Met Opera Cleans Auditorium and Lobby Starburst Chandeliers in Summer

Summary: Met Opera cleans auditorium and lobby starburst chandeliers in summer every year so the dazzling lights never lose their iconic sparkle.

The Metropolitan Opera’s auditorium and lobby chandeliers were installed in May 1966; their first official ascent and descent took place Sept. 16, 1966, during the new Metropolitan Opera House’s grand opening: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Aug. 1, 2019

Met Opera cleans auditorium and lobby starburst chandeliers in summer, between the official end of one season and the beginning of the next season, so that the iconic sparkle of the crystal constellations has greeted each new season for over five decades.

The Metropolitan Opera received 11 lobby chandeliers and 21 auditorium chandeliers as official gifts from the Austrian government in 1966. Hans Harald Rath (March 2, 1904-1968), fourth-generation owner of family glassware firm J. & L. Lobmeyr in Vienna, Austria, designed the chandeliers as constellations of crystal starbursts.

In an interview for architecture and art journalist Wendy Moonan’s article on Lobmeyr’s Met Opera chandeliers in Introspective Magazine (July 4, 2016), two of Hans Harald Rath’s three grandsons, Johannes and Leonid, shared the family story of the origin of the starburst design. The new opera house’s architect, Wallace K. Harrison (Sept. 28, 1895-Dec. 2, 1981) of the New York-based architectural firm of Harrison & Abramovitz expected Rath to find inspiration from photos of stars in Le Ciel (The Sky) by French astrophysicist Jean-Claude Pecker (born May 10, 1923). He sent a copy of the book, which was first published in 1960, to Rath in Vienna.

At their meeting in New York in July 1963, Harrison rejected Rath’s drawings of his Le Ciel-inspired designs. He sent Rath back to his hotel room with a book about the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe. The book’s telescope photos of stars inspired Hans Harald that night to sketch exploding stars and to use a potato stuck with toothpicks as his model, according to Leonid Rath in Moonan’s article.

Rath realized his designs as a series of brass rods, emanating from a central point and adorned with tiny, hand-cut Swarovski crystals. The J. & L. Lobmeyr website notes that Rath’s starburst chandeliers marked the first application of Swarovski crystals in a large-scale project.

Rath’s fixtures were installed in May 1966 in the Metropolitan Opera’s new home in Upper West Side Manhattan’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. The chandeliers made their official debut Sept. 16, 1966, during the new opera house’s grand opening. The auditorium’s chandeliers officially rose for the first time to signal the start of the world premiere of 20th-century American composer Samuel Barber’s (March 9, 1910-Jan. 23, 1981) Antony and Cleopatra. Italian designer, director and producer Franco Zeffirelli (Feb. 12, 1923-June 15, 2019) co-write the English libretto and designed and directed the new production.

Every summer the Metropolitan Opera House’s 32 chandeliers are lowered for their annual inspection and cleaning. The starbursts are scrutinized for any necessary repairs. Burnt-out light bulbs are replaced. The crystal beads are polished.

Lobmeyr’s starburst chandeliers were installed at the Metropolitan Opera in May 1966 and were first raised to the ceiling of the opera house’s auditorium on Friday, Sept. 16, 1966.

In summer 2008, the Metropolitan Opera House’s 11 lobby chandeliers underwent restoration preparatory for the opera company’s 125th-anniversary season. The chandeliers were lowered, dismantled and placed in 15 crates. On Wednesday, July 16, the crates were transported from the Metropolitan Opera in Manhattan to John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens for loading onto three planes. From Kennedy, the crated, dismantled chandeliers traveled to Lobmeyr’s workshop in Vienna, Austria. According to Lobmeyr’s brochure, The Met Series by Hans Harald Rath, the restoration required 1,200 man hours over nine and one-half weeks. The process handled 1,000 brass rays; 800 sputnik (wood-and-metal spheres) elements; 50,000 steel spokes; and 51,500 individual crystals.

The renovation was financed by the Swarovski Crystal Business, one of three major industry areas of the family-owned business co-founded in Wattens, western Austria, in 1895 by Czech-born Austrian glass cutter Daniel Swarovski (Oct. 24, 1862-Jan. 23, 1956). Swarovski donated machine-cut crystal as replacements for original, hand-cut crystals that had been damaged or lost. The Metropolitan Opera and Swarovski placed the cost of the renovation at more than $1 million, according to The New York Times journalist James Barron in his July 18, 2008, article.

The takeaways for the Metropolitan Opera’s cleaning auditorium and lobby starburst chandeliers in summer every year are that the annual cleaning ensures sparkling, iconic lighting in each new season and that the 2008 renovation of the 11 lobby chandeliers, financed by Swarovski for the Metropolitan Opera’s 125th-anniversary season, welcomes opera attendees with fresh brightness.

