The Metropolitan Opera

These 5 Stars are actually for Misty Copeland in Romeo & Juliet. Wow! I’d never thought in a million years that I would see something so beautiful that it would move me to tears. Amazing.

The Metropolitan Opera House is the preeminent opera venue in the entire Western Hemisphere… At least this is what I had been brought to believe my entire life. My experiences here have been somewhat contradictory, and often times left me somewhat disappointed. To start, the location is absolutely fabulous! Lincoln Center is easily accessible and extremely beautiful. The Met Opera is the center piece of Lincoln Center. I have seen about 8 – 10 production over the course of several years. Often times the musical preparation is always top-​notch, although the quality of singing does seem to vary quite a bit. One of my major complaints is the acoustics of the theater, although they are acceptable considering this is a 4,000 seat hall. The sound quality varies greatly from seat to seat. I have found that the best seats are generally those in the dress and family circle. The theater itself needs some maintenance. The carpet and facilities need some upgrading also. Another major issue is the layout of the theater which makes it a hellish nightmare getting in and out. Also there are often enormous lines for the bathrooms during intermissions and a snack will cost you a minimum of $ 16.00 for a small cookie/​pastry. Overall, come here for the music! It is worth it!

It’s the Metropolitan Opera House … One of the great artistic venues in the entire country & the entire world. If you have an opportunity to see a performance here, you definitely need to do so.
But please… And I beg you on this … Have some class and wear a suit or at the very least a nice shirt and nice pants. I cringe every time I come here and see someone wearing jeans. It just isn’t appropriate. (Not trying to be a snob, but seriously folks!)

I’ve been to The Metropolitan Opera House a few times, once last year for a class trip to see the opera Carmen, and twice recently to see performances by the American Ballet Theatre (La Fille Mal Gardée and Le Corsaire with Misty Copeland!).
If you’re a student, you can purchase tickets at a discounted price (for about $ 20 – 25 each) and sit in the Family Circle. The seats are pretty high up, but it’s still worth it.
This summer, I brought a bottle of water and my DSLR camera with me in my bag. During the bag check, none of the guards told me I couldn’t bring a drink into the theatre, so that was nice. You can bring a camera but you can’t take pictures during the performances.
Also, there is technically no dress code, but traditionally, most visitors are dressed somewhere on a scale between business casual to formal, with the most formal attire worn by those seated closest to the stage.

Tuve la suerte de poder visitar el Metropolitan Opera en el Lincoln Center en abril de este año, para ver La Bohème. A decir verdad, unas horas antes pude visitarlo durante el tour que dan en el Lincoln Center, y ver desde la zona del foso todo el teatro. Lindo contrapunto a mi ubicación en el círculo familiar, aro más alto en el teatro.
Por esto, divido mi reseña en dos. Primero, la estética y lo imponente de este teatro. Es la sala de ópera más grande del mundo en cantidad de ubicaciones: 4.000 asientos. Realmente, al verlo desde su base, es notable el tamaño de la sala. Preciosa la decoración, acorde al estilo clásico de este tipo de salas. Es escenario también es inmenso, y el foso de la orquesta igualmente comparable.
Luego, por la noche, visité la misma sala para ver la función. Compré de las entradas más baratas, en el balcón más alejado del escenario del «family circle». 37 dólares con los gastos de comprarla online, y hay que creer cuando la página dice «visión parcial». Aproximadamente ¼ del escenario queda fuera del campo visual. Me pasé toda la función con la cabeza inclinada fuera del balcón. Así que a tenerlo en cuenta antes de comprar.
Una gran ventaja son los subtítulos en todos los asientos. Sugerencia: leerlos en inglés. No sé cómo será en otro idioma, pero en español estaban desfasados y un poco mal traducidos.
La puesta en escena fue impresionante. La escenografía deslumbrante y abismal. La cantidad de gente en escena (como por ejemplo, en la sección de la feria) y la calidad de su presentación, inmensa.
Sin embargo, la gran crítica es la acústica. Yendo desde Buenos Aires, donde contamos con el Teatro Colón, con una de las mejores acústicas del mundo, se notó demasiado. Las voces de los cantantes masculinos (mayoría de protagonistas en la obra) se perdía en el teatro. Por suerte las dos damas se oían perfectamente. Y eso que estaba en una de las mejores zonas acústicas!
Para resumir, sugerencias: paguen 10 dólares más para un asiento con vista total, la acústica no es buena, y disfruten de la presencia de la puesta en escena.

