Lincoln Center: Metropolitan Opera House (1966)

The largest opera repertory in the world is at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. It is situated on Broadway in Manhattan and was established in 1966. The structure, which encompasses a space of roughly 16 acres, or almost 6.5 hectares, is the primary contributor to New York City’s cultural and intellectual life. Because of the diverse arts it offers and the artists who play there all over the world, Lincoln Center is well-known on a global scale. The Philharmonic, Opera, and Ballet concert halls are among the three that make up the Center. Wallace Harrison, an architect, conceptualized and planned the Metropolitan Opera theater hall (Nishihar at al., 799). The opera structure is fully arrayed in silvery travertine with the east frontage decorated with a unique sequence of curvatures. On average Lincoln Center can host approximately 5,000 performances and concerts. The Center attends to over five million concert goers and guests each year. This paper will provide a formal architectural analysis of the Lincoln Center Metropolitan Opera House in the context of the art history, building plans, as well as compare the influences and styles of Wallace K Harrison.

Formal Qualities of the Building

The Metropolitan Opera House is among the most well-known opera houses across the world as well as the go-to place for the of New York to experience one of the finest and oldest theatrical art forms. Despite that the building is strongly linked with Europe; operas have a great following of fans across the globe, and New York is celebrated for being the most prime places for opera singers to showcase their skills on the North American ground. The in-depth plots, decorative costumes, and ornamental sets on show at the Metropolitan Opera building have done its name tantamount with a source of pride and class (Metcalf 19). Accordingly, the Metropolitan house building is by itself an art; the glass chandeliers the illuminate gold, sweeping stairwells, lush red carpets, and the high ceilings are indeed an architectural stunning success. In addition, the building is filled with odes to past performances as well as through the display of pictures, costumes, and the tidbits information all along its passages.

The building’s architect Wallace Harrison designed the modern structure with a lot of creativity that rumbles with the warmness of tradition. The graceful lines of the coiled staircases are just veracious for putting individuals on the show. Subsequently, gold dominates in the pronounced interlocking circles of the ceiling, on the frontages of the scalloped boxes and around the proscenium. An extra lushness is added by the magnificent red of the carpets as well as the luxurious seats. On the same note, the building contains chandeliers well fashioned along the hallways in the theatre which are fireworks that have been frozen at their greatest dazzling moment. Also, the building houses two great tapestries designed by a renowned abstract expressionist Marc Chagall. These beautiful works of art hang in the opera houses forward-facing windows as if they are welcoming guests (Metcalf, 22). In this light individuals that are unfamiliar with the opera appreciate the smartness of the Metropolitan Opera House. It is surprising that only a few people can realize that the Metropolitan Opera House indeed provides guided tours of the building. Consequently, the presence of these tours makes it easier for attendants to gain a deeper understanding of the way the firm works, which also offers an attractive preview of the areas hidden to the general community.

The presence of tours within the premise has made it easier for entourages to appreciate on the way the company operates. This comprises of two distinct tours provide to the general public; the first being “Lincoln Center Tour” and the second ”The Backstage Tour.” The Backstage tours appear at the time of performances season at different time schedules (Benzecry 189). During weekdays it appears at 3 PM and on weekends at 10:30 AM and 1:30 PM. As the name backstage suggest, the tour works by taking individuals backstage to look at the inner workings of the Metropolitan Opera House. Through the company’s consideration to performers, tours are not held on final dress rehearsals dates and days when other social activities ate going on in the building. In consideration of the wealth of experience, the prices for tickets are exceptionally reasonable: students pay as low as $20, the general public $25 and $23 for Guild Members.

Art History

The formation of the new Metropolitan Opera started way back in the mid-1920s, a time when the backstage accommodations started to become greatly insufficient for the growing performance and developing stagecraft. Initially the development was intended to take a capacity of 4,000 seats, however, due to financial constraints, the complex Metropolitan Opera changed to a more commercial base. Contrary to the expectation, John Rockefeller shortchanged the development by substituting the opera house with a 70 story tower that was opened in 1933. Twenty years later, architect, Wallace Harrison was contacted to develop the Metropolitan Opera House as the centerpiece for the performing arts. Despite the long redesigning processes, revisions and contrary interests the construction of the Metropolitan Opera House started in 1963, the last among the three leading Lincoln Center scenes to be accomplished. As a result of construction delays brought by the accomplishment of the bordering New York State Auditorium; it leads to the massive excavation of the site, and it was branded a name ”Lake Bing“ after the Met general manger Rudolf Bing. Finally, the new Metropolitan Opera Company was opened in 1966 with a concert of Giacomo Puccini’s La fanciulla del West (Benzecry 171).

