Scarlet Masque Theatre Journal New Beginnings and Fond Farewells Vol. 1 | Page 44

approved a re-opening of the opera house with a gala in the fall of 1893 so that
audiences could see the new esthetic improvements to the house—such improvements
boasted a repainted interior with electric lights (Fielder, 2003). Such improvements also
brought along a new influx in international operatic talent, including famed tenor, Enrico
Caruso (Fielder, 2003). However, the importance of status to the board was not lost in
the flames that devastated the house itself the following year. Rather than operate on
any set calendar, the box holders elected to have the performance season end mid-
spring, when they would leave the increasingly warm city for their residences in the
country (Fielder, 2003). Fielder writes:
“Competing for attention with the singers were the box holders who had now
incorporated the Metropolitan Opera Real Estate Company with the Metropolitan
Opera Company. The thirty-five boxes in the rebuilt house, the Diamond
Horseshoe were for the most part owned by the Vanderbilt and Morgan dynasties
and the old guard Knickerbocker families.” (Fielder, 2003)
Thus, even after a rebirth of the opera house per se, the box holders themselves
remained shockingly elitist. Perhaps this is no surprise, as the box holders represent
some of the most famous dynasties of wealth at the time. Numerous tales regarding box
holders and their lavish habits and get-togethers exist—including stories of expensive
jewelry party favors and having snacks and hors d’oeuvres delivered from gourmet
restaurants during intermission (Fielder, 2003). Additionally, the box holders made sure
that said intermissions ran as long as possible to account for maximum socializing,
entirely disregarding the populous that had to work the following morning (Fielder).
Furthering the notion that they did in fact control matters in the opera house, the box
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