I recently attended La Boheme (my first opera) at the Metropolitan Opera House and I became an immediate fan!
I was truly taken aback by the beauty of the opera house. Standing outside the opera house at night with the fountain lit up was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen! The inside of the house is just as beautiful. The chandeliers are gorgeous, very unique. There are also two original Chagall paintings on the walls.
The seats were nice and comfortable. The opera was in Italian, so I appreciated the option of having subtitles flash on the screens in front of our seats. It was cool because the screens were set in such a way that only the person sitting directly in front of them could see the words. This prevents others who do not wish to see the subtitles from being distracted.
The voices, music and set design of La Boheme were breathtaking. The story was easy to follow with the subtitles. I also liked the multiple intermissions between acts. It gave us a nice opportunity to explore the building and walk around the balcony. I hope to return again soon for another show!

This is a staple of New York City. Everyone should go to an Opera at least once in their life. All types of people come out to the opera, you should too. And Lincoln Center is charming, it is especially lovely at night.

Love love love the Met Opera! A must do every time I’m in New York. Our tradition is Prosecco and a Toblerone before every show. The supertitles on the chairs are great so you can understand what’s being said. The Sputniks are also always a fave — a gift of Sworovski crystal chandeliers from Austria to the Met.
If you have time, also do a backstage tour. Very cool to see the wig, costume, and set making areas.

What can be better than Metropolitan opera on Monday night? Love the opera and going to hear 3^rd installment of Maria Stuarta with Rodsinskaya.

I had a great here the other night, such a cool space and everyone gets dressed up for the most part, the seats were not the best but I had binocloars, the pereforance as a whole was really great, though I wish I read more about the story so I could follow it better.

Lovely opera house, it has a rather cozy and intimate feel to it despite having several tiers and plenty of seating.
I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy several wonderful performances here. My favorite seats are the ones close enough for me to see the singers’ faces and the conductor’s energetic movements. Some of the stage sets having been so beautiful.
I hope to enjoy many more evenings here.

Amazing! Went to see the season premier of Madam Butterfly. We were seated on Row Q in the left orchestra section. Had an amazing experience and great view of the stage.

The opera is one of the most underrated city attractions.
Who: There are three crowds of people who attend the opera. You have the NYC elites who throw money at anything. You have the theater lovers. Then, you have the tourists who are completely under-dressed.There are big efforts to get a younger crowd into the scene.
What: The Metropolitan Opera houses the best talent in the world. The Metropolitan Opera requires heavy strong voices because there are not any microphones to amplify the performers voices. So, remember to clap loud for your sopranos who are able to carry on for hours without any amplification. The performances are likely to be written in Italian. I would recommend reading a summary of the entire play before you go and watch it.
When: There is a show playing everyday. They rotate the operas so the performers can rest their voices
Where: Lincoln Center. The UWS can be a pain in the neck to get to. I recommend eating at Joanne’s Trattoria beforehand. The opera house is one of the most impressive architectural structures in NYC. The chandeliers are like nothing you have ever seen before. Be sure to check out the exhibits in the basement and the wall of opera fame.

I will forever love going to see amazing performances at the Met.
The place is just majestic!
I do wish, however, that the people who attend these memorable performances would respect not only the rules of the institution but also respect the performers and refrain from taking picture and/​or video! Especially with a flash!
Its completely and utterly disgraceful to think that in an opera house one would have to worry about those around pulling out their phones.
It is especially disturbing because one would think that the clientele that enjoys this particular genre of performances would have the sense to not execute actions that would be disrespectful and be just plain tacky. .
I feel so bad for the ushers because there is only so much reprimanding they can do.
The couple that sat in front of us tonight were asked to stop three times!
Just classless.
Please mind your manners.

I really enjoy attending the opera at The Met. Yes, it’s a very modern looking opera house and the lobby is a bit ridiculous but I think it adds to the atmosphere. There are plenty of good seats in the house; the orchestra actually contains a fair number of those at a fair price. Obviously the 1^st tier holds some of the best seats both visually and acoustically.
Also, the stage is a decent size, actually, for the city it’s quite large. To be clear, the sets are almost always amazing, especially my last visit for Turandot! Finally, it’s New York, so the talent here is some of the best in the world. We’re lucky in the fact that we attract talent from many different institutions across the globe.

