On the eve of its 125th anniversary season, the Metropolitan Opera is the most widely heard and known opera company in the world. The Met is a vibrant home for the most creative and talented artists, including singers, conductors, composers, orchestra musicians, stage directors, designers, visual artists, choreographers, and dancers from around the world. Known as the venue for the world’s greatest voices, the Met has been under the musical direction of James Levine since 1976.  Levine is credited with having created one of opera’s finest orchestras and choruses.

In the summer of 2006, Peter Gelb became the Met’s 16th general manager. Under the leadership of Gelb and Levine, the Met is elevating the company’s theatrical standards by significantly increasing the number of new productions, staged by the most imaginative directors working in theater and opera. The company is also securing increased commitments from the world’s greatest singers. The Met has launched a series of initiatives to broaden its audience internationally; efforts have ranged from transmitting operas live in high definition to movie theaters around the world to hosting free Open Houses for the general public.  To revitalize the company’s repertory, the Met has pledged to present modern masterpieces alongside the classic repertory.

The Metropolitan Opera was founded in 1883. The first Metropolitan Opera House was built on Broadway and 39th Street by a group of wealthy businessmen who wanted their own opera house. 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.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Christine F. Hunter
- Chairman
William C. Morris
- President and Chief Executive Officer
Mercedes T. Bass
- Vice Chairman
Kevin W. Kennedy
- Chairman of the Executive Committee and Treasurer
Ann Ziff
- Secretary
Frayda B. Lindemann
- Vice President
James W. Kinnear
- Honorary Chairman
Paul M. Montrone
- President Emeritus
Mrs. Ezra K. Zilkha
- Vice Chairman Emerita

Managing Directors:
Mrs. Walter H. Annenberg
Adrienne Arsht
Mercedes T. Bass
Frank A. Bennack, Jr.
Susan S. Braddock
Jerome A. Chazen
Leonard S. Coleman, Jr.
Alberto Cribiore
Mrs. Paul Desmarais, Sr.
Alfred C. Eckert III
Mrs. John French III
Mark Getty
Beth W. Glynn
Eugene P. Grisanti
Christine F. Hunter
Frederick Iseman
Scott Kapnick
Kevin W. Kennedy
James W. Kinnear
Bruce Kovner
Camille D. LaBarre
Mrs. Walter J. Laughery, Jr.
Harry T. Lee
Mrs. Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer
Frayda B. Lindemann
Guillermo L. Martinez
William R. Miller
Vivian Milstein
Paul M. Montrone
William C. Morris
Dr. M. Lee Pearce
Elena A. Prokupets
Lewis S. Ranieri
William D. Rollnick
Marvin Schein
James C. Slaughter
Laura J. Sloate
Howard Solomon
Antoinette “Toni” Stabile
Hon. David A. Straz, Jr.
Mrs. Wilmer J. Thomas, Jr.
Robert I. Toll
Agnes Varis
Robert W. Wilson
Mrs. William B. Ziff, Jr.

Honorary Directors:
Bruce Crawford
Mrs. Gilbert W. Humphrey
Emily Fisher Landau
Mrs. Alexander M. Laughlin
Laurence D. Lovett
James S. Marcus
John K. McKinley
Miss Risë Stevens
Mrs. Ezra K. Zilkha

Advisory Directors:
Josef Ackermann
Alan M. Ades
R. Joseph Barnett
M. Beverly Bartner
Ellen S. Berelson
Stanley M. Bergman
Glen W. Bowersock
Mrs. Thomas S. Brush
Mrs. George P. Caulkins, Jr.
Nabil N. Chartouni
Judith-Ann Corrente
Rena DeSisto
Sanford H. Fisher
Gordon P. Getty
F. Malcolm Graff, Jr.
Nancy A. Green
Ephraim Greenwall
Ray J. Groves
Marlene Hess
Howard J. Hook, Jr.
Fumiko Hosoda
Thomas J. Hubbard
Gilbert S. Kahn
H. Alexandra Kauka
Klaus Kleinfeld
Theodore A. Kurz
Mitchell L. Lathrop
Dr. Coco Lazaroff
David P. Mason
Richard J. Massey
Anne Welsh McNulty
Harvey R. Miller
Mrs. Corbin R. Miller
Socrates Nicholas
Ellen F. Oelsner
Kevin Parker
Joseph R. Perella
Miss Leontyne Price
Hartley R. Rogers
Jon W. Rotenstreich
Winthrop Rutherfurd, Jr.
Charles Ryskamp
Mrs. Arnold Schwartz
Joan C. Schwartz
Barry Shenkman
Maria Shustorovich
Donald G. Sisler
Daisy M. Soros
Patricia F. Sullivan
John J. Veronis
William B. Warren

Members:
Mahmoud M. Abdallah
M. Bernard Aidinoff
Roger Barnett
Jane Beasley
Mrs. Klaus D. Bindhardt
Van Cliburn
Robert J. Cubitto
Edward vK. Cunningham
Mrs. Bryant Reeve Dunn
Robert G. Edge
Paula Heil Fisher
Joseph L. Gossner
Eugene M. Grant
Marit G. Gruson
G. Morris Gurley
Mrs. Randolph H. Guthrie
O. Delton Harrison, Jr.
Henry H. Hoyt, Jr.
Miss Kate Ireland
Mattiwilda Dobbs Janzon
Mrs. Martin S. Kimmel
Frederick R. Koch
W. Loeber Landau
Mrs. Joan C. Long
Arthur J. Mahon
Helen Marx
John L. McGraw
Carlos Moseley
Mrs. Peter H. Nicholas
Katharina Otto-Bernstein
Sharon Robinson
Mary G. (Molly) Rockefeller
Jacqui Smith
Mrs. William F. Sondericker
Emily Spiegel
Barry Tucker
Robert L. Turner
Mrs. Robert Wagenfeld
Mrs. Ralph M. Wyman
and all of the Directors

Young Associate Directors:
Heather H. Georges
Vikas Kapoor
Roelfien Kuijpers
Harrison LeFrak
Joshua S. Levine
Steven G. Mandis
Mary E. Peck
Evelyn M. M. Popp
Maria Soledad Saieh
Axel Schwarzer
So-Chung Shinn Lee
Langdon Van Norden, Jr.
Christopher C. Warren
Satoko Yahata
Simon Yates

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Lincoln Center
New York, New York 10023
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Performing Arts