Performing Arts
Carnegie Hall
154 West 57th Street (between Sixth and Seventh Avenue)
212-903-9750
www.carnegiehall.org
Established by Andrew Carnegie, Carnegie Hall has been home to some of New York’s greatest musical performances. Located in the heart of Manhattan, Carnegie Hall seeks to reach the community by offering great programs such as family and neighborhood concerts, programs for teachers and schools, and professional training workshops.
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Frederick P. Rose Hall
Corner of 60th Street and Broadway
212-258-9800
www.jazzatlincolncenter.org
Frederick P. Rose Hall is home to Jazz at Lincoln Center, the world’s largest not-for-profit organization dedicated to jazz entertainment and education. Rose Hall comprises three performances venues: Rose Theatre, a 1,200 seat concert hall; the Allen Room, an audience-style venue with a beautiful view of the city; and Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, a 140-person jazz club. In addition to offering one-of-a-kind entertainment, Jazz at Lincoln Center has an active mission to educate the public on the art of jazz. In keeping with this mission, the Irene Diamond Education Center offers jazz classes to adults and children.
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Between Columbus Avenue and Amsterdam Avenue from 62nd Street to 65th Street
212-875-5456
www.lincolncenter.org
Lincoln Center houses some of New York’s most prestigious cultural organizations, including the New York Philharmonic, the New York City Ballet, the Metropolitan Opera and the Juilliard School. With a total of 26 venues, Lincoln Center presents more than 400 live performances throughout the year. “Lincoln Center Presents,” the umbrella name used to describe Lincoln Center’s eight regular series, includes crowd-pleasers such as Midsummer Night Swing, the Mostly Mozart Festival and Lincoln Center Out of Doors.
The Metropolitan Opera
Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Opera House
212-362-6000
www.metopera.org
Since its opening in 1883, the Metropolitan Opera (the Met) has become one of the world’s leading opera companies, engaging many of the world’s most important artists. Today, the Met’s preeminent position rests on the elements that established its reputation: high-quality performances with many of the world’s most renowned artists, a superior company of orchestral and choral musicians, a large repertory of works and the resources to make performances available to the public through a variety of media. Under the leadership of general manager Peter Gelb, who has brought some of the world’s greatest theater and film directors to the opera house to offer their unique interpretations of classic works, the Met has undergone an unprecedented revitalization.
New York City Ballet
Lincoln Center
David H. Koch Theater
212-870-5500
www.nycballet.com
The New York City Ballet (NYCB), one of the foremost dance companies in the world, is an organization unique in the artistic history of the United States. Solely responsible for training its own artists and creating its own works, the New York City Ballet was the first ballet institution in the world with two permanent homes: the New York State Theater (now David Koch Theater) at Lincoln Center, designed by famed architect Phillip Johnson to founding choreographer George Balanchine’s specifications, and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, New York. NYCB also has the distinction of having the largest repertoire of any ballet in the U.S.
New York City Opera
Lincoln Center
David H. Koch Theater
212-870-5630
www.nycopera.com
Since 1944 New York City Opera has been the place to go for refreshingly unique entertainment. Christened the “people’s opera” by onetime New York Mayor Firorello H. La Guardia, City Opera is a showcase for young, emerging talent as well as an institution committed to innovative repertory, imaginative set designs, a passion for storytelling and glorious music. In recent years, the company has looked to the future and to the past by presenting both emerging composers and performers and vivid productions of seldom-performed masterpieces by Handel, Monteverdi, and more. New York City Opera performances take place from September to November and March to April.
New York Philharmonic
Avery Fisher Hall
Lincoln Center
212-875-5030
www.nyphil.org
The oldest symphony orchestra in the U.S. is also one of the oldest in the world, and on May 5, 2010, the New York Philharmonic performed its 15,000th concert, a milestone unreached by any other orchestra. Established in 1842 by a group of local musicians, the Philharmonic has since its inception championed the new music of its time—from Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 to John Adams’s Pulitzer Prize– and Grammy Award–winning On the Transmigration of Souls, composed in memory of the victims of the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Alan Gilbert has been the Philharmonic’s musical director since 2009.