When did the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center open?
The official opening was on September 16, 1966, with the world premiere of Samuel Barber’s Antony and Cleopatra. The cast included Leontyne Price, Justino Díaz, Jess Thomas, and Rosalind Elias, and was conducted by Thomas Schippers. However, the first opera actually heard at the Lincoln Center house was a student matinee performance of La Fanciulla del West on April 11, 1966. This was not the official opening, but rather a test of the theater’s acoustics.
