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To say you partly agree use the following

I agree with you up to a point/ in a sense/ in a way, but ...

I see what you mean, but ...

There's some truth in what you say. However, ...

I agree with much of what you say, but ...

To a certain extent, yes, but...

That may be true, but on the other hand ...

That's all very well, but ...

1.The Metropolitan Opera Company was founded in 1970.

2.The total potential audience across a season is 800,000 seats.

3.Sometimes these are borrowed from or shared with other drama theatre 4.The new theater would include three tiers of private houses

5.The operas in the Met's repertoire consist of a wide range of works.

6.In its early decades the Met did not produce the opera performances itself.

7.The Met's roster of singers includes both international and local artists.

IV. DISTINGUISHING FACTS FROM OPINIONS.

A fact is a statement that you can prove to be true. An opinion is a statement that describes someone’s feelings or beliefs about a topic. Learning to decide if a statement is a fact or opinion will help you understand more about what you read

Read each statement and decide if it is a fact or an opinion.

1.The Metropolitan Opera Company was founded in 1880 to create an alternative to the old established Academy of Music opera house. The subscribers to the Academy's limited number of private boxes represented the highest stratum in New York society. These "old money" families were loath to admit New York's newly wealthy industrialists into their long-established circle. Tired of being excluded, the Metropolitan Opera's founding subscribers determined to build a new opera house that would outshine the old Academy in every way.

Fact Opinion

a.A group of some 22 men assembled at Delmonico's restaurant

b.The subscribers to the Academy's limited number of private boxes represented the highest stratum in New York society

c.The Metropolitan Opera Company was founded in 1880

2. The Met's performing company consists of a large symphony-sized orchestra, a chorus, children's choir, and many supporting and leading solo singers. The company also employs numerous free-lance dancers, actors, musicians and other performers throughout the season. The Met's roster of singers includes both international and American artists, some of whose careers have been developed through the Met's young artists programs. While many singers appear periodically as guests with the company, others, such as Renée Fleming and Plácido Domingo, have long maintained a close association with the Met, appearing many times each season.

Fact Opinion

a.The Met's performing company consists of a large symphony-sized orchestra, a chorus, children's choir, and many supporting and leading solo singers.

b.While many singers appear periodically, others, have long maintained a close association with the Met

c.The company also employs numerous free-lance dancers, actors, musicians and other performers throughout the season.

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3.In its early decades the Met did not produce the opera performances itself but hired prominent manager/impresarios to stage a season of opera at the theater. Henry Abbey served as manager for the inaugural season 1883-1884 which opened with a performance of Charles Gounod's Faust starring the brilliant Swedish sopranoChristinaNilsson. (Faust was performed in Italian, as were all of the operas staged during the first season, including those written in French and German.)

The Metropolitan Opera is the largest classical music organization in North America. It presents about 27 different operas each year in a season which lasts from late September through May.

Fact Opinion

a.The Metropolitan Opera is the largest classical music organization in North America.

b.In its early decades the Met did not produce the opera performances itself but hired prominent manager/impresarios.

c.Henry Abbey served as manager for the inaugural season 1883-1884 which opened with a performance of Charles Gounod's Faust.

4. The average audience rate for the 3800-seat theater in 2011 was 79.2%, down from a peak of 88% in 2009. Beyond performing in the opera house in New York, the Met has gradually expanded its audience over the years through technology. It has broadcast regularly on radio since 1931 and on television since 1977. In 2006, the Met began live satellite radio and internet broadcasts as well as live high-definition video transmissions presented in cinemas throughout the world. In 2011, the total HD audience reached 3 million through 1600 theaters worldwide.

Fact Opinion

a.Beyond performing in the opera house in New York, the Met has gradually expanded its audience over the years through technology.

b.In 2011, the total HD audience reached 3 million through 1600 theaters worldwide.

c.The average audience rate for the 3800-seat theater in 2011 was 79.2%, down from a peak of 88% in 2009.

