Metropolitan Opera House

ANNA NETREBKO

L'elisir d'amore (The Elixir of Love) is an opera by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti.

The Metropolitan Opera House contains 3,800 seats and 195 standing room places

and was designed by architect Wallace K. Harrison.

The lobby is dominated by a cantilevered stairway that connects the main level with the lower level lounge and upper floors. Suspended in the lobby are 11 crystal chandeliers resembling constellations or starbursts. The auditorium contains 21 matching chandeliers, the largest of which measures 18 ft (5.5 m) in diameter. These were a gift of the Austrian government and designed by Dr. Hans Rath of J & L Lobmyer of Vienna. The chandeliers in the auditorium are raised to the ceiling prior to performances so as not to obstruct sightlines of the audience in the upper levels. In 2008, the chandeliers were dismantled and sent to the Lobmyer workshops to be refurbished prior to the Met's 125th anniversary season. Workers re-wired the pieces and replaced any of the 49,000 crystals that were broken or missing.

Leica M9 35mm Summicron

@ 2012 Photo Pro - Jeffrey P. Hopp