2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25
The Metropolitan Opera is a world-class musical theater at Lincoln Center in Manhattan, New York, opened in 1880. Due to numerous organizational issues, the first performances were shown in 1883.
The name "Metropolitan Opera" is difficult to pronounce, and since it is used quite often, it is customary to say "Met" in a simple address. The theater ranks first in the world ranking of opera stages, along with Milan's La Scala, London's Covent Garden and the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. The concert hall of the Metropolitan Opera has 3,800 seats. The foyer of the theater looks more like a hall of a fine arts museum thanks to the priceless frescoes by Marc Chagall.
Theatre management
The theater is financed by the Metropolitan Opera House Company, which, in turn, receives subsidies from large firms, concerns, and private individuals. All business is handled by CEO Peter Gelb. Artistic direction is entrusted to the chief conductor of the theaterJames Levine, assisted by lead choreographer Josef Fritz and chief choirmaster Donald Polumbo.
Regulations
The Metropolitan Opera's theater season runs from September to April, seven days a week, with daily performances. May and June - visiting tours. The whole of July is devoted to charity, the theater holds free performances in New York parks and squares, while gathering a huge number of people. August leaves for organizational arrangements and preparations for the next season.
The Metropolitan Opera Symphony Orchestra is full-time, works on an ongoing basis, the theater choir is also a permanent part of the concert programs. Conductors and soloists are invited under contract - either for the whole season or for individual performances. In some cases, the contract is concluded for several seasons, as, for example, it was with the singer Anna Netrebko, who signed the contract for five years at once.
Opera arias at the Metropolitan Opera are performed only in the original language. The repertoire consists of masterpieces of world classics, including works by Russian composers such as Tchaikovsky, Glinka, Rimsky-Korsakov and many others.
How theater started
Originally, the Metropolitan Opera was located in one of the theaters on Broadway and was the most visited venue for opera art. However, in 1892 a fire broke out in the building, which interrupted the performances for a long time. Somehow, the hall and the stage were restored, and the team continued to work. The Metropolitan Opera, the theater on Broadway, was becomingmore popular.
Moving
In 1966, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts was opened in Manhattan, which gathered under its roof all the leading theaters in New York, including such as the Metropolitan Opera. The New York auditorium turned out to be successful in terms of acoustics, and, importantly, quite roomy. In addition to the main stage, there are three more auxiliary ones.
Unique frescoes
The lobby of the Metropolitan Opera House impresses with its artistic design. On the walls are monumental frescoes by Marc Chagall. The theater management thought about the project for a long time. Even for such a we althy theater as the Metropolitan Opera, such works of art are unaffordable in their cost. Therefore, the frescoes of the great artist were sold to a private person, but on the condition that they remain in place, in the foyer of the theater.
Premieres and productions
If we go back to the beginning of the history of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the first premiere was the opera Faust by Charles Gounod, which took place on October 22, 1883. Then there was the premiere of Giacomo Puccini's "The Girl from the West" in December 1910. In 1918, Puccini's triptych "Gianni Schicchi", "Cloak" and "Sister Angelica" was played. In October 1958, the Metropolitan Opera presented Barbara Samuel's Vanessa, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Outstanding Musical Premiere.
KIn the middle of the 20th century, the theater was already on the same level with the world's leading opera stages - La Scala and the Vienna Opera. The talented conductors of the time, Arturo Toscanini, Felix Mottl, Gustav Mahler, contributed to the success. The artistic management of the theater invited the most famous world-famous singers to participate in their performances. In 1903, Enrico Caruso made his debut in the opera Rigoletto, playing the role of the Duke of Mantua. The great tenor worked at the Metropolitan Opera until 1920. Caruso opened several seasons.
In 1948, the greatest opera singer Maria Callas performed for the first time in the theater in Giuseppe Verdi's opera Aida. Brünnhilde's aria from Richard Wagner's Valkyrie followed in 1949. Then, already in 1956, Callas sang in the opera "Norma" by Bellini. From the proposed aria of Madame Butterfly in "Cio-Cio-san" she refused due to excess weight. However, the singer performed Elvira's aria from Bellini's "Puritans".
The year 1967 was the beginning of cooperation with the most famous singers of the world opera stage - Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti. Relations with Placido Domingo developed in the best way, the singer opened the season 21 times at the Metropolitan Opera. The New York public has already begun to consider the famous tenor as their own. And Luciano Pavarotti, speaking in Manhattan, became the record holder for the number of applause: once the curtain rose for an encore 165 times! This fact was listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
Radio broadcasts
Since 1931years, recordings from performances of the Metropolitan Opera, broadcasts of entire plots and individual fragments from productions became regular. The opera "Hansel and Gretel" was first aired. And since 2006, the theater in Manhattan began to broadcast its performances live.
Hall
The unique curtain of the Metropolitan Opera weighs more than half a ton, heavy dense fabric embroidered with metallic sequins. The special equipment for moving and lifting the curtain is made in the German workshop "Gerrits" in Umkirch.
Recommended:
The novel "Hop": author, plot, main characters and the main idea of the work
The first volume of the trilogy about the Siberian outback glorified the name of Alexei Cherkasov throughout the world. He was inspired to write the book by an incredible story: in 1941, the author received a letter written with the letters "yat", "fita", "izhitsa" from a 136-year-old resident of Siberia. Her memoirs formed the basis of Alexei Cherkasov's novel "Hop", which tells about the inhabitants of the Old Believer settlement, hiding in the depths of the taiga from prying eyes
The main idea of the text. How to determine the main idea of the text
The reader sees in the text something close to him, depending on the worldview, level of intelligence, social status in society. And it is very likely that what is known and understood by a person will be far from the main idea that the author himself tried to put into his work
Philosophical lyrics, its main features, main representatives
This article describes the lyrical kind of literature, more precisely philosophical lyrics; its characteristic features are considered, poets are listed, in whose work philosophical motives were the strongest
The biggest book in the world. The most interesting book in the world. The best book in the world
Is it possible to imagine humanity without a book, although it has lived without it for most of its existence? Perhaps not, just as it is impossible to imagine the history of everything that exists without secret knowledge preserved in writing
"Busy Wolf": description, main characters, main plot
"The Busy Wolf" is a joint work of Semenova and Tedeev. It tells about a boy rescued from the Semi-precious Mountains by villas, later transferred to Belki. He was named after the color of his hair. Various events happen to him, and the boy begins to think about who he is, who his relatives are, and so on. As soon as he tries to find answers, some forces begin to take an interest in him
