Metropolitan Opera Company, term used in referring collectively to the organizations that have produced opera at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York City. The original house, at West 39th Street and Broadway, was built by members of New York society who could not be accommodated with boxes at the Academy of Music. The first presentation, on Oct. 22, 1883, was Gounod's
Faust. Among the early managers were Henry E. Abbey, Leopold
Damrosch Damrosch, Leopold, 1832–85, German conductor. After taking a degree in medicine, he became (1857) first violinist in the ducal orchestra at Weimar, where he was a friend of Liszt and Wagner.
..... Click the link for more information. , Edmond Stanton, and Maurice Grau. A devastating fire prevented production of any opera during the season 1892–93, and rebuilding was undertaken by a new company, the Metropolitan Opera and Real Estate Company. The first of the galaxy of great stars to make the house famous had already appeared. There was no resident company in the season 1897–98, but the Maurice Grau Opera Company was active from 1898 to 1903, and the period was brilliant with virtuoso singers. The Conried Metropolitan Opera Company was formed in 1903, with Heinrich Conried as manager.
In Nov., 1903, Enrico Caruso Caruso, Enrico , 1873–1921, Italian operatic tenor, b. Naples. The natural beauty, range, and power of his voice made him one of the greatest singers in the history of opera.
..... Click the link for more information. made his debut and by the following season had assumed his place as the dominant figure of the company. Conried retired in 1908, and the following season saw the coming of Giulio Gatti-Casazza Gatti-Casazza, Giulio , 1869–1940, Italian operatic manager. In 1893 he succeeded his father as director of the municipal theater at Ferrara. After directing (1898–1908) the La Scala Opera Company in Milan, he became (1908) director of the Metropolitan
..... Click the link for more information. as director and Alfred Hertz, Gustav Mahler Mahler, Gustav , 1860–1911, composer and conductor, born in Austrian Bohemia of Jewish parentage. Mahler studied at the Univ. of Vienna and the Vienna Conservatory.
..... Click the link for more information. , and Arturo Toscanini Toscanini, Arturo , 1867–1957, Italian conductor, internationally recognized as one of the world's great conductors. He studied cello at the Parma Conservatory, from which he graduated in 1885.
..... Click the link for more information. as conductors; the name was now Metropolitan Opera Company. Toscanini's departure in 1915 was a serious artistic loss for the company. In Feb., 1935, during Gatti-Casazza's final season, Kirsten Flagstad Flagstad, Kirsten , 1895–1962, Norwegian soprano. She made her debut in 1913 but sang only in Scandinavia until 1934, when she appeared at the Bayreuth Festival.
..... Click the link for more information. made her debut. Herbert Witherspoon Witherspoon, Herbert , 1873–1935, American basso, b. Buffalo, N.Y.; grad. Yale, 1895, studied music with Edward MacDowell. He studied both painting and singing in New York City, London, Paris, and Berlin.
..... Click the link for more information. was appointed in May, 1935, to succeed Gatti-Casazza but died only a few weeks later. Edward Johnson Johnson, Edward, 1881–1959, Canadian tenor and operatic manager, b. Guelph, Ont. As Eduardo di Giovanni, he sang in Italian opera houses (1912–19). In 1920 he joined the Chicago Opera Company and in 1922, the Metropolitan.
..... Click the link for more information. was appointed in his place. In 1932 the Metropolitan Opera Association, Inc., was formed, and performances were thenceforth underwritten by public subscription. In 1940 the association bought the house from the Metropolitan Opera and Real Estate Company, marking the final step in transference from private to public sponsorship. In June, 1949, Rudolf Bing Bing, Rudolf , 1902–97, Austrian operatic manager. Naturalized a British subject in 1946, he was general manager of the Glyndebourne operatic festivals (1934–49) and artistic manager of the Edinburgh International Festival (1947–49).
..... Click the link for more information. was appointed to succeed Johnson. A controversial figure, he brought many noted singers to the company, including Marian Anderson Anderson, Marian, 1897–1993, American contralto, b. Philadelphia. She was the first African American to be named a permanent member of the Metropolitan Opera Company, as well as the first to perform at the White House.
..... Click the link for more information. , Renata Tebaldi Tebaldi, Renata , 1922–2004, Italian lyric soprano. She received early musical training at home and at the Boito Conservatory, Parma. In 1944 she made her professional debut and in 1946 sang at the reopening of La Scala in Milan.
..... Click the link for more information. , Franco Corelli Corelli, Franco , 1921–2003, Italian tenor. He made his operatic debut at Spoleto in 1952 as Don José in Bizet's Carmen and debuted with the Metropolitan Opera in 1961, singing Manrico in Verdi's Il Trovatore.
..... Click the link for more information. , Joan Sutherland Sutherland, Dame Joan, 1926–, Australian soprano. Sutherland studied at the Sydney Conservatory, where she made her debut in Eugene Goossen's Judith in 1951. Beginning in 1952 she was a leading singer at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London.
..... Click the link for more information. , Maria Callas Callas, Maria Meneghini , 1923–77, Greek-American soprano, b. New York City. At 13, Callas moved to Greece, where she studied at the Royal Conservatory in Athens. Her professional debut took place in 1947 at Verona.
