The Metropolitan Opera Club is a private social club within the
Metropolitan Opera House in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. Founded in 1893 and incorporated in 1899, the club maintains its own dining room (designed by
Angelo Donghia and later renovated by
Peter Pennoyer
Peter Morgan Pennoyer FAIA (born on February 19, 1957) is an architect and the principal of Peter Pennoyer Architects, an architecture firm based in New York City. Pennoyer, his four partners and his fifty associates have an international practice ...
) and boxes on the dress circle level of the opera house, and is open to its members for several performances a week during the opera season. Informally known as the "Opera Club", the club is independent of the
Metropolitan Opera Association
The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...
(MOA) (the official name of the Metropolitan Opera).
Founded as a men-only club, the Opera Club has admitted women as full members since 1982.
Members and their guests are required to wear
black-tie
Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal element ...
for evening performances (although
white-tie is requested for premieres, galas and certain Monday night performances) and a dark suit or
morning dress
Morning dress, also known as formal day dress, is the formal Western dress code for day attire, consisting chiefly of, for men, a morning coat, waistcoat, and formal trousers, and an appropriate gown for women. Men may also wear a popular va ...
for Saturday matinee performances. The membership is sometimes affectionately referred to as "the Penguins" because of its attire.
Early history
The club was founded in 1893 when a collection of New York Society gentlemen created a private
supper club
A supper club is a traditional dining establishment that also functions as a social club. The term may describe different establishments depending on the region, but in general, supper clubs tend to present themselves as having a high-class image ...
in a lobby of the
old Metropolitan Opera House on West 39th Street/
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
while the back of the house was under renovation after a fire.
Known as the "Vaudeville Club", members and their guests dined and watched performances from a miniature stage designed by
Stanford White
Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect. He was also a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms. He designed many houses for the rich, in addition ...
, a founding member.
In its early days, the Vaudeville Club provided a venue for Society (and especially its wives and daughters) to enjoy, without venturing among the general public, illustrious and accomplished music hall performers such as
Vesta Victoria, Ward & Volkes,
Walter Jones, Mlle Violette, Papinta and her serpentine dances, and pantomimist
Pilar-Morin
Madame Pilar-Morin (born about 1870, died after June 1935) was a Spanish-French actress on stage, in vaudeville, and in silent films.
Early life
Pilar-Morin recalled a childhood in Barcelona, a Catholic education, a brief early marriage to a Fr ...
.
By the second year of the Vaudeville Club's existence, the Metropolitan Opera had resumed performances, and the club acquired the use of the large opera box that adjoined the club. Members would thus attend the opera and then enjoy the vaudeville entertainments afterwards.
It became apparent over that season, however, that the late night music hall performances were resulting in minor scandal, while the members were increasingly availing themselves of the opera box. By the 1894 season the Vaudeville Club had changed its name to the "Opera Club",
and in 1899 its members formally incorporated themselves as the "Metropolitan Opera Club".
Relationship with artists
The club has singers among its membership and often hosts dinners for prominent performers appearing at the Metropolitan Opera.
Enrico Caruso wrote the club to thank its members for publicly expressing their support after he was arrested for breach of the peace at the
Central Park Zoo in 1906.
Support for the Metropolitan Opera Association
Although the Opera Club is fully independent of the Metropolitan Opera Association, support for the MOA is central to the club's activities. The club donated the gold stage curtain that was made for the opening of the new opera house at
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...
in 1966, and also contributed to its recent replacement.
The club continues to make annual gifts to the MOA, which are often used to finance new productions or revivals.
See also
*
List of supper clubs
This is a list of supper clubs. A supper club is a traditional dining establishment that also functions as a social club. The term may describe different establishments depending on the region, but in general, supper clubs tend to present themselve ...
References
Sources
*
External links
*
{{Portal bar, New York City, Opera
Opera in New York City
Supper clubs
1893 establishments in New York (state)
Organizations established in 1893