Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
http://www.lincolncenter.org

The Metropolitan Opera House

Broadway at 65th Street
New York, N.Y. 10023
http://www.metopera.org


Organ Specifications:
Broadway at 65th Street – Lincoln Center (since 1966):
► II/22 Aeolian-Skinner Organ Co., Op. 1444 (1965)
1411 Broadway at 39th Street (1883-1966):
► I/13 Farrand & Votey Co., Op. 711 (1893)
► I/15 Hilborne L. Roosevelt, Op. 94 (1882)
             
Original Metropolitan Opera House - New York City (1904 Postcard)  
Original Metropolitan Opera House
 
The first Metropolitan Opera House opened on October 22, 1883, with a performance of Faust. Located at 1411 Broadway between 39th and 40th Streets, it was designed by J. Cleaveland Cady. Gutted by fire on August 27, 1892, the theater was immediately rebuilt and then in 1903 its interior was extensively renovated again by the architects Carrère and Hastings. The familiar red and gold interior associated with the house dates from this time. The theater was noted for its elegance and excellent acoustics and it provided a glamorous home for the company. Its stage facilities, however, were found to be severely inadequate from its earliest days. Many plans for a new opera house were explored, but it was only with the development of Lincoln Center that the Met was able to build a new home. The original Metropolitan Opera House closed April 16, 1966 with a lavish farewell gala performance. It was demolished in 1967.

The present Metropolitan Opera House, with approximately 3,800 seats, is located in Lincoln Center at Lincoln Square in the Upper West Side and was designed by architect Wallace K. Harrison. After numerous revisions to its design, the new building opened September 16, 1966 with the world premiere of Samuel Barber's Antony and Cleopatra. The theater, while large, is noted for its excellent acoustics. The stage facilities, state of the art when the theater was built, continue to be updated technically and are capable of handling multiple large complex opera productions simultaneously. When the opera company is on hiatus, the Opera House is home to performances of American Ballet Theatre and touring opera and ballet companies.
             
  Aeolian-Skinner Organ, Op. 1444 (1965) in the Metropolitan Opera House - New York City
Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company
Boston, Mass. – Opus 1444 (1965)
Electro-pneumatic action
Setterboard combination action
2 manuals, 20 registers, 13 stops, 22 ranks


The organ in The Metropolitan Opera House was built by the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company of Boston. While the opus number was assigned in 1963 the organ was not installed until 1965. All of the pipes are enclosed in a movable metal box that is located backstage, and the console is in the orchestra pit. Two stops were taken from stock: the Pedal 16' Subbass is from Skinner Organ Co.'s Op. 408 (Trinity Church, New York City) and both the pipes and chest of the Pedal 32' Contre Bombarde are from Op. 1433 (First Unitarian Church, Worcester, Mass.). A tuning keyboard was added in 1966.
       

 
Manual I – 61 notes, enclosed (5" pressure)
8
  Prinzipal
61
 

Mixtur IV-VI ranks
277
8
  Bordun
61
 

Sub  
4
  Oktav
61
 

Super  
2
   Super Oktav
61
        
 
     
 

   
Manual II – 61 notes, enclosed (5" pressure)
8
  Gemshorn
61
16

Bombarde
61
8
  Rohrflöte
61
8

Trompette
61
4
  Flute Harmonique
61
  

Sub  
2
  Blockflöte
61

Super  
    Ripieno VI ranks
366
        
         

   
Pedal – 32 notes (5" pressure)
16
  Subbass
32
4

Prinzipal
Man I
16
  Sanftbass (ext.)
12
32

Contre Bombarde (ext.)
12
8
  Prinzipal
Man. I
16

Bombarde
Man. II
8
  Gemshorn
Man. II
16

Bombarde
Man. II
             
Adjustable Combinations (setterboard)
    6 general pistons        
             
Expression
    Balanced Swell Pedal        
    Crescendo Pedal        
             
Farrand & Votey Co.
Detroit, Mich. – Opus 711 (1893)
Electro-pneumatic action
1 manual, 13 registers, 11 stops, 13 ranks


