Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager; as of 2018, the company's current music director is Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The Met was founded in 1880 as an alternative to the established Academy of Music opera house, debuted in 1883 in a new building on 39th and Broadway, it moved to the new Lincoln Center location in 1966. The Metropolitan Opera is the largest classical music organization in North America, it presents about 27 different operas each year from late September through May. The operas are presented in a rotating repertory schedule, with up to seven performances of four different works staged each week. Performances are given in the evening Monday through Saturday with a matinée on Saturday. Several operas are presented in new productions each season. Sometimes these are shared with other opera companies.
The rest of the year's operas are given in revivals of productions from previous seasons. The 2015–16 season comprised 227 performances of 25 operas; the operas in the Met's repertoire consist of a wide range of works, from 18th-century Baroque and 19th-century Bel canto to the Minimalism of the late 20th century. These operas are presented in staged productions that range in style from those with elaborate traditional decors to others that feature modern conceptual designs; the Met's performing company consists of a large symphony-sized orchestra, a chorus, children's choir, many supporting and leading solo singers. The company employs numerous free-lance dancers, actors 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, such as Renée Fleming and Plácido Domingo, long maintained a close association with the Met, appearing many times each season until they retired.
The Metropolitan Opera Company was founded in 1880 to create an alternative to New York's 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. By 1880, these "old money" families were loath to admit New York's newly wealthy industrialists into their long-established social circle. Frustrated with being excluded, the Metropolitan Opera's founding subscribers determined to build a new opera house that would outshine the old Academy in every way. A group of 22 men assembled at Delmonico's restaurant on April 28, 1880, they established subscriptions for ownership in the new company. The new theater, built at 39th and Broadway, would include three tiers of private boxes in which the scions of New York's powerful new industrial families could display their wealth and establish their social prominence; the first Met subscribers included members of the Morgan and Vanderbilt families, all of whom had been excluded from the Academy.
The new Metropolitan Opera House opened on October 22, 1883, was an immediate success and artistically. The Academy of Music's opera season folded. 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 new Metropolitan Opera House. Henry Abbey served as manager for the inaugural season, 1883–84, which opened with a performance of Charles Gounod's Faust starring the brilliant Swedish soprano Christina Nilsson. Abbey's company that first season featured an ensemble of artists led by sopranos Nilsson and Marcella Sembrich, they gave 150 performances of 20 different operas by Gounod, Bellini, Verdi, Mozart, Bizet and Ponchielli. All performances were sung in Italian and were conducted either by music director Auguste Vianesi or Cleofonte Campanini; the company performed not only in the new Manhattan opera house, but started a long tradition of touring throughout the country. In the winter and spring of 1884 the Met presented opera in theaters in Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis, Washington D.
C. and Baltimore. Back in New York, the last night of the season featured a long gala performance to benefit Mr. Abbey; the special program consisted not only of various scenes from opera, but offered Mme. Sembrich playing the violin and the piano, as well as the famed stage actors Henry Irving and Ellen Terry in a scene from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice; the Metropolitan Opera began a long history of performing in Philadelphia during its first season, presenting its entire repertoire in the city during January and April 1884. The company's first Philadelphia performance was of Faust on January 14, 1884, at the Chestnut Street Opera House; the Met continued to perform annually in Philadelphia for nearly eighty years, taking the entire company to the city on selected Tuesday nights throughout the opera season. Performances were held at Philadelphia's Academy of Music, with the company presenting close to 900 performances in the city by 1961 when the Met's regular visits ceased. On April 26, 1910, the Met purchased the Philadelphia Opera House from Oscar Hammerstein I.
The company renamed the house the Metropolitan Opera House and performed all of their Philadelphia performances there unti
Giulio Gatti-Casazza
Giulio Gatti-Casazza was an Italian opera manager. He was general manager of La Scala in Milan, Italy from 1898 to 1908 and the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 1908 to 1935. Gatti-Casazza was born on 3 February 1869 in northeastern Italy. In 1893 he succeeded his father as manager of the municipal theatre in Ferrara, he was manager of La Scala from 1898 to 1908, before his move to New York City, when he became general manager of the Metropolitan Opera from 1908 to 1935. Under his leadership the Metropolitan enjoyed a prolonged era of artistic innovation and musical excellence, he brought with him conductor Arturo Toscanini, who became the company's principal conductor and led performances of Verdi and others that set high standards for the Metropolitan which have endured to the present day. The Viennese composer Gustav Mahler was a Met conductor during Gatti-Casazza's first two seasons and in years conductors Tullio Serafin and Artur Bodanzky led the company in the Italian and German repertories respectively.
