Sotto Voce: Metropolitan Opera Launches New Website With A Whisper

The Metropolitan Opera has redesigned their website with no fanfare or press release. The old splash page existed for nearly a decade with only minor cosmetic changes including the addition of flash for advertising current or upcoming shows via rotating photos, as well as news items on a ticker that scrolled horizontally. With the new site, users experience a bit of lag in loading time due to the full-screen video playing on the landing page (currently the Die Fledermaus production from the 2013-14 season) and the high resolution photos used for the next two screens scrolling down. Subsequent screens look similar to a blogspot layout with 24-point text font size. In the previous incarnation, social

media links (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) existed prominently at the top. Makes sense for a company wanting to be relevant to the younger generation. Where are the links for its social media outlets now? At the very bottom of the site. If you are adventurous enough to find them, you will see one of the coolest features on the site: a miniature Rolex keeping your computer's time. Sponsorship never looked so good. See photos of the old websites dating back to 1997, as well as more photos of the new MET site, after the jump. 

ARCHIVED WEB PAGES:

1997

2005

2006

2007

2010 - 2014