In 1893, the Farrand & Votey Company of Detroit rebuilt the 1882 Roosevelt organ as part of a major remodeling of the Metropolitan Opera House. The contract, dated December 13, 1893, stated that Farrand & Votey would have the organ "set up complete and ready for use . . . within four weeks from the receipt of order, the keybox (console) to be on castors and provided with one hundred feet of cable so that it may be used in the orchestra or on any portion of the stage."

Built at a total cost of $3,675, the organ included a 1½ H.P. motor, subcontracted to The C. & C. Electric Motor Company of New York City, and an organ balcony that was built by Henry Otterbein at a cost of $150. For an additional $550, the prepared-for Pedal Trombone unit would be installed, but there is no evidence that the stop was ever added.

The fate of this organ is unknown, although it seems probable that the organ was demolished with the building in 1967.

Below are the specifications from the original contract. A typescript, dated October 1917, in the American Organ Archives, shows two additional couplers: Manual Suboctaves and Pedal Octaves.
       

 
Great Organ  – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon
61
4

Octave
61
8
   Open Diapason
61
4

Flute Harmonique
61
8
   Geigen Principal
61
  

Mixture III ranks
183
8
   Hohl Pfeife
61
8
   Trumpet
61
 
     
 

   
Pedal Organ – 30 notes
16
  Open Diapason
42
8

Flute (fr. 16' Bourdon)
—
16
  Bourdon
42
16

Trombone
preparation
10 2/3
  Quint
30
8
  
Tromba (fr. 16')
preparation
8
   Octave (fr. 16' Diapason)
—
        
               
Accessories
    Tremulant
    Coupler – Manual Octaves
    Coupler – Manual to Pedal
    Crescendo and Full Organ Pedal
    Balanced Swell Pedal
              
Hilborne L. Roosevelt
New York City – Opus 94 (1882)
Electro-pneumatic action
1 manual, 12 stops, 15 ranks


This organ was originally built for the 1882 Music Festival which took place in the Seventh Regiment Armory at 643 Park Avenue. The organ was of large scale and the pipes were voiced on special pressures. There was a detached console, and the action was electro-pneumatic. After the close of the festival, the organ was dismantled and sent to Chicago for another music festival there. Later, it was installed in the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, with two stops omitted, and it was damaged by fire in 1892. Following is the specification of the original Roosevelt organ.
       

 
Great Organ – 58 notes
16
   Bourdon
4

Octave
8
   Open Diapason

Mixture IV ranks
8
   Viola di gamba
8

Tuba Mirabilis
8
   Doppelflöte
  Tremulant
 
     
 

   
Pedal Organ – 30 notes?
32
  Open Diapason
8

Violoncello
16
  Open Diapason
16

Trombone
16
  Bourdon

 
             
Sources:
     Callahan, Charles. Aeolian-Skinner Remembered: A History in Letters. Minneapolis: Randall M. Egan, 1996.
     "Endnotes," The Tracker (Vol. 54, No. 4, Fall 2010). Specifications of Farrand & Votey organ, Op. 711 (1893).
     Kinzey, Allen, and Sand Lawn, comps. E.M. Skinner/Aeolian-Skinner Opus List. New Rev. Ed. Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1997.
     Lincoln Center website: www.lincolncenter.org
     Webber, F.R. "Organ Scrapbook" in Organ Historical Society Archives, Princeton, N.J. Specifications of 1882 Roosevelt organ. Courtesy Jonathan Bowen.

Illustrations:
     Callahan, Charles. Aeolian-Skinner Remembered: A History in Letters. Console of Aeolian-Skinner Organ, Op. 1444 (1965).
     Manhattan Post Card Co. Metropolitan Opera House (1904).
             
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