AMAZING! I saw La Boheme on Tuesday night and loved it! My boyfriend and I had a great date night here. It’s super fun to get dressed up – some men were even in tuxedos. Our tickets were at willcall and it was easy to pick them up. We then scanned our tickets with the usher and went through a very fast security check (it was barely anything at all.)
The interior is absolutely gorgeous. I really loved the whole experience! We sat in the family circle section because it’s supposed to have the best acoustics, but next time I’d like to sit in the balcony. I realized that the top bit of the set was cut off from viewers in our section! Still, the sets were the best I’ve ever seen in any kind of production. Seriously stunning. I really don’t even know how to describe them because they were so gorgeous, elegant, and detailed.
Each seat has little individual subtitle screens in front of them, and they’re available in English, Spanish, and German. These were great! They’re made so that only the person sitting directly in front of it can see it, so they don’t distract other viewers.
There were two intermissions of 30 minutes each. The only negative thing I have to say is that they should put more stalls in the restrooms, and also maybe expand the bar somehow! I spent the first part of intermission just waiting in line. We still had time to admire the view from the balcony and make our way to one of the lower levels to get drinks, but as soon as we got them, we had 5 minutes to get back upstairs. Unfortunately, we had to drink them really fast and sit down again.
Overall though, I had a really great time here and would love to go back. Everyone working that night was great and the entire venue is amazing and classy. The tickets are affordable, too!

Classical opera is a tough business, it requires a full orchestra and chorus, soloists whose voices can fill a large auditorium without amplification and state-​of-​the art stagecraft; it’s expensive to produce, and difficult to fill the house. Decades ago we used to go more often, but prices weren’t as high then, fortunately, now the Met often has $ 25 day of tickets available, and thus we sometimes go back (this time to see The Pearl Fishers, and sorry, but The Times’ rave review wasn’t warranted; there’s a reason it’s been decades since it was last staged there). The Met had a grand house which they torn down in the 1960’s when they made the move to Lincoln Center. Although the Met is grand opera in the USA, the house itself has a slightly dated look, with a somewhat garish lobby and somewhat faded auditorium. That said, it’s as good as it gets in the USA, and a distinctly American house. Many European cities have historic gilded opera houses (such as Paris’ jewel-​box-​like Garnier) and some have built new houses with mixed success (including the architecturally unfortunate Opera Bastille, also in Paris), but the Met is one of the few purpose-​built Opera houses in the USA still in use for that art form and everyone should get there, at least once, no matter what their cultural background or musical tastes!
In terms of logistics, Lincoln Center has (pricey) underground parking; if you get lucky you may find street parking, particularly heading west toward the river, but don’t count on it. You can also take the #1 subway line to 66^th Street/​Lincoln Center. The Opera House is accessible, but be sure to make appropriate arrangements when booking tickets for an accessible seat. Some, but not all, facilities are accessible as well. There is fine dining as well as a separate bar on the Grand Tier and upscale grab and go food and drink on both the orchestra and lower levels before the curtain and especially at intermission. If you wish to leave the house during intermission be sure to obtain a reentry ticket first (it is separate from the ticket that is scanned when you first enter). Unlike many European opera houses, the Playbill program book is complimentary in NYC! There is a gift shop, but it is entered separately from the Opera House auditorium (no ticket required).

Previously saw and immensely enjoyed at the Met Opera Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Puccini’s Tosca.
Tonight decided to see Rossini’s The Barber of Seville.
We’re lucky to have one of the best opera houses in the world; You can always expect an outstanding cast and great production. Also, the Met Opera is very accessible to the general public with ticket prices ranging from $ 25 and up. I have sat in the front and back, and the sound was great.
But, tonight’s The Barber of Seville in English??? Major letdown. Felt like a musical. Minus the intermission, it was only 1 ½ hour long. Way to ruin a classic.
If I knew ahead of time, I would have skipped it.

This is an amazingly gorgeous space. The fountains, open plaza in front, glass façade, and modern chandeliers are very New York by design.
You really can’t go wrong listening to an opera here. I came for the Barber of Seville and it was fantastic. New York is the best at many things. Opera is one of those things.

I’m not the biggest opera person, but I was visiting NY to see my friend and we decided to see a show on Saturday.
We got a box seat for $ 35, it is on the 5^th floor, bit far and with only partial view to the stage. There is a translator infront of the box for your to read.
You can only bring water to inside, any alcohol have to be consumed outside
Overall, a great to place for a date, or an afternoon event with the love ones.

I have visited the Metropolitan Opera several times over the last few years, and also have been to several other opera houses both in the US and Europe.
The productions at the Metropolitan Opera are always top notch. You can always count on seeing the best singers here accompanied by an outstanding orchestra. This almost goes without saying.
What I would like to comment on, and the reason I cannot give this opera house five stars, are due to a couple of items. First of all, I just think the house is too big for most operas. Unless I am able to get seats in the first few rows in the center, the stage is too distant and the voices seem lost in the cavernous building. Last time I visited I sat in the third row in the Orchestra section off on the side, and I felt I was too distant from the stage, and those seats were $ 230. I have recently been to the Semperoper in Dresden, which to me is the perfect size for opera and is about one-​third the size of the Metropolitan Opera house.
I would also like to comment on the prices of the concessions. They are totally out of this world expensive. I know New York is an expensive city, but I am not going to spend $ 15 for a glass of wine. You do not see these kinds of prices at European opera houses.
These are, however, quibbles, and overall this an excellent place to see operas. I love the fact that they still do many traditional stagings of operas, and it’s also one of the few opera houses where you can see multiple operas on different nights when you visit the city. It’s a must visit for any true opera fan.

