing in the opera house in New York, the Met has gradually expanded
its audience as new technologies have become available. It has broadcast live
weekly on radio since 1931 and has regularly presented performances on
television since 1977. In 2006, the Met further introduced the innovations of
live satellite radio broadcasts four times a week and live high-definition video
transmissions presented to audiences in cinemas throughout the world.
The present Metropolitan Opera House, with approximately 3,800 seats, is located
in Lincoln Center at Lincoln Square in the Upper West Side and was designed by
architect Wallace K. Harrison. After numerous revisions to its design, the new
building opened September 16, 1966 with the world premiere of Samuel Barber's
Antony and Cleopatra.
The theater, while large, is noted for its excellent acoustics. The stage
facilities, state of the art when the theater was built, continue to be updated
technically and are capable of handling multiple large complex opera productions
simultaneously. When the opera company is on hiatus, the Opera House is home to
performances of American Ballet Theatre and touring opera and ballet companies.