Metropolitan Opera House

The Metropolitan Opera was founded in 1883, with its first opera house built on Broadway and 39th Street by a group of wealthy businessmen who wanted their own theater. In the company’s early years, the management changed course several times, first performing everything in Italian (even 'Carmen' and 'Lohengrin'), then everything in German (even 'Aida' and 'Faust'), before finally settling into a policy of performing most works in their original language, with some notable exceptions.