V. Using word maps.

When you are learning a new language you need to learn many new words. It can be difficult to remember the meanings of all the new words. One way to help you remember a new word is to make a word map.

Write the new word in the middle of the map. Then complete the rest of the map with a definition, a synonym, an antonym and an association you can make with this word.

Choose four words from the text ―Metropolitan Opera‖ that you want to learn and remember. Make a word map for each word, using the scheme.

DEFINITION

 

ANTONYM

 

 

 

VOCABULARY

WORD

SYNONYM

ASSOCIATION

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VI. Complete the 3 rd column. Did the article answer any of your questions from the 2nd column? Which ones? Look all the things you wrote in the 1st columns. Were any of your ideas confirmed or rejected in the article? Which ones?

VII. EXPLORE THE WEB.Find and explore the Web to look for some additional information about famous representatives of Metropolitan Opera.

VIII. Try to retell the text using the following words and expressions

This plays a key/ vital / prominent / important/ major role in… This aspect is of fundamental / great/vital importance for… We have every reason to believe that…

We can safely assume that…

There is ample/ abundant evidence that…

This problem has to do with/ relates to/ is associated with/ is connected with

It‘s common knowledge that… It‘s well known that…

TEXT IV.

EARLY THEATRE IN NEW YORK

New York did not have a significant theatre presence until about 1750, when actormanagers Walter Murray and Thomas Kean established a resident theatre company at the Theatre on Nassau Street, which held about 280 people. They presented Shakespeare plays and ballad operas such as The Beggar's Opera. In 1752, William Hallam sent a company oftwelve actors from Britain to the colonies with his brother Lewis as their manager. They established a theatre in Williamsburg, Virginia and opened with The Merchant of Venice and The Anatomist. The company moved to New York in the summer of 1753, performing ballads and farces like Damon and Phillida. The Revolutionary War suspended theatre in New York, but thereafter theatre resumed in 1798, the year the 2,000-seat Park Theatre was built on Chatham Street (now called Park Row). The Bowery Theatre opened in 1826, followed by others. Blackfaceminstrel shows, a distinctly American form of entertainment, became popular in the 1830s, and especially so with the arrival of the Virginia Minstrels in the 1840s.

By the 1840s, P.T. Barnum was operating an entertainment complex in lower Manhattan. In 1829, at Broadway and Prince Street, Niblo's Garden opened and soon became one of New York's premiere nightspots. The 3,000-seat theatre presented all sorts of musical and nonmusical entertainments. The Astor Place Theatre opened in 1847. A riot broke out in 1849 when the lower-class patrons of the Bowery objected to what they perceived as snobbery by the upper class audiences at Astor Place: "After the Astor Place Riot of 1849, entertainment in New York City was divided along class lines: opera was chiefly for the upper middle and upper classes, minstrel shows and melodramas for the middle class, variety shows in concert saloons for men of the working class and the slumming middle class."

The plays of William Shakespeare were frequently performed on the Broadway stage during the period, most notably by American actor Edwin Booth who was internationally known for his performance as Hamlet. Booth played the role for a famous 100 consecutive performances at the Winter Garden Theatre in 1865 (with the run ending just a few months before Booth's brother John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln), and would later revive the role at his own Booth's Theatre (which was managed for a time by his brother Junius Brutus Booth, Jr.). Other renowned Shakespeareans who appeared in New York in this era were Henry Irving, Tommaso Salvini, Fanny Davenport, and Charles Fechter.

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Theatre in New York moved from downtown gradually to midtown beginning around 1850, seeking less expensive real estate prices. In 1870, the heart of Broadway was in Union Square, and by the end of the century, many theatres were near Madison Square. Theatres did not arrive in the Times Square area until the early 1900s, and the Broadway theatres did not consolidate there until a large number of theatres were built around the square in the 1920s and 1930s. Broadway's first "long-run" musical was a 50-performance hit called The Elves in 1857.

