Editing Metropolitan Opera (section)

==Opera houses==
[[File:Metropolitan opera 1905 crop.jpg|thumb|275px|Metropolitan Opera House in 1905]]
[[File:Metropolitan Opera staircase from above.jpg|thumb|275px|The new Met Opera House]]
[[File:Metropolitan Opera House staircase.jpg|thumb|275px|Staircase]]

===Metropolitan Opera House, Broadway===
{{main|Metropolitan Opera House (39th Street)}}

The first Metropolitan Opera House opened on October 22, 1883, with a performance of ''[[Faust (opera)|Faust]]''.<ref name="Met Opera Family-1883">{{cite web| title=Opening Night: Faust|date=October 22, 1883| url=http://archives.metoperafamily.org/Imgs/Faust1883openingnight.htm| website=Met Opera Family| publisher=Metropolitan Opera Archives| archive-date=October 17, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017012549/http://archives.metoperafamily.org/Imgs/Faust1883openingnight.htm| url-status=live}}</ref> It was located at 1411 [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]] between 39th and 40th Streets and was designed by [[J. Cleaveland Cady]]. Gutted by fire on August 27, 1892, the theater was immediately rebuilt, reopening in the fall of 1893. Another major renovation was completed in 1903. The theater's interior was extensively redesigned by the architects [[Carrère and Hastings]]. The familiar red and gold interior associated with the house dates from this time. The old Met had a seating capacity of 3,625 with an additional 224 standing room places.

The theater was noted for its elegance and excellent acoustics and it provided a glamorous home for the company. Its stage facilities, however, were found to be severely inadequate from its earliest days. Over the years many plans for a new opera house were explored and abandoned, including a proposal to incorporate a new Metropolitan Opera House into the [[construction of Rockefeller Center]]. It was only with the development of Lincoln Center that the Met was able to build itself a new home. The Met held a lavish farewell gala performance for the old house on April 16, 1966. The theater closed after a short season of ballet later in the spring of 1966 and was demolished in 1967.

===Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center===
{{main|Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center)}}

The present Metropolitan Opera House is located in Lincoln Center at [[Lincoln Square, Manhattan|Lincoln Square]] on the [[Upper West Side]] and was designed by architect [[Wallace Harrison|Wallace K. Harrison]]. It has a seating capacity of approximately 3,732 with an additional 245 standing room places at the rear of the main floor and the top balcony.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.metopera.org/user-information/seat-maps/ |title=Metropolitan Opera &#124; Seat Maps |access-date=December 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180514213932/https://www.metopera.org/user-information/seat-maps/ |archive-date=May 14, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> As needed, the size of the orchestra pit can be decreased and another row of 35 seats added at the front of the auditorium. The lobby is adorned with two famous murals by [[Marc Chagall]], ''The Triumph of Music'' and ''The Sources of Music''. Each of these gigantic paintings measures 30 by 36 feet.

After numerous revisions to its design, the new building opened September 16, 1966, with the world premiere of [[Samuel Barber]]'s ''[[Antony and Cleopatra (1966 opera)|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 [[wikt:hiatus|hiatus]], the Opera House is annually home to the spring season of [[American Ballet Theatre]]. It has also hosted visits from other noted opera and ballet companies.

===Metropolitan Opera House, Philadelphia===
{{main|Metropolitan Opera House (Philadelphia)}}

To provide a home for its regular Tuesday night performances in Philadelphia, the Met purchased an opera house originally built in 1908 by [[Oscar Hammerstein I]], the Philadelphia Opera House at North Broad and Poplar Streets.<ref name="Anonymous1910">{{cite news |title=Hammerstein Offer to Metropolitan; Says He's Willing to Sell His Philadelphia Opera House, Giving Rivals Control |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1910/02/10/archives/hammerstein-offer-to-metropolitan-says-hes-willing-to-sell-his.html |date=February 10, 1910 |work=The New York Times |access-date=July 25, 2018 |archive-date=July 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726005713/https://www.nytimes.com/1910/02/10/archives/hammerstein-offer-to-metropolitan-says-hes-willing-to-sell-his.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Renamed the Metropolitan Opera House, the theater was operated by the Met from 1910 until it sold the house in April 1920.<ref name="Anonymous1920">{{cite news |title=Will Sell Opera House.; Philadelphia Metropolitan Building to be Auctioned April 28 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1920/04/03/archives/will-sell-opera-house-philadelphia-metropolitan-building-to-be.html |date=April 3, 1920 |work=The New York Times |access-date=July 25, 2018 |archive-date=July 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725214359/https://www.nytimes.com/1920/04/03/archives/will-sell-opera-house-philadelphia-metropolitan-building-to-be.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Met debuted at its new Philadelphia home on December 13, 1910, with a performance of Richard Wagner's ''[[Tannhäuser (opera)|Tannhäuser]]'' starring [[Leo Slezak]] and [[Olive Fremstad]].<ref name="Anonymous1910a">{{cite news |title=Philadelphia Opera Opens.; Metropolitan Company Gives "Tannhaeuser" Before Big Audience. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1910/12/14/archives/philadelphia-opera-opens-metropolitan-company-gives-tann-haeuser.html |date=December 14, 1910 |work=The New York Times |access-date=July 25, 2018 |archive-date=July 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725214820/https://www.nytimes.com/1910/12/14/archives/philadelphia-opera-opens-metropolitan-company-gives-tann-haeuser.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Philadelphia Met was designed by noted theater architect [[William H. McElfatrick]] and had a seating capacity of approximately 4,000. The theater still stands and currently functions as a church and community arts center.