The Metropolitan Opera House opened in the late 60\’s and has been delighting patrons ever since. The opera house is the home of the the Big Apple\’s most high profile operatic entertainment, which has been offerring operas since 1883. The opera house is located in the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts, on Broadway between 63rd and 64th St.

Chagall Murals

The first of the Metropolitan Opera House\’s fascinating features are the two murals created by French-Russian artist Marc Chagall that are viewable in the Met\’s lobby.. One is titled \”The Triumph of Music\” and one is called \”The Sources of Music\”. Both of the murals can be seen from the Plaza at the Lincoln Center.

Strong Pedigree

The Met was designed by Wallace Kirkman Harrison (1895-1981). The artist was a Massachusetts born architect and designer who has had a hand in many public projects around New York, including Manhattan\’s Rockafeller Center.

Extra Stages

The new Metropolitan Opera House replaced an older metropolitan opera house on Broadway and 39th Street. An interesting fact is that the dimensions of the main stage of the older house and the new house are about the same, but the new opera house has about hextuple the area, due the fact that the designers added additional stages on the sides and in the back of the opera house.

What an Opening Act

The very first performance at the new Met was a performance of Antony and Cleopatra by Samuel Barber. The opera premiered on the 16th of September in 1966. The performance starred Leontyne Price as Cleopatra and Justino Diaz as Mark Antony. Alas, the opera bombed, and the Met soon dropped it from its repertory.

The Big Curtain

Trivial but intersting, the Met has the biggest front curtain of any performance venue in existence. The front curtain is the drape that hangs behind the proscenium arch, and is made from golden damask.

Longest Performer

Charles Antony has the distinction of the artist that has given the most performances at the Met. Charles Antony is a tenor that made his debut on March 6, 1954 at the old Met. Surprisingly, Antony is still performing at the new Met today, with over 2,000 performances to present.

Famous Debuts

29 operas have premiered at the Met. They include The Ghosts of Versailles, The Voyage, The Great Gatsby and others.

British Invasion

The Who was the very first rock group to perform at the Met Around 1970. Who knew?

Strange but True True

Tenor Richard Versalle died while in the middle of a performance at the Met. The tenor died on the 5th of January in 1966 in the middle a performance of \”The Makropulos Case\”, after singing \”You can only live so long\”. He was on a ladder, had a coronary, and plummeted to the stage in a truly dramatic performance.