The Metropolitan Opera

For more than 130 years, the Metropolitan Opera has been a vibrant home for the most creative and talented artists working in opera, including singers, conductors, composers, orchestra musicians, stage directors, designers, visual artists, choreographers, and dancers. Founded in 1883 by a group of wealthy businessmen, the Met launched with a performance of Gounod’s "Faust," and since that first night, the company has continually engaged the world’s greatest singers, including Enrico Caruso, Renata Tebaldi, Maria Callas, Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, Renée Fleming, and countless other extraordinary artists. Under the leadership of General Manager Peter Gelb and Music Director James Levine, the Met engages the most imaginative directors working in theater and opera to create new productions. The exhibits on the following pages present performance clips and highlights from the Met's award-winning Live in HD series of global movie-theater transmissions, interviews with the directors of the 2015–16 season's new productions, and other behind-the-scenes content.