Metropolitan Opera House (Philadelphia)
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Metropolitan Opera House
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| Location | 858 N. Broad St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
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| Coordinates | 39°58′13″N 75°9′38″W / 39.97028°N 75.16056°WCoordinates: 39°58′13″N 75°9′38″W / 39.97028°N 75.16056°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1908 |
| Architect | McElfatrick,William H. |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| NRHP Reference # | 72001163 |
| Added to NRHP | February 01, 1972 |
The Metropolitan Opera House (MOH) is a historic opera house located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 858 North Broad Street. Built over the course of just a few months in 1908, it was the ninth opera house built by impresario Oscar Hammerstein I. It was initially the home of Hammerstein's Philadelphia Opera Company, and was originally called the Philadelphia Opera House. Hammerstein sold the house to the Metropolitan Opera of New York City in 1910, when it was renamed. The Met used the MOH through 1920, after which various opera companies used the house through 1934. For over five more decades it remained in constant use in turn as a movie theater, a ballroom, a sports venue, and a church. The MOH then fell into serious disrepair and was unused and vacant from 1988 until 1995, when it was bought by its current owners and became the Holy Ghost Headquarters Revival Center at the Met. The church has stabilized much of the building and is currently attempting to raise the funds necessary for further historic renovation of the opera house. The MOH has been included in the National Register of Historic Places since 1972.
The Metropolitan Opera House was built by Hammerstein to be the home of his then new opera company, the Philadelphia Opera Company (POC). Hammerstein hired architect William H. McElfatrick of the firm J.B. McElfatrick & Son to design the opera house in 1907, and construction began the following year. When it opened as the Philadelphia Opera House in 1908, it was the largest theater of its kind in the world, seating more than 4,000 people.
The opera house officially opened on November 17, 1908 with a production of Georges Bizet's Carmen for the opening of the POC's first season. The cast included Maria Labia in the title role, Charles Dalmorès as Don José, Andrés de Segurola as Escamillo, Alice Zeppilli as Micaëla, and Cleofonte Campanini conducting. The POC continued to use the house for its productions through March 1910. The company's last performance at the house was of Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto on March 23, 1910 with Giovanni Polese in the title role, Lalla Miranda as Gilda, Orville Harrold as the Duke of Mantua, and Giuseppe Sturani conducting.
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