The first theatre piece that conforms to the modern conception of a musical, adding dance and original music that helped to tell the story, is considered to be The Black Crook, which premiered in New York on September 12, 1866. The production was a staggering five-and-a-half hours long, but despite its length, it ran for a record-breaking 474 performances. The same year,

The Black Domino/Between You, Me and the Post was the first show to call itself a "musical comedy".

Tony Pastor opened the first vaudeville theatre one block east of Union Square in 1881, where Lillian Russell performed. Comedians Edward Harrigan and Tony Hart produced and starred in musicals on Broadway between 1878 (The Mulligan Guard Picnic) and 1885, with book and lyrics by Harrigan and music by his father-in-law David Braham.

These musical comedies featured characters and situations taken from the everyday life of New York's lower classes and represented a significant step forward from vaudeville and burlesque, towards a more literate form. They starred high quality singers (Lillian Russell, Vivienne Segal, and Fay Templeton), instead of the women of questionable repute who had starred in earlier musical forms.

As transportation improved, poverty in New York diminished, and street lighting made for safer travel at night, the number of potential patrons for the growing number of theatres increased enormously. Plays could run longer and still draw in the audiences, leading to better profits and improved production values.

I. Read the following sentences write the correct word in the space provided using the definitions below. If you need more help read the sentences in the text where the word appears and think about how it is used

1. They presented Shakespeare plays and … operas such as The Beggar's Opera.

2.Comedians Edward Harrigan and Tony Hart produced and starred in … on Broadway between

1878.

3.New York did not have a significant theatre presence until about 1750, when … Walter Murray and Thomas Kean established a resident theatre company.

4.Niblo's Garden soon became one of New York's …nightspots.

5.Entertainmentin New York City was divided along class lines: opera was for the upper middle classes …and melodramasfor the middle class.

6.The company moved to New York in the summer of 1753, performing ballads and

7.These … featured characters and situations taken from the everyday life.

a. a leading actor who sets up their own permanent theatrical company and manages the company's business and financial arrangements,

b.sometimes called simply ‗musical‘ - is the chief form of popular musical theatre in the 20thcentury English-speaking world.

c.an entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by whitepeople in blackface

d.in English drama, a play of comic, satiric, or pastoral intent, interspersed with songs, most of them sung to popular airs.

e.refers to the debut of a finished body of work in the arts including theatre work, film, dance.

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f. a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. g.a form of verse, often a narrative set to music

II. Read for a purpose

You are going to read the text about American theatre. Before you read, complete the first two columns of the chart

What I know about

What want to know about

What I learnt about

American theatre

American theatre

American theatre

III. Agree or disagree, using the following expressions

To introduce your opinion use the following

I think ...

It seems to me ...

(Personally,) I believe ...

From my point of view / viewpoint...

(Personally,) I feel ... As far as I'm concerned, ...

In my view/opinion ...

As I see it, ...

As far as I can see, ...

To my knowledge,...

To disagree use the following

As a matter of fact, I don't agree.

I'm not sure, in fact.I'm not at all convinced.

I'm afraid I entirely disagree with ...

I don't think that's right.

I can't say I share your view.

To say you partly agree use the following

I agree with you up to a point/ in a sense/ in a way, but ...

I see what you mean, but ...

There's some truth in what you say. However, ...

I agree with much of what you say, but ...

To a certain extent, yes, but...

That may be true, but on the other hand ...

That's all very well, but ..

1.Tony Pastor opened the first ballad theatre one block east of Union Square in 1881.

2.The Astor Palace Theatre opened in 1847.

3.In 1752, William Hallam sent a company of twelve actors from Britain.

4.They starred high quality actors, instead of the women of questionable repute.

5.Circus in New York moved from downtown gradually to midtown beginning around 1850. 6. Walter Murray and Thomas Kean established a theatre in Williamsburg.

7.The first opera house that conforms to the modern conception of a musicalis considered to

be

The Black Crook.

IV. DISTINGUISHING FACTS FROM OPINIONS.

A fact is a statement that you can prove to be true. An opinion is a statement that describes someone’s feelings or beliefs about a topic. Learning to decide if a statement is a fact or opinion will help you understand more about what you read

91

Read each statement and decide if it is a fact or an opinion.