..... Click the link for more information. , Birgit Nilsson Nilsson, Birgit , 1918–2005, Swedish soprano. Her powerful voice first came to international attention at the Munich Opera, where she was heard (1954–55) as Brünnhilde in Wagner's Die Walküre and in the title role in Strauss's Salome.
..... Click the link for more information. , Tito Gobbi, and Leontyne Price Price, Leontyne (Mary Leontyne Price) , 1927–, American soprano, b. Laurel, Miss. She studied voice at the Juilliard School of Music with Florence Page Kimball.
..... Click the link for more information. . Among the many other great stars who have appeared at the Met over its many years are Marcella Sembrich Sembrich, Marcella , 1858–1935, stage name of Praxede Marcelline Kochanska, Polish coloratura soprano. She studied piano and violin at the Lemberg Conservatory.
..... Click the link for more information. , Dame Nellie Melba Melba, Dame Nellie, 1861–1931, Australian soprano, whose name originally was Helen Porter Mitchell. After study with Mathilde Marchesi in Paris, she made her operatic debut in Brussels in 1887.
..... Click the link for more information. , Lilli Lehman Lehmann, Lilli , 1848–1929, German operatic soprano. She made her debut in 1865 in Prague and in 1870 joined the Royal Opera, Berlin. Her stature as one of the greatest singers of her time was realized in London and in New York City where she was a member of
..... Click the link for more information. , Feodor Chaliapin Chaliapin, Feodor Ivanovich , 1873–1938, Russian operatic bass. His powerful and supple voice, together with his tremendous physique, his gusto, and his superb ability as a naturalistic actor, made him one of the greatest performers in the history of opera.
..... Click the link for more information. , Lauritz Melchior Melchior, Lauritz , 1890–1973, Danish heroic tenor. He made his debut in Copenhagen in 1913, singing a baritone role in I Pagliacci, and sang regularly at the Bayreuth Festivals from 1925 to 1931.
..... Click the link for more information. and Luciano Pavarotti Pavarotti, Luciano , 1935–, Italian tenor. He made his debut in Italy in 1961, in London in 1963, and in the United States in 1967. Since 1968 he has appeared regularly at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
..... Click the link for more information. . Metropolitan Opera concerts have been a regular feature on radio since 1931 and on television since 1977.
The new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, in central Manhattan, New York City, between 62d and 66th streets W of Broadway. Lincoln Center is a complex of many buildings, including the Metropolitan Opera, Avery Fisher Hall, the New York State Theater, the Juilliard
..... Click the link for more information. opened in 1966 with a premier performance of Samuel Barber Barber, Samuel, 1910–81, American composer, b. West Chester, Pa. Barber studied at the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia. His music is lyrical and generally tonal; his later works are more chromatic and polytonal with striking contrapuntal elements.
..... Click the link for more information. 's Antony and Cleopatra, written especially for the occasion. The new building featured acoustics superior to those in the old structure and a lobby decorated with murals by Marc Chagall Chagall, Marc , 1887–1985, Russian painter. In 1907, Chagall left his native Vitebsk for St. Petersburg, where he studied under L. N. Bakst. In Paris (1910) he began to assimilate cubist characteristics into his expressionistic style.
..... Click the link for more information. . Bing retired in 1972. He was replaced by Goeran Gentele, who was killed in an automobile accident in July, 1972, a few weeks after he had succeeded Bing. The opera's assistant manager, Schuyler Chapin Chapin, Schuyler G. , 1923–, American operatic manager, b. New York City. He studied music with Nadia Boulanger. In 1953 he joined Columbia Artists as tour manager; he also served with Columbia Records as director of artists and repertoire.
..... Click the link for more information. , was named manager (1972–75). From 1974 to 1981, John Dexter was director of production and Anthony Bliss executive director. Bliss then served as general manager (1981–85) and was succeeded by Bruce Crawford (1985–89) and Joseph Volpe (1990–). James Levine Levine, James, 1943–, American conductor, b. Cincinnati, Ohio. A piano prodigy, he was a soloist with the Cincinnati Symphony at the age of 10. After extensive musical studies, he served (1964–65) as an apprentice to George Szell with the Cleveland
..... Click the link for more information. , who joined the Met as principal conductor in 1973, has been artistic director since 1986. Today's Metropolitan Opera produces an average of 23 different operas in six languages each season, and in addition to producing works from the traditional operatic repertoire it has been a pioneer in premiering works by such contemporary composers as Philip Glass Glass, Philip, 1937–, American composer, b. Baltimore. Considered one of the most innovative of contemporary composers, he was a significant figure in the development of minimalism in music. Glass attended the Juilliard School of Music (M.A.
..... Click the link for more information. , John Corigliano Corigliano, John Paul , 1938–, American composer, b. New York City. The son of New York Philharmonic first violinist and concertmaster John Corigliano, he attended Columbia Univ. (B.A., 1959) and the Manhattan School of Music and studied with Paul Creston.
..... Click the link for more information. , William Hoffman, and John Harbison.
Bibliography
See D. Hamilton, ed., The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia (1987).