Was invited to see my first opera, Rigoletto, and it was phenomenal. Metropolitan Opera located at Lincoln Center is probably one of the most romantic places I have ever gone to. From the beautiful dancing fountain outside to the stunning interior and amazing stage setup, I was speechless. What I didn’t know going into the opera was that Rigoletto was all in French and it was about 3 hours long with 2 intermissions. Thankfully, our seats were equipped with screens that provided me english subtitles the entire night. Storyline was great and I highly recommend Rigoletto even though it was a tragic romantic opera. Majority of the guest went all out and really dressed up for the event. It’s definitely one of those nights where you want to dress to impress.

Despite the odd programming in comparison to the former director, Gelb has carried the Met into this century with much fanfare and anti-​fare and its still going strong.
Whatever the public opinion or controversial stagings, this is the top opera house world wide hands down.

Ich war am Samstag
in der METROPOLITAN OPERA in Rheingold. Die geben hier wahrscheinlich für Sänger und Musiker soviel Geld aus wie Real Madrid oder Bayern München für Fussballspieler und dementsprechend perfekt wurde hier unter der Leitung des Dirigenten Fabio Luisi gesungen und gefiedelt. Rheingold ist meine Lieblings-​Wagner-​Oper, vor allem wegen der Kürze. Für eine Wagner-​Oper sind 2.5 h jedenfalls angenehm kurz und man braucht nicht einmal eine Pause. Mich haut bei Rheingold jedesmal der grandiose Auftakt mit dem langen Eingangston um. Das ist ein Ton in die Ewigkeit. Und dann schätze ich sehr das erste Bild mit den Rheintöchtern. Sie schwammen in einem phantastischen Bühnenbild herum, wackelten mit ihren Fischschwänzen und machten den armen Zwerg Alberich (Richard Paul Fink) heiß. Sie liessen ihn aber in seiner Erregung ergebnislos schmoren. Aus Rache erleichterte der Verschmähte die Rheintöchter sodann um das Rheingold. Die Handlung spitzt sich weiter zu. Wie schon manchem Bauherrn geschehen, geriet Wotan (Greer Grimsley) mit seiner Immobilienfinanzierung in Schwierigkeiten. Er kann die Handwerker (Franz-​Josef Selig und Hans-​Peter König) nicht bezahlen und die Ehefrau (Stephanie Blythe) macht Druck, da er in seiner Not Freia (Wendy Bryn Harmer) verpfändet hat. Aber Loge (Stefan Margita) hilft ihm schliesslich listenreich aus der Patsche indem sie in Nibelheim Alberich übelst austricksen. So sind die Deutschen, denkt wohl das überwiegend amerikanische Publikum, und ich bin ein wenig stolz auf uns. Der Grundstein für die Katastrophen in den folgenden Teilen des Rings ist gelegt. Die Inszenierung, die Sänger und das Orchester waren phantastisch. Am meisten Beifall bekam Wotan und Loge. Es waren aber alle ohne Fehl und Tadel. Es war ein unvergeßliches Erlebnis.

La representación ha sido francamente decepcionante. Se puede discutir sobre los gustos, las arañas de cristal y sobre un Rigoletto situado en Las Vegas con libreto modernizado. Pero es un hecho objetivo que la acustica en esta sala no es buena, quitando así mucha calidad a la representación. Aparentemente es la misma arquitectura que se orientó más en la cantidad de asientos que la calidad del sonido.

Salle et bâtiment magnifique! La salle est une des plus belles que j’ai vu! Elle est très grande et j’ai eu la chance d’assister à une répétition générale de Carmen pratiquement seul dans la salle! Le pied.
Seul hic: le prix des places, mais cela est inévitable à NYC

Das ist wohl die bekannteste amerikanische Oper. Wir waren in einer Puccini-​Produktion und begeistert: Sowohl von der musikalischen Darbietung des Orchesters, als auch von den Solisten. Die Bühne ist schlicht riesig und die Bühnenbilder unglaublich detailliert und aufwändig gestaltet. Hier singen die «ganz großen». Wer mag, kann vor der Vorstellung auch zum Dinner kommen.
Dass ein Weißwein hier in einem Plastikbecher serviert wird, na gut. Ich schaue mal darüber hinweg.