Gilded Age: What Happened When The New Opera House Opened In Real Life

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Throughout The Gilded Age season 1, members of the “old New York” have expressed frustration about the potential opening of a new opera house in the city and with good reason, as the true story upended much of old New York’s hierarchy. Many of Gilded Age’s characters who come from “new money” conversely proclaim their support for a new opera house, as the traditional Academy of Music is designed from the ground up to keep new people out of society. However, when the real opera house opened in New York in 1883, the new elite of New York found themselves leering down upon New York’s old establishment.

The Gilded Age, which takes place in 1882 in New York, focuses on dissecting the fight between “old money” and “new money”. Those who have made their money more recently, such as the Russells, want to be accepted in society. Those with generational wealth like Agnes van Rhijn, on the other hand, detest the nouveau riche, citing any new opera house taking the place of the already-established Academy of Music would be ludicrous and disastrous. Agnes’ fears would be later confirmed, as, in real life, the opening of the Metropolitan Opera house had terrible consequences for families like the van Rhijns.

Related: The Gilded Age: Who Caused George Russell's Railroad Crash?

Upon the Metropolitan Opera’s opening in 1883, the Academy of Music found itself sadly unable to compete and closed a few years thereafter. Before its closing, one of the hallmarks of the Academy of Music was its limited box capacity. In both real-life and The Gilded Age, families like those of the married George and Bertha Russell were unable to make headway at the Academy due to the fact that the private boxes (hallmarks of status at that time) were all owned