1.Tony Pastor opened the first vaudeville theatre one block east of Union Square in 1881, where Lillian Russell performed. Comedians Edward Harrigan and Tony Hart produced and starred in musicals on Broadway between 1878 (The Mulligan Guard Picnic) and 1885, with book and lyrics by Harrigan and music by his father-in-law David Braham.These musical comedies featured characters and situations taken from the everyday lifeof New York's lower classes and represented a significant step forward from vaudevilleand burlesque, towards a more literate form.

Fact Opinion

a.These musical comedies featured characters and situations taken from the everyday life

b.Tony Pastor opened the first vaudeville theatre one block east of Union Square in 1881,

c.Tony Hart produced and starred in musicals on Broadway between 1878.

2. Theatre in New York moved from downtown gradually to midtown beginning around 1850, seeking less expensive real estate prices. In 1870, the heart of Broadway was in Union Square, and by the end of the century, many theatres were near Madison Square. Theatres did not arrive in the Times Square area until the early 1900s, and the Broadway theatres did not consolidate there until a large number of theatres were built around the square in the 1920s and 1930s. Broadway's first "long-run" musical was a 50-performance hit called The Elves in 1857.

Fact Opinion

a.The Broadway theatres did not consolidate there until a large number of theatres were built around the square.

b. The heart of Broadway was in Union Square, and by the end of the century, many theatres were near Madison Square.

c.Theatres did not arrive in the Times Square area until the early 1900s.

3.New York did not have a significant theatre presence until about 1750, when actor-managers Walter Murray and Thomas Kean established a resident theatre company at the Theatre on Nassau Street, which held about 280 people. They presented Shakespeare plays and ballad operas such as The Beggar's Opera. In 1752, William Hallam sent a company oftwelve actors from Britain to the colonies with his brother Lewis as their manager. They established a theatre in Williamsburg, Virginia and opened with The Merchant of Venice and The Anatomist. The company moved to New York in the summer of 1753, performing ballads and farces like Damon and Phillida.

Fact Opinion

a. Actor-managers Walter Murray and Thomas Kean established a residenttheatre company at the Theatre on Nassau Street

b.In 1752, William Hallam sent a company of twelve actors from Britain to the colonies

c. New York did not have a significant theatre until about 1750

4.The company moved to New York in the summer of 1753, performing ballads and farces like Damon and Phillida. The Revolutionary War suspended theatre in New York, but thereafter theatre resumed in 1798, the year the 2,000-seat Park Theatre was built on Chatham Street (now called Park Row). The Bowery Theatre opened in 1826, followed by others.

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Fact Opinion

a.The Bowery Theatre opened in 1826, followed by others. b.American form of entertainment, became popular in the 1830 c. The Revolutionary War suspended theatre in New York.

V. Using word maps.

When you are learning a new language you need to learn many new words. It can be difficult to remember the meanings of all the new words. One way to help you remember a new word is to make a word map.

Write the new word in the middle of the map. Then complete the rest of the map with a definition, a synonym, an antonym and an association you can make with this word.

Choose four words from the text ―American Theatre‖ that you want to learn and remember. Make a word map for each word, using the scheme.

DEFINITION

 

ANTONYM

 

 

 

VOCABULARY

WORD

SYNONYM

 

ASSOCIATION

 

 

 

 

 

 

VI. Complete the 3 rd column. Did the article answer any of your questions from the 2nd column? Which ones? Look all the things you wrote in the 1st columns. Were any of your ideas confirmed or rejected in the article? Which ones?

VII. EXPLORE THE WEB. Choose a famous people from the list below and explore the Web to look for some additional information about him.

Walter Murrey

Edwin Booth

Henry Irving,

Tommaso Salvini,

Fanny Davenport,

Charles Fechter.

