The Metropolitan Opera House has stood at 30 Lincoln Center Plaza on Manhattan’s Upper West Side since it officially opened on September 16, 1966. Designed by architect Wallace K. Harrison as the centerpiece of the newly built Lincoln Center complex, the fan-shaped auditorium replaced the original Metropolitan Opera House on 39th Street and has served as the permanent home of the Metropolitan Opera company ever since.
Wrapped in gold and burgundy and rising across six levels, the house holds 3,800 seats plus 175 standing-room spots, giving it a total capacity of 3,975 and the Guinness World Record title of largest repertory opera house on Earth. Its glass-fronted lobby, visible from the Lincoln Center plaza, displays two monumental Marc Chagall murals and a cluster of starburst-shaped Austrian crystal chandeliers that rise into the ceiling just before each performance begins.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: 30 Lincoln Center Plaza, Manhattan, New York City
- Type: Opera house / performing arts venue
- Opened: September 16, 1966
- Architect: Wallace K. Harrison
- Capacity: 3,975 total (3,800 seats plus 175 standing-room)
- Famous for: World’s largest repertory opera house; Chagall lobby murals
Inside the House
The auditorium’s fan-shaped design was built for both acoustics and sightlines, with tiers of boxes and balconies wrapping the gold-and-burgundy hall across six levels. Austrian crystal chandeliers designed by Hans Harald Rath and gifted by the Austrian government hang in the auditorium, and all of them rise dramatically into the ceiling as the house lights dim before curtain.
In the glass-walled lobby, two Marc Chagall murals, The Sources of Music and The Triumph of Music, each roughly 30 by 36 feet, face each other on the north and south walls. Chagall painted them in 1966 following his earlier work designing sets and costumes for the house’s opening-season production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute.
Home of the Met
The opera house replaced the original 1883 Metropolitan Opera House at Broadway and 39th Street, giving the Metropolitan Opera company a purpose-built stage with advanced hydraulic scenery systems as part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts campus. The venue has also hosted American Ballet Theatre and remains one of the anchor stages of New York’s performing arts scene, staging a full opera season each year alongside the Live in HD cinema broadcasts that carry Met performances worldwide.
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Metropolitan Opera House FAQs
When did the current Metropolitan Opera House open?
It officially opened on September 16, 1966, as part of the newly built Lincoln Center complex, replacing the original 1883 Metropolitan Opera House on 39th Street.
How many people can the Metropolitan Opera House hold?
The house holds 3,800 seats plus 175 standing-room places, for a total capacity of 3,975, making it the largest repertory opera house in the world according to Guinness World Records.
What are the famous murals in the lobby?
Marc Chagall’s The Sources of Music and The Triumph of Music, each about 30 by 36 feet, hang on the north and south walls of the glass-fronted lobby.
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Photo: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.