The Metropolitan Opera is possibly the most glamorous excursion available to visitors of New York City. The Met offers two-dozen operas each season, and a great excuse to whip out a suit and tie or cocktail dress. A new, complimentary experience beginning Tuesday, October 4, 2016 will encourage travelers to explore the unforgettable, cultural institution.
On that day, for the first time ever, the lobby of the Metropolitan Opera House will be open to the public on weekday mornings (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) continuing through the end of the opera season. Visitors will be welcome to walk up the famous grand staircase of the opera house and admire the crystal chandeliers, or overlook Lincoln Center Plaza by stepping out onto the balcony. Photography will be permitted in all public areas of the house, allowing tourists and locals alike to capture the iconic, Lincoln Center Plaza Scenery from a unique vantage point, offered only from the Opera House itself.
Indoors, to give visitors a special behind-the-scenes look at the process of staging an opera, a large television monitor will give travelers a live perspective of the Met stage. Each season 225 opera performances are presented, and visitors can view select footage of the opera rehearsals.
Travelers who visit New York City later this year can take part in celebrating the Met’s 50th anniversary of its home at Lincoln Center. There will be a new free exhibition in the lower level of the lobby, which will feature information and photographs on the building of the house at Lincoln Center. An exclusive documentary containing rare rehearsal and performance footage from the buildings 1966 opening will be screened, and information will be available on the nine productions that anchored the historic 1966-67 season (s).
The Met will open its 50th anniversary season at Lincoln Center on Monday, September 26 with a new production of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, directed by Mariusz Treliński, and starring Nina Stemme and Stuart Skelton in the leading roles. Travelers visiting from all parts of the world can enjoy not only free access to the venue, but any of the opera house’s performances with language barriers in mind. Every seat-back in the house is outfitted with a small screen featuring subtitles in multiple languages, making it simple to follow along with the onstage action.
For more information on the Met season, click here.