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Met Foyer

Hans Harald Rath, 1966
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    Starburst chandelier from Vienna for the Metropolitan 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 ERP-program after World War II.
    Met chandelier at Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten, Hamburg
    Met chandelier at Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten, Hamburg
    The chandelier cascade at the foyer of the Met Opera
    The chandelier cascade at the foyer of the Met Opera

    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.

     

    A small Met chandelier at Hotel Angela, Lech
    A small Met chandelier at Hotel Angela, Lech
    Met chandelier size comparison
    Met chandelier size comparison

    The idea behind the Met line is that they scale to any size without any visible impact on the general look. Especially the chandeliers of 100 cm diameter and larger basically all look the same. Actually the visual difference between various sizes is often less obvious than the difference of looking at one chandelier from different sides.

     

    The main chandelier at the Met Opera foyer during restauration 2008
    The main chandelier at the Met Opera foyer during restauration 2008