The Metropolitan Opera’s 21 auditorium and 11 lobby chandeliers, designed in 1963 by Hans Harald Rath of J. & L. Lobmeyr, undergo an annual inspection and cleaning every summer: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook July 21, 2019

Acknowledgment

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

Image credits:

The Metropolitan Opera’s auditorium and lobby chandeliers were installed in May 1966; their first official ascent and descent took place Sept. 16, 1966, during the new Metropolitan Opera House’s grand opening: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Aug. 1, 2019, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532/10162274259755533

The Metropolitan Opera’s 21 auditorium and 11 lobby chandeliers, designed in 1963 by Hans Harald Rath of J. & L. Lobmeyr, undergo an annual inspection and cleaning every summer: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook July 21, 2019, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532/10162227882495533/
For further information:

Barron, James. “Bright Lights of the Met Opera Lobby Are Put Out for Repair.” The New York Times > New York > Region. July 18, 2008.
Available @ https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/18/nyregion/18chandelier.html

Godovits, Florian. “J. & L. Lobmeyr: The Austrian Chandelier-Maker of the Metropolitan Opera House.” Taste of Life, May/June 2019.
Available @ https://www.magnifissance.com/j-l-lobmeyr/

kyna leski ‏ @kynaleski. “My Dad, Architect, Designer at Harrison and Abramovitz and of the MET Opera Chandeliers his story @MetOpera #Met50 https://medium.com/@kynaleski/genesis-the-chandeliers-of-the-metropolitan-opera-house-2090ee74690e . . .” Twitter. May 7, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/kynaleski/status/861385589106634752

Leski, Kyna. “The Genesis of the Metropolitan Opera House Chandeliers: How Accident & Intention Come to Light.” Medium. May 15, 2016.
Available @ https://medium.com/@kynaleski/genesis-the-chandeliers-of-the-metropolitan-opera-house-2090ee74690e

Lobmeyr. “The Met Series by Hans Harald Rath.” E.R. Butler & Co. > Manufacturers > J. & L. Lobmeyr > Downloads.
Available @ https://www.erbutler.com/pdf/LOBMEYR_MET-SERIES.pdf

Lobmeyr Lighting Austria. “Chandelier Series 6725 -- Met Foyer.” Lobmeyr Chandelier Products > The Metropolitan Series.
Available @ https://light.lobmeyr.at/lobmeyr-portfolio/metropolitan-chandelier-6725/

Lobmeyr Lighting Austria. “Chandelier Series 6660 -- Met Auditorium.” Lobmeyr Chandelier Products > The Metropolitan Series.
Available @ https://light.lobmeyr.at/lobmeyr-portfolio/2000/

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. “Antony and Cleopatra Was Franco Zeffirelli’s Second Met Opera Production.” Earth and Space News. Monday, June 8, 2020.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/06/antony-and-cleopatra-was-franco.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Met Opera Unveiled Two Marc Chagall Music Murals Sept. 8, 1966.” Earth and Space News. Monday, Sept. 2, 2019.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2019/09/met-opera-unveiled-two-marc-chagall.html

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. “Added a new photo.” Facebook. Jan. 1, 2019.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532/10161393529635533/

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. “Added a new photo.” Facebook. July 21, 2019, @ 7:50 a.m.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532/10162227882495533/

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. “Added a new photo.” Facebook. July 21, 2019, @ 7:50 a.m.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532/10162227882000533/

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. “Added a new photo.” Facebook. July 21, 2019, @ 7:50 a.m.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532/10162227884370533/

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. “Added a new photo.” Facebook. July 21, 2019, @ 7:50 a.m.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532/10162227884980533/

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. “Another sputnik lowered for cleaning! This cluster is suspended over the grand staircase and reflects natural light from the plaza even when it's not turned on. Follow us on Instagram for behind the scenes content all summer long! @metopera https://instagram.com/metopera/.” Facebook. July 13, 2015.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532/10155888987000533/

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. “It's cleaning day in the opera house! Each summer the chandeliers are lowered for an annual inspection--nothing goes unchecked! Light bulbs are changed, the crystal is polished to perfection, and general repairs are made to keep these sputniks in tip top shape all season long. Check us out on Instagram for more behind the scenes content all summer long! Follow @metopera www.instagram.com/metopera.” Facebook. July 7, 2015.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532/10155865993720533/

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. “Today, we’re shining a light on our famous “Sputnik” chandeliers. A gift from the Austrian government for the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, they were designed and installed by J. & L. Lobmeyr, a renowned Viennese crystal and chandelier company. To celebrate the Met’s 125th-anniversary season in 2008, Lobmeyr gave the chandeliers a stunning makeover, dismantling the fixtures and replacing the original crystals with brand-new ones by Swarovski. Photo by Jonathan Tichler / Met Opera.” Facebook. Aug. 1, 2019.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532/10162274259755533/

Moonan, Wendy. “At Lobmeyr, the Past Is Shimmering and the Future Crystal Clear.” 1stdibs > Introspective Magazine. July 4, 2016.
Available @ https://www.1stdibs.com/introspective-magazine/lobmeyer/

Peasley, Aaron. “Bright Star: Lobmeyr Celebrates the 50th Birthday of its Met Opera Chandeliers.” Wallpaper > Design. May 18, 2016.
Available @ https://www.wallpaper.com/design/bright-star-lobmeyr-celebrates-the-50th-birthday-of-its-met-opera-chandeliers

Wallpaper* @wallpapermag. "Lobmeyr celebrates the 50th birthday of its Met Opera chandeliers http://wlpr.co/UTzKsd.” Twitter. May 23, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/wallpapermag/status/734944339332325376