
When the opera company is on hiatus, the Opera House is home to performances of American Ballet Theatre and touring opera and ballet companies.Ģ manuals, 20 registers, 13 stops, 22 ranks 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. The theater, while large, is noted for its excellent acoustics. After numerous revisions to its design, the new building opened Septemwith the world premiere of Samuel Barber's Antony and Cleopatra. The present Metropolitan Opera House, with approximately 3,800 seats, is located in Lincoln Center at Lincoln Square in the Upper West Side and was designed by architect Wallace K. The original Metropolitan Opera House closed Apwith a lavish farewell gala performance.

Many plans for a new opera house were explored, but it was only with the development of Lincoln Center that the Met was able to build a new home. Its stage facilities, however, were found to be severely inadequate from its earliest days. The theater was noted for its elegance and excellent acoustics and it provided a glamorous home for the company. The familiar red and gold interior associated with the house dates from this time. Gutted by fire on August 27, 1892, the theater was immediately rebuilt and then in 1903 its interior was extensively renovated again by the architects Carrère and Hastings. Located at 1411 Broadway between 39th and 40th Streets, it was designed by J.


The first Metropolitan Opera House opened on October 22, 1883, with a performance of Faust.