VIII. Try to retell the text using the following words and expressions

This plays a key/ vital / prominent / important/ major role in… This aspect is of fundamental / great/vital importance for… We have every reason to believe that…

We can safely assume that…

There is ample/ abundant evidence that…

This problem has to do with/ relates to/ is associated with/ is connected with It‘s common knowledge that…

It‘s well known that…

TEXT V

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Foxwoods Theatre

The Foxwoods Theatre (previously known as the Hilton Theatre and Ford Center for the Performing Arts) is a Broadway theatre located at 213 West 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The venue has a seating capacity of 1,930 making it the second largest house on Broadway (the Gershwin Theatre is just slightly larger).

The theatre was built in 1996–97 on the site of the former Apollo and Lyric Theatres. The Lyric was built in 1903 and hosted Shakespeare plays and such notable new show as Cole Porter's Fifty Million Frenchmen, until it was converted to a movie theatre in 1934. The Apollo, constructed in 1920 by the Selwyn Brothers to a design by Eugene De Rosa, housed the Gershwin musicals Strike Up the Band and George White's Scandals, among other works, but was also turned into a film venue by the early 1930s. A brief return to use as a legitimate theatre in the late 1970s proved unsuccessful, and the venue ended its existence as a nightclub.

By the early 1990s, after being neglected and falling into serious disrepair, both theatres were condemned. They were among the 42nd Street theatres repossessed by the City and State of New York in 1990, and fell under the protection of the New 42nd Street organization in 1992. In 1996, the theatres were leased by Livent and demolished. However, certain major architectural elements and structures were protected under landmark status; these were carefully removed from the buildings, stored, and incorporated into the new theatre. Today, patrons visiting the theatre sit under the dome from the Lyric and proscenium arch from the Apollo, and pass through the ornate Lyric Theatre facades on 43rd and 42nd Streets. Above the 43rd street entrance, on the 2nd floor, can be seen the busts of W. S. Gilbert, Arthur Sullivan and Reginald De Koven; the Lyric Theatre was intended to house De Koven's works.

The theatre opened as the Ford Center for the Performing Arts on January 26,

1998 with a musical version of E.L. Doctorow's Ragtime. In 2005, the venue was completely renovated and renamed the Hilton for the US premiere of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The auditorium at Foxwoods Theatre contains three levels of seating with room for up to nineteenhundred people. Broadway shows at Foxwoods Theatre include the presently-running, recordingbreaking Spider-man, Turn Off the Dark, which has received much acclaim. Past productions at Foxwoods Theatre include Ragtime,Jesus Christ Superstar, and Young Frankenstein.

After the closing of Young Frankenstein on January 4, 2009, the theatre was vacant throughout 2009. The production of the new musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark was anticipated to open in December 2010, but problems in financing the recordsetting budget of the show (estimated at $65 million), and technical issues, postponedthe opening. After securing funding, Spider-Man officially opened on June 14, 2011following seven months of preview performances.

The theatre was renamed the "Foxwoods Theatre" in August 2010, under an agreement with Foxwoods Resort Casino and Live Nation.

On May 20, 2013 it was announced that the UK-based Ambassador Theatre Group had acquired the lease to the Foxwoods Theatre for about $60 million. This will likely lead to the theatre being renamed again. The New 42nd Street nonprofit organization will remain as the landlord.

I. Read the following sentences write the correct word in the space provided using the definitions below. If you need more help read the sentences in the text where the word appears and think about how it is used

1.The Foxwoods Theatre, or the Hilton Theatre for … is a Broadway theatre located at 213 West 42nd Street in Manhattan.

2.The Lyric was built in 1903 and hosted Shakespeare plays and such notable new …. as Cole Porter's Fifty Million Frenchmen.

3. The Apollo, constructed in 1920 by the Selwyn Brothers, housed the Gershwin… .

4. … of the new musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark was anticipated to open in December 2010.

