Opera house as wealthy patrons and it continues to have a large number of working opera houses such as Teatro Massimo in Palermo (the biggest in Italy), Teatro di San Carlo in Naples (the world's oldest working opera house) and Teatro La Scala in Milan. In contrast, there was no opera house in London when Henry Purcell was composing and the first opera house in Germany was built in Hamburg in 1678. In the 17th and 18th centuries, opera houses were often financed by rulers, nobles, and wealthy people who used patronage of the arts to endorse their political ambition and social
Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) premieres of operas, including John Corigliano's "The Ghosts of Versailles", Phillip Glass's "The Voyage" and the US premiere of Nico Muhly's "Two Boys" in 2013. When the Metropolitan Opera is on hiatus, the Opera House is home to the annual Spring season of American Ballet Theatre (ABT). It regularly hosts touring opera and ballet companies including the Kirov, Bolshoi, and the La Scala companies. In addition, the Met has presented recitals by Vladimir Horowitz, Renée Fleming, Kathleen Battle and others. Philip Glass's "Einstein on the Beach" was staged independently at the Met in 1976. Concerts by Barbra Streisand, The Who,