Today in History - 1883

The Metropolitan Opera House, located on Broadway at 39th Street in New York City, opened on this day with a performance of Charles Gounod's Faust, the tale of a German sorcerer who sold his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge, power, youth, and love. The opera, although composed in French and based on Goethe's German poem, was sung on this occasion in Italian, the favored language of the Met's early management.