Bravo! Met's First Encore in 14 Years Wins Huge Ovation

Audiences at New York's Metropolitan Opera Monday night were treated to something they hadn't heard in 14 years: an encore. In the Met's new production of Donizetti's La fille du régiment, tenor Juan Diego Flórez nailed the nine high C's of the difficult aria "Ah! Mes Amis" and won a huge ovation. He then did the whole thing again and was rewarded with an ultra-rare mid-performance standing ovation.

While encores have been frowned upon at the Met in the past, this one was a well-planned affair, reports the New York Times. Peter Gelb, the Met's modernizing new manager, gave the go-ahead to the stage manager from a phone in his private box. The manager then activated a podium light for the conductor, who held up two fingers to the tenor. Flórez just smiled, and the first encore since 1994 was under way. (More Metropolitan Opera stories.)