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- Metropolitan Opera Auditorium Chandelier
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The Rising Stars at the Met Opera
When the New York Metropolitan Opera opened on September 13th, 1966, the first applause went to the twelve chandeliers that rose towards the ceiling with the first curtain. On the opening night audience and journalists were startlingly impressed by Starburst Chandeliers from Vienna, a gift to the United States of America by the Republic of Austria out of gratitude for the European Recovery Program after World War II.
The family myth tells of a book on astronomy Harrison, the Met’s head architect, presented to Hans Harald Rath as inspiration for his design. It showed the first scientific photographs of distant galaxies and nebulae.
The narrative also has a model made of potatoes and toothpicks and a lucky accident of Tad Lesky, a member of the architects Harrison & Abramovitz.
The Met chandeliers can be made in a wide variety of finishs.
SIzes range from 60 cm diameter to monumental sizes 600 cm such as the one at Met Opera in NY.
The concept of the chandelier also allows for stretched versions with one elongated axis to go over longer tables.
The difference between the well known Met Foyer style and the Met Auditorium style is not the colour. The difference between those two very similar styles lies in the decorative pieces. While the Foyer style bears the name-sake Sputnik elements this style has cone-shaped tufts of crystal beasds on spokes that ornate the long rays.