94

5. On May 20, 2013 it was announced that the UK-based had acquired the lease to the Foxwoods Theatre.

6. However, certain major … elements and structures were protected under landmark status. 7.The … at Foxwoods Theatre contains three levels of seating with room for up to nineteenhundred people.

a.The process of organizing and preparing a play, film etc.

b. a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. c.a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances at venues such as theatres.

d.an entertainment or concertespecially one that includes different items such as music, dancing and comedy.

e.major international theatre organisation headquartered in the United Kingdom.

f.a style is characterized by the features that make a building or other structure notable and historically identifiable.

g.artforms in which artists use their body, voice, or objects to convey artistic expression

II. Read for a purpose

You are going to read the text about American theatre. Before you read, complete the first two columns of the chart

What I know about

What want to know about

What I learnt about

American theatre

American theatre

American theatre

III. Agree or disagree, using the following expressions.

To introduce your opinion use the following

I think ...

It seems to me ...

(Personally,) I believe ...

From my point of view / viewpoint...

(Personally,) I feel ... As far as I'm concerned, ...

In my view/opinion ...

As I see it, ...

As far as I can see, ...

To my knowledge...

To disagree use the following

As a matter of fact, I don't agree.

I'm not sure, in fact.I'm not at all convinced.

I'm afraid I entirely disagree with ...

I don't think that's right.

I can't say I share your view.

To say you partly agree use the following

I agree with you up to a point/ in a sense/ in a way, but ...

I see what you mean, but ...

There's some truth in what you say. However, ...

I agree with much of what you say, but ...

To a certain extent, yes, but...

That may be true, but on the other hand ...

That's all very well, but ...

1.TheUniversity opened as the Ford Center for the Performing Arts on January 26. 2. By the early 1990s, after being neglected both theatres were condemned.

3.The theatre was renamed the "Renaissanse Theatre" in August 2010.

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4.The venue has a seating capacity of 1,930 making it the second largest house on Broadway.

5.Theatre contains three levels of seating with room for up to nineteen-hundred people.

6. A brief return to use as a legitimate theatre in the late 1970s ended its existence as a kindergarten.

IV. DISTINGUISHING FACTS FROM OPINIONS.

A fact is a statement that you can prove to be true. An opinion is a statement that describes someone’s feelings or beliefs about a topic. Learning to decide if a statement is a fact or opinion

will help you understand more about what you read

Read each statement and decide if it is a fact or an opinion.

1.By the early 1990s, after being neglected and falling into serious disrepair, both theatres were condemned. They were among the 42nd Street theatres repossessed by the City and State of New York in 1990, and fell under the protection of the New 42nd Street organization in 1992. In 1996, the theatres were leased by Livent and demolished. However, certain major architectural elements and structures were protected under landmark status; these were carefully removed from the buildings, stored, and incorporated into the new theatre.

Fact Opinion

a.Today, patrons visiting the theatre sit under the dome from the Lyric and proscenium arch.

b.They were among the 42nd Street theatres repossessed by the City and State of New York

c. In 1996, the theatres were leased by Livent and demolished.

2.The Foxwoods Theatre (previously known as the Hilton Theatre and Ford Center for the Performing Arts) is a Broadway theatre located at 213 West 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The venue has a seating capacity of 1,930 making it the second largest house on Broadway (the Gershwin Theatre is just slightly larger).

The theatre was built in 1996–97 on the site of the former Apollo and Lyric Theatres. The Lyric was built in 1903 and hosted Shakespeare plays and such notable new show as Cole Porter's Fifty Million Frenchmen, until it was converted to a movie theatre in 1934.

Fact Opinion

a. The Lyric was built in 1903 and hosted Shakespeare plays.

b. The Foxwoods Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 213 West 42nd Street in Manhattan.

c.The theatre was built in 1996–97 on the site of the former Apollo and Lyric Theatres.

3.The Apollo, constructed in 1920 by the Selwyn Brothers to a design by Eugene De Rosa, housed the Gershwin musicals Strike Up the Band and George White's Scandals, among other works, but was also turned into a film venue by the early 1930s. A brief return to use as a legitimate theatre in the late 1970s proved unsuccessful, and the venue ended its existence as a nightclub. By the early 1990s, after being neglected and falling into serious disrepair, both theatres were condemned.

Fact Opinion

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