The Metropolitan Opera is composed of several divisions, including a ballet company, a chorus, a children's choir, a symphony-sized orchestra, and leading and supporting singers. The Metropolitan Opera is housed by the Metropolitan Opera House, which is one of twelve art associations at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, which includes such prominent organizations such as Julliard School and the New York City Opera and Ballet. The Met presents over two hundred performances each season of which over 800,000 people patron.
The Met first opened in 1883 and was funded by wealthy businessmen who wanted an alternative opera house. Its first location was erected on Broadway and 39th Street. Due to inadequate stage facilities, it has since moved to its current location at the Lincoln Center. In September of 1966, the Met opened, completely revamped with much more technical capabilities, at the Lincoln Center. It underwent several trials in its early stages, such as completely performing all works in Italian and then German before finally stabilizing with the policy of performing most works in their original languages. However, "Met Titles" were implemented in 1995, which offer translation on computerized screens for patrons who would like to utilize them.
The Metropolitan Opera serves as a performing arts showcase. Its roster of singers is among the world's most famous artists. Moreover, its productions are among the most famous operas of all time as well. In addition, everything hosted at the Met is from the highest in the field, even down to the choreographers, directors, and designers. The Met also helps pave the way to success for many artists through its young artists programs, such as the children's choir. Several artists have achieved recognition due to their affiliation with the Met. One example is Emmy Rossum, whose history of performing in the Metropolitan Opera's children's choir helped land her the leading role of Christine Daae in Andrew Lloyd Webber's movie production of the Phantom of the Opera.
The Met not only provides innovations such as "Met titles" at all of its opera performances. It has many other innovative features as well, such as television and radio broadcasts and tours and recordings. Moreover, the Met has always boasted fine architecture as well. The original building consisted of a golden auditorium adorned with a sparkling, sunburst chandelier. The current building is clad in travertine and showcases a series of five distinctive arches viewable from the east facade.
The Metropolitan Opera employs the most talented artists of the world, from singers and dancers to directors and costume designers. Plus, they perform the most famous operatic scores in the world. Christine Nilsson and Marcella Sembrich, world renowned opera singers, performed the leading roles during its opening season in 1883. Some of the operas performed by the Met include Faust, La Boheme, and Tristan and Isolde. The Met contributes to artistic talent by providing them a magnificent stage upon which to perform and by offering a young artist development program to train artists through in hopes of presenting the best available talent to its patrons.