There were two seasons with Toscanini and Gustav Mahler as conductors the following seasons saw Artur Bodanzky, Bruno Walter, George Szell, Fritz Reiner and Dimitri Mitropoulos as powerful musical directors.

Many great conductors added a special touch to the Met, starting with Wagner disciple Anton Seidl in the 1880s and 1890s and Arturo Toscanini, who débuted here in 1908. The new Metropolitan Opera, which opened at Lincoln Center in September 1966, was equipped with the finest technical equipment.

However, it was only when the Metropolitan Opera joined up with other New York institutions to create the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts that a new building could be planned. It was obvious from the start that the 39th Street building did not have adequate stage equipment. Today the Met continues to present the finest talents and discovers and trains young artists through several different programmes. In the 1920s, Lawrence Tibbett became the first in a line of top-flight American baritones who called the Met home. Enrico Caruso arrived in 1903, and when he died eighteen years later, he had sung more at the Met than at all the other opera companies of the world combined.Īmerican singers acquired greater fame with Geraldine Farrar and Rosa Ponselle, who became key members of the company.

In the 1890s, Nellie Melba and Emma Calvé shared the limelight with the De Reszke Brothers, Jean and Edouard, and two American sopranos, Emma Eames and Lillian Nordica. In the German seasons that followed, Lilli Lehmann dominated the Wagnerian repertory and everything she chose to sing.

Christine Nilsson and Marcella Sembrich shared the principal roles during the opening season. The Metropolitan Opera has always hired the finest artists. In the first few years, management changed strategies several times, initially giving all performances in Italian, even operas written in French or German, then everything in German including works written in Italian or other languages, until the time came when operas were presented in their original language. The first building was built at the corner of Broadway and 39th Street. The Metropolitan Opera was founded in 1883 by a group of businessmen who wanted their own theatre.

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