Met Opera Unveiled Two Marc Chagall Music Murals Sept. 8, 1966

Summary: The Metropolitan Opera unveiled two Marc Chagall music murals Sept. 8, 1966, in the lobby of the opera house’s new location in Lincoln Center.

“The Triumph of Music” by Marc Chagall; The Metropolitan Opera House lobby, Lincoln Center: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook July 7, 2017

The Metropolitan Opera unveiled two Marc Chagall music murals Sept. 8, 1966, as a permanent display in the lobby of Lincoln Center, the opera house’s new location.

The unveiling preceded by eight days the September opening of the Metropolitan Opera’s new location in Lincoln Center. The opera house opened its new location Sept. 16, 1966, with Chagall’s two commissioned murals in place.

Chagall’s music-themed murals hang in the lobby as frames to the Metropolitan Opera’s sweeping dual staircase. “The Sources of Music” is located on the north (right) side of the lobby. “The Triumph of Music” is positioned on the south (left) side of the lobby.

The two murals are gigantic. They each measure 30 feet by 36 feet. Spatially, their vertical expanse extends from the top-most balcony level to the Grand Tier lobby level. Outside, Lincoln Center Plaza offers impressive visibility of both murals.

Yellow predominates in “The Sources of Music.” Two legendary musician-poets are depicted as the mural’s two largest figures. Angels, animals and people swirl around the central, vertical figure of double-profiled, green-robed King David playing the harp. Green-haired Orpheus floats horizontally across the mural’s lower section.

Red predominates in “The Triumph of Music.” A golden-robed, trumpeting angel sweeps diagonally across the mural’s upper section. Fantastic animals, dancers and musicians are vibrant participants in a mural that synaesthetically conveys joyful sounds.

Chagall painted the murals in France and shipped them across the Atlantic to the Metropolitan Opera. The murals were installed before Chagall’s arrival for the unveiling ceremony.

Biographer Jackie Wullschlager relates Chagall’s yelling “as I never have before” upon discovering that the placement of the murals was the reverse of his intentions. Chagall had envisioned “The Sources of Music” on the south (left) side of the lobby and “The Triumph of Music” on the lobby’s north (right) side. Erika Stark notes in her June 13, 2017, posting for Untapped Cities that Chagall eventually preferred the reversed placements.

The value of the two Chagall murals surfaced in 2009 with editor and reporter Daniel J. Wakin’s article in the March 3 issue of The New York Times. Peter Gelb, the Metropolitan Opera’s general manager, revealed the opera house’s offering of the two murals as collateral for an existing loan. Peter Gelb declined to specify the loan amount or the appraised value of the murals. The New York Times determined the loan’s amount at $35 million, according to the opera house’s most recently available tax return, which was for 2007.

In addition to the two lobby murals, the Metropolitan Opera also had commissioned costume and scenic designs from Chagall for the 1966-1967 Met Opera season’s new production of Die Zauberflöte by Classical Era composer Wolfgang Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791). The Metropolitan Opera’s Feb. 19, 1967, debut of the new production also marked Chagall’s Met Opera designing debut.

Chagall’s set designs trimmed props to only those specified by the libretto. The debut’s review by Speight Jenkins Jr. (born Jan. 31, 1937) for the Dallas Times Herald noted the inclusion of “the tree on which Papageno attempts to hang himself.” The set comprised a central disk, with scene changes signaled by colorful backdrops and sidedrops.

Daniel J. Wakin’s March 3, 2009, article also referenced the sale of Chagall backdrops “several years ago.” The New York Times mentioned a sale price of $1 million, according to art experts.

Beside the two lobby murals and Die Zauberflöte artifacts, the Metropolitan Opera apparently retains another souvenir of Marc Chagall’s association with the opera house. Daniel J. Wakin’s article includes an image, captioned “Chagall’s signature on a wall of the opera house,” by The New York Times photographer Eddie Hausner.

Belarusian Jewish-French artist Marc Chagall was born Thursday, July 7, 1887, in Liozna, then part of the Russian Empire and now Belarus. His birth name was Moishe Zakharovich Shagal. He was the oldest of nine children.

The early modernist artist passed away Thursday, March 28, 1985, at his home in Saint Paul de Vence, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, southeastern France. He was 101 days away from his 98th birthday. He was buried in the town’s cemetery (le cimetière de Saint-Paul-de-Vence).

The takeaway for the Metropolitan Opera’s unveiling of two Marc Chagall music murals on Sept. 8, 1966, is that both murals, “The Sounds of Music” and “The Triumph of Music,” still colorfully dominate the opera house’s lobby and are impressively visible from Lincoln Center Plaza.

“The Sources of Music” by Marc Chagall; The Metropolitan Opera House lobby, Lincoln Center: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook July 7, 2017

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

“The Triumph of Music” by Marc Chagall; The Metropolitan Opera House lobby, Lincoln Center: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook July 7, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532/10159092541820533/

“The Sources of Music” by Marc Chagall; The Metropolitan Opera House lobby, Lincoln Center: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook July 7, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532/10159092541815533/

For further information:

Boccadoro, Patricia. “Review: Marc Chagall -- The Triumph of Music.” CultureKiosque > KlassickNet: Classical Music > Features > Archives. Jan. 15, 2016.
Available @ http://www.culturekiosque.com/klassik/features/triumph_of_music960.html

Cascone, Sarah. “The Metropolitan Opera House, Home to Massive Marc Chagall Murals, to Renovate Lobby.” Artnet news > Art World. Feb. 29, 2016.
Available @ https://news.artnet.com/art-world/metropolitan-opera-house-lobby-renovation-436127

Kantrowitz, Jonathan. “Chagall: Colour and Music.” Art History News > Blog Archive. Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017.
Available @ http://arthistorynewsreport.blogspot.com/2017/02/chagall-colour-and-music.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “2018-2019 Met Opera Season Showed Triumph of the Vanities by Cecily Brown.” Earth and Space News. Monday, May 13, 2019.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/07/born-july-7-1887-marc-chagall-designed.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Born July 7, 1887, Marc Chagall Designed Die Zauberflöte at Met Opera.” Earth and Space News. Monday, July 1, 2019.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/05/2018-2019-met-opera-season-showed.html

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "On this day in 1887, Marc Chagall was born. Chagall's tremendous murals, 'The Triumph of Music' and 'The Sources of Music,' have graced the facade of the Met at Lincoln Center for 50 years. bit.ly/2pZ4NpR. Photo courtesy of The Metropolitan Opera Archives." Facebook. July 7, 2017.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532/10159092541815533/

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "On this day in 1887, Marc Chagall was born. Chagall's tremendous murals, "The Triumph of Music" and "The Sources of Music," have graced the facade of the Met at Lincoln Center for 50 years. bit.ly/2pZ4NpR. Photo courtesy of The Metropolitan Opera Archives." Facebook. July 7, 2017.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532/10159092541820533/

Stark, Erika. “The NYC Met Opera’s 50th Anniversary and Murals of Marc Chagall: Art Imitating Life.” Untapped Cities. June 13, 2017.
Available @ https://untappedcities.com/2017/06/13/the-nyc-met-operas-50th-anniversary-and-murals-of-marc-chagall-art-imitating-life/

Wakin, Daniel J. “The Met Offers Chagalls as Collateral.” The New York Times > Arts > Music. March 3, 2009.
Available @ https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/04/arts/music/04oper.html

Wullschlager, Jackie. Chagall: A Biography. New York NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2008.