It was obvious from the start that the 39th Street building did not have adequate stage equipment. Today the Met continues to present the finest talents and discovers and trains young artists through several different programmes.

In the 1920s, Lawrence Tibbett became the first in a line of top-flight American baritones who called the Met home. Enrico Caruso arrived in 1903, and when he died eighteen years later, he had sung more at the Met than at all the other opera companies of the world combined.Īmerican singers acquired greater fame with Geraldine Farrar and Rosa Ponselle, who became key members of the company. In the 1890s, Nellie Melba and Emma Calvé shared the limelight with the De Reszke Brothers, Jean and Edouard, and two American sopranos, Emma Eames and Lillian Nordica. In the German seasons that followed, Lilli Lehmann dominated the Wagnerian repertory and everything she chose to sing. Christine Nilsson and Marcella Sembrich shared the principal roles during the opening season. The Metropolitan Opera has always hired the finest artists. In the first few years, management changed strategies several times, initially giving all performances in Italian, even operas written in French or German, then everything in German including works written in Italian or other languages, until the time came when operas were presented in their original language. The first building was built at the corner of Broadway and 39th Street. The Metropolitan Opera was founded in 1883 by a group of businessmen who wanted their own theatre.

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