About the Metropolitan Opera

Founded in 1883, The Metropolitan Opera is the largest performing arts organization in the United States. As one of the premiere opera companies in the world with its outstanding orchestra and chorus it attracts many of the world's most renowned artists. The Met gives over 200 performances of staged opera per year, with a repertory of around 25 operas each season. More than 800,000 people attend the Metropolitan opera annually.

The Met's regular season at the Opera House at Lincoln Center begins in September and runs through early May, for a total of 32 weeks, during which time the company performs seven times a week. Additional performing activities include concert performances at Carnegie Hall and at the Lincoln Center opera house, as well as international tours and summer concerts in New York City and New Jersey area parks. Students attend dress rehearsals and other programs are directed at bringing a new audience to the opera.

The Metropolitan Opera's most enduring and effective outreach is its 75-year-old tradition of live Saturday afternoon radio broadcasts, the longest running live cultural radio series. The Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network includes over 300 radio stations in the United States and 40 countries in North and South America, Asia, and Asia-Pacific. Since 1977 The Metropolitan Opera has been televising operas in live performances. Many of these are now available as DVD's. In 1995, The Metropolitan introduced "Met Titles," its own system in which the titles (translations) are displayed on the back row of seats for all Met performances. For more information about The Metropolitan Opera, visit the history section of the Metropolitan Opera's website.