Leading U.S. opera company, based in New York City.
Founded by a group of millionaires who had failed to get boxes at the Academy of Music, it opened in 1883. The Met soon outlived its frivolous origin, becoming the American equivalent of La Scala in Milan and second to no opera house in the world in the quality of the singers it attracted. Originally sited at Broadway and 39th Street, it moved into its new home at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in 1966.