Editing Metropolitan Opera (section)

{{Short description|Opera company in New York City}}
{{Use American English|date = September 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}
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 | image1 = Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, January 30, 2025.jpg
 | caption1 = [[Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center)|Metropolitan Opera House]] at [[Lincoln Center]], home of the Metropolitan Opera
 | image2 = Metropolitan Opera House, a concert by pianist Josef Hofmann - NARA 541890 - Edit.jpg
 | caption2 = Full house at the old Metropolitan Opera House, seen from the rear of the stage, at a concert by pianist [[Josef Hofmann]], November 28, 1937
 | image3 = Metropolitan Opera auditorium.jpg
 | caption3 = Auditorium of the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center
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 | caption4 = Gold curtain, a gift of the [[Metropolitan Opera Club]], in the auditorium
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[[File:20141009 Metropolitan Opera House NYC.jpg|thumb|Metropolitan Opera and Lincoln Center]]

The '''Metropolitan Opera''' is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the [[Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center)|Metropolitan Opera House]] at [[Lincoln Center]], situated on the [[Upper West Side]] of [[Manhattan]]. Referred to colloquially as '''the Met''',{{efn|1=The [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] in New York is also nicknamed "the Met".}} the company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with [[Peter Gelb]] as the general manager.<ref>{{cite web |title=Metropolitan Opera General Manager Position Gets Name Change |url=https://operawire.com/metropolitan-opera-general-manager-position-gets-name-change-after-donation/ |publisher=OperaWire |access-date=January 8, 2024 |date=September 28, 2022}}</ref> The company's music director has been [[Yannick Nézet-Séguin]] since 2018.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Woolfe |first1=Zachary |title=Yannick Nézet-Séguin Is New York's Conductor Now |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/19/arts/music/yannick-nezet-seguin-met-opera.html |work=New York Times |access-date=January 8, 2024 |date=November 19, 2021}}</ref>

The Met was founded in 1883 as an alternative to the previously established [[Academy of Music (New York City)|Academy of Music]] opera house and debuted the same year in a new [[Metropolitan Opera House (39th Street)|building on 39th and Broadway]] (now known as the "Old Met").<ref name=About>{{Cite web|url=https://www.metopera.org/About/The-Met/|title=Our Story|website=metopera.org|access-date=March 14, 2021|publisher=Metropolitan Opera|archive-date=March 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307030452/https://www.metopera.org/About/The-Met/|url-status=live}}</ref> It moved to the new Lincoln Center location in 1966.

The Metropolitan Opera is the largest classical music organization in North America. The company presents about 18 different operas each year from late September through early June. The operas are presented in a rotating repertory schedule, with up to seven performances of four different works staged each week. Performances are given in the evening Monday through Saturday with a matinée on Saturday. Several operas are presented in new productions each season. Sometimes these are borrowed from or shared with other opera companies. The rest of the year's operas are given in revivals of productions from previous seasons. The 2015–16 season comprised 227 performances of 25 operas.<ref>{{cite press release| url=http://www.metopera.org/About/Press-Releases/The-Metropolitan-Operas-2015-Summer-HD-Festival111/| title=The Met's 2015–16 Season Will Feature 227 Performances of 25 Operas, Including Six New Productions| publisher=Metropolitan Opera| date=February 18, 2015| access-date=January 17, 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180118122644/http://www.metopera.org/About/Press-Releases/The-Metropolitan-Operas-2015-Summer-HD-Festival111/| archive-date=January 18, 2018| url-status=dead}}</ref>

The operas in the Met's repertoire consist of a wide range of works, from 18th-century [[Baroque music|Baroque]] and 19th-century [[Bel canto]] to the [[Minimal music|Minimalism]] of the late 20th and 21st centuries.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mancuso |first=Christina |title=The Met Opera's Deficit Reaches $22 Million |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwopera/article/The-Met-Operas-Deficit-Reaches-22-Million-20141121 |access-date=March 7, 2022 |website=BroadwayWorld.com |language=en}}</ref> These operas are presented in staged productions that range in style from those with elaborate traditional decors to others that feature modern conceptual designs.

The Met's performing company consists of a large symphony orchestra, a chorus, children's choir, and many supporting and leading solo singers. The company also employs numerous free-lance dancers, actors, musicians and other performers throughout the season. The Met's roster of singers includes both international and American artists, some of whose careers have been developed through the Met's young artists programs. While many singers appear periodically as guests with the company, others maintain a close long-standing association with the Met, appearing many times each season until they retire.