Our Story.doc

7/24/2019 Our Story.doc

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Our StoryThe Metropolitan Opera is a vibrant home for the most creative and talented singers, conductors,

composers, musicians, stage directors, designers, visual artists, choreographers, and dancers from

around the world.

Since the summer of 2006, eter !elb has been the Met"s general manager#the $6th in

company history. %nder his leadership, the Met has been elevating its theatrical standards by

significantly increasing the number of new productions, staged by the most imaginative directors

wor&ing in theater and opera, and has launched a series of initiatives to broaden its reach

internationally. These efforts to win new audiences prominently include the successful Livein HDseries of high'definition performance transmissions to movie theaters around the world,as well as opening the house to the general public for free dress rehearsals. To revitali(e its

repertoire, the Met regularly presents modern masterpieces alongside the classics.

)nown as the venue for the world"s greatest voices, the Met has been under the musical direction

of *ames +evine since $-6. Maestro +evine is credited with having created one of opera"s finest

orchestras and choruses.

The Metropolitan Opera was founded in $/, with its first opera house built on roadway and

/th Street by a group of wealthy businessmen who wanted their own theater. 1n the company"s

early years, the management changed course several times, first performing everything in 1talian

even Carmenand Lohengrin3, then everything in !ermaneven Aidaand Faust3, before finally settling into a policy of performing most wor&s intheir original language, with some notable e4ceptions.

The Metropolitan Opera has always engaged many of the world"s most important artists.

5hristine ilsson and Marcella Sembrich shared leading roles during the opening season. 1n the

!erman seasons that followed, +illi +ehmann dominated the 7agnerian repertory and anything

else she chose to sing. 1n the $0s, ellie Melba and 8mma 5alv9 shared the spotlight with the

:e ;es(&e brothers, *ean and 8douard, and two


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becoming important members of the company. 1n the $20s, +awrence Tibbett became the first

in a distinguished line of


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Hnsel und Gretelwas the first complete opera broadcast from the Met on 5hristmas:ay $/$. ;egular Saturday afternoon live broadcasts =uic&ly made the Met a permanent

presence in communities throughout the %nited States and 5anada.

1n $--, the Met began a regular series of televised productions with a performance of La

$oh-me, viewed by more than four million people on public television. Over the followingdecades, more than -0 complete Met performances have been made available to a huge audience

around the world. Many of these performances have been issued on video, laserdisc, and :E:.

1n $D, the Met introduced Met Titles, a uni=ue system of simultaneous translation. Met Titles

appear on individual screens mounted on the bac& of each row of seats, for those members of the

audience who wish to utili(e them, but with minimum distraction for those who do not. Titles are

provided for all Met performances in 8nglish, Spanish, and !erman. Titles are also provided in

1talian for 1talian'language operas.

8ach season the Met stages more than 200 opera performances in ew ?or&. More than 00,000

people attend the performances in the opera house during the season, and millions more

e4perience the Met through new media distribution initiatives and state'of'the'art technology.

The Met continues its hugely successful radio broadcast series#entering its Dth year this fall#

the longest'running classical music series in


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HDproductions, classic telecasts, and archival broadcast recordings, for high'=uality viewingand listening on any computer or iad. The Met also provides free live audio streaming of

performances on its website once every wee& during the opera season.

1n 2006, the Met launched a groundbrea&ing commissioning program in partnership with ew

?or&"s +incoln 5enter Theater, which provides renowned composers and playwrights with the

resources to create and develop new wor&s at the Met and at +incoln 5enter"s Eivian eaumont

Theater. The first of these to reach the stage was ico Muhly"s!/o $o*s, with a libretto by5raig +ucas, which opened at the Met in the fall of 20$/.

Other initiatives include the

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Our Story.doc