Those flats on Seventh Avenue were particularly noticeable late on
Saturday afternoons in preparation for the evening performance while
the matinee was winding down. I remember seeing them during a
blinding snowstorm and wondering how they could possibly survive.

They did! ;-)

Donald, I saw a performance of "Zauberflote" at the Vienna Staatsoper
around 1970 from a box seat that rendered the stage totally invisible.
I do not think that the interior has been renovated since that time. Even
the worst seats at the Old Met had partial views.

Bob

On Wednesday, October 26, 2016, donald kane <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> I never saw a production in the old Metropolitan Opera House, - and I
> saw as many as I cared to between 1942 and 1966,  - that appeared
> to be in any way hampered or degraded or compromised by the
> exigencies of backstage space or of scenic wear and tear so often
> attributed to the apparent lack of storage space, a legend somewhat
> dependent on the recollections of passersby who recall observing
> the flats stacked along the building's Seventh Avenue wall, but who may
> never have ventured inside.
>
> It was not a dump; who savors the "magic" of a dump and "loves going
> there"?
>
> Detractors have always enjoyed repeating the "yellow brick brewery"
> remark, not realizing that to resemble a brewery in the 1880's, could
> actually
> be an architectural compliment of sorts, because breweries,  of which there
> were many in and around New York at the time, were designed and built with
> aesthetic pretensions befitting the popularity and quality of their
> product;
> even the remote borough of Richmond, in which, I grew up, could boast of
> several.  The yellow bricks were of the finest quality, (I still have a
> few), and much more expensive than common red ones.  The facade of the
> building was
> graced with tons of matching terra cotta ornament, in a dignified, but not
> ostentatious Beaux Arts manner; ostentation having been reserved for the
> glamorous interior, admittedly, at the traditional cost of poor sight
> lines. I
> have read recently that there are still famous Houses in Europe where one
> can purchase expensive seats from which the stage is invisible!.
>
> It was a place that reflected the tastes, and requirements of its place and
> time, as does the present uptown successor,  which may likewise have
> outlived both taste and suitability.  That's New York.
>
> dtmk
>
>
> On Tue, Oct 25, 2016 at 9:49 AM, Laurence Hoffman <[log in to unmask]
> <javascript:;>>
> wrote:
>
> > It was a dump, but it was magic. I absolutely loved going there.
> >
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