The building plan for Metropolitan Opera House

The key structure consists of curled ramparts linked with decorated floors and a central facility wall. The curved walls stretch across the building, with the envelope running continuously along the surface is made out of a spray-able kind of concrete used for channel work. The wall is cast in a double coating with the primary construction applied with a pre-diversified collection with the intention to attain a precise massing. The wall is plastered with a faintly different mixture using hands to make sure that the extra dimension and texture of the design is attained. The building comprises of a coating that serves as the living ecosystem which continuously recycles rainwater and inactively regulate temperatures and radiance inside the building. In the inside, the building comprises an extensive ”arts mall” that runs across the entire ground surface with many circulations paths heading to the magnificent theatre at the core of the plan (Klein, Christine Taylor, 86).

Construction plan: The structural system was advanced together with the construction technique to attain a freeform geometry in an efficient and balanced way (Klein, Christine Taylor, 83). The freeform concrete surfaces are made of shotcrete (spray concrete). The sprayed concrete is mainly used for tunnel construction which is suitable for curved surfaces.

Style of the building: The building takes approximately 3,800 seats and features broad seating on the instrumental level, comprising of four balconies as well as a small fifth balcony. The balconies are faced with jewel-like lights with a huge spherical chandelier in at the heart of the gold latticed ceiling (Metcalf 17).

Architecture: The Metropolitan Opera House building is located on the western side of Lincoln Center Arcade, bordering the Broadway and Columbus Avenue forming an alliance with Philip Johnson’s David Koch Theatre and David Geffen Hall. While the west-east routes do not coincide at Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Opera Company stands corresponding to the block from West 63 Lane to West 64 Lane. The back side of the company bumps into Amsterdam Avenue and prolongs to the mall entry. The construction is dressed in a silvery travertine with the east frontage decorated with distinguishing sequence of five concrete archways and huge crystal and sculpture frontage hanging directly above the m. The north, south and west sides of the building comprise of vertical fins of travertine running the entire heights of the building which provides an impression that the frontage is an uninterrupted travertine collection from different angles. The construction comprises of fourteen stories with five being underground.

The multi-floor hall is predominated with concrete and carpet cantilevered staircase which links the core level with the trivial living room and high grounds. The cornerstone of the building is a collection of ”gemstone chandeliers which resembles a collection of sparky satellites and moons scattering out in all ways.” The theatre holds identical chandeliers, with the biggest measuring 18 feet in diameter (Nishihara 801). The building holds monuments by Wilhelm Lehmbruck and Aristide Maillol and pictures of prominent and associates of the Met Corporation. The architectural surfaces comprise a 3000 square feet of velour which conceals the ramparts in the facade of the building spaces, bronze, gold foliage, concrete and Italian glass ball.

The theatre is fan-fashioned and ornamented in gold and claret with the orchestra for 3800 people as well as 245 standup points covering six levels. The hemispherical petal-shaped ceiling consists of a gold leaf covering over 4,000 squares upon which the rock crystal chandeliers hung. The ramparts of the hall are paneled in kevazingo bubinga, comprise rosewood that is famously known for its acoustic quality (Metcalf 25). The rosewood plays an important role in ensuring small discussion and quiet times during music are well heard at the top of the Family Circle. The Metropolitan Opera House has the largest stage globally running 80 feet deep from the curtail line to the back wall. The general dimension of the platform holds seven hydraulic elevators. The wide and greatly built-up platform and adequate space enable the performance rotation of a maximum of four dissimilar opera productions in a week.

Comparison

Harrison’s earlier ideas and sketches were similar to the Opera house in Sydney. Likewise, some had the familiar wavelike effect on stilts and reflecting from a pool below. Conversely, the Metropolitan Opera House is the most outstanding technologically developed stage globally. Its immense array of motorized stages, pulley systems, and hydraulic elevators has made it possible for the huge performance wants of the magnificent opera concert.

Works Cited

Benzecry, Claudio E. ”An opera house for the ”Paris of South America”: pathways to the

institutionalization of high culture.“ Theory and Society 43.2 (2014): 169-196.

Kotnik, Vlado. ”Opera as social manifest: madlena zepter’s private opera house and theatre as

corporate gift to the serbian nation; pp. 229–271.“

Klein, Christine Taylor. ”The Quiet Dissemination of American Modernism: George Sakier’s

Designs for American Radiator.“ Design Issues 28.1 (2012): 81-90.

Metcalf, Sasha. ”Funding“ Opera for the 80s and Beyond”: The Role of Impresarios in Creating a

New American Repertoire.“ American Music 35.1 (2017): 7-28.

Nishihara, Noriko, and Takayuki Hidaka. ”Loudness perception of low tones undergoing partial

masking by higher tones in orchestral music in concert halls a.“ The Journal of the

Acoustical Society of America 132.2 (2012): 799-803.