Affectionately called "Gatti" by friends and colleagues, Gatti-Casazza's prodigious artistic and organizational skills attracted the best singers and conductors to the Metropolitan, and, on 10 December 1910, hosted its first World premiere, La Fanciulla del West by Giacomo Puccini. Many noted singers of the era appeared at the Met under Gatti-Casazza's leadership, including Rosa Ponselle, Emmy Destinn, Frances Alda, Amelita Galli-Curci, Maria Jeritza, Lily Pons. For his accomplishments Gatti-Casazza was one of the first Italians to be featured on the cover of Time Magazine, he was on the weekly's cover twice. In 1910, he married the soprano Frances Alda, they divorced in 1928 and he married the Met's prima ballerina Rosina Galli. He spent the last years of his life in his native Italy, he died on 2 September 1940 in Italy. The Great Caruso. Anna Pavlova. Metropolitan Opera List of people on the cover of Time Magazine: 1920s - 5 November 1923 and 1 November 1926 Giulio Gatti-Casazza - Memories of the Opera Gabriel, Gilbert W. "Maestrissimo!"
The New Yorker 1/1: 9-10 Meyer, Martin. The Met: One Hundred Years of Grand Opera. New York City: Simon & Schuster
Burgtheater
The Burgtheater known as K. K. Theater an der Burg until 1918 as the K. K. Hofburgtheater, is the Austrian National Theatre in Vienna, the most important German language theatre and one of the most important theatres in the world; the Burgtheater has become known as "die Burg" by the Viennese population. The theatre opened on 14 March 1741, the creation of the Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa of Austria who wanted a theatre next to her palace, her son, Emperor Joseph II, called it the "German National Theatre" in 1776. Three Mozart operas premiered there: Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Le nozze di Figaro and Così fan tutte, as well as his Piano Concerto #24 in C Minor. Beginning in 1794, the theatre was called the "K. K. Hoftheater nächst der Burg". Beethoven's 1st Symphony premiered there on 2 April 1800; the last performance, in October 1888, was of Goethe’s Iphigenie auf TaurisThe theatre's first building adjoined the Hofburg at Michaelerplatz, opposite St. Michael's Church; the theatre was moved to a new building at the Ringstraße on 14 October 1888 designed by Gottfried Semper and Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer, St. Michael's Wing of the Hofburg Palace was erected at the vacated site.
In 1943, under Nazi rule, a notoriously extreme production of The Merchant of Venice was staged at the Burgtheater - with Werner Krauss as Shylock, one of several theatre and film roles by this actor pandering to antisemitic stereotypes. On 12 March 1945 the Burgtheater was destroyed in a bombing raid, one month on 12 April 1945, it was further damaged by a fire of unknown origin. After the war, the theatre was restored between 1953 and 1955; the classic Burgtheater style and the Burgtheater-German language were trend-setting for German language theatres. Before 1776 the theatre had been leased from the state by Johann Koháry; the tenant of the theatre Johann Koháry came into financial difficulties in 1773, he got in 1773 Joseph Keglevich as a curator to his side, the director of the theatre Wenzel Sporck, the great nephew of Franz Anton Sporck, who had brought the french horn and Antonio Vivaldi to Prague, got a committee for financing under the chairman Franz Keglevich as his assistance in 1773 and Karl Keglevich became the director of the Theater am Kärntnertor in 1773 to have comparative figures.
The curator Joseph Keglevich declared the bankruptcy of the theatre in 1776 and the state under Joseph II took over the theatre again in 1776. The director of the theatre Wenzel Sporck and the chairman of the committee for financing the theatre Franz Keglevich were released of their duties in 1776 and the University of Trnava, which rector was Alexander Keglevich in the year 1770/71, got the permission to move into the Buda Castle; until 1776 the theatre had been financed de facto, but not de jure, by the University of Trnava of the Society of Jesus, which were suppressed by the order of Pope Clement XIV in 1773, therefore it is difficult to determine who the actual director was and therefore the suspicion that the same surnames were no coincidence, did not constitute a kinship, but a financial intelligence for purchased exams and for identifying of high-risk housing tenants. Francis II decided on 4 July 1792 to let out the theatre to lease again, but it was not possible to find any tenant, therefore it was not permitted to the directors of the Burgtheater as state employees to bow to the audience, because their performance was not over, because there was no new tenant.
The benchmark for the directors became the finances of the house. Ferdinánd Pálffy became the tenant 1794-1817, his finances had come from the mining institute in Banská Štiavnica the first technical university in the world; the Burgtheater remained a traditional stage with a distinct culture until the late 1960s. From the early 1970s on, it became a venue for some of Europe's most important stage director and designers. With many debut performances of plays written by Thomas Bernhard, Elfriede Jelinek, Peter Handke, Peter Turrini and George Tabori, Claus Peymann managed to affirm the Burgtheater's reputation as one of Europe's foremost stages. Among the best known actors in the ensemble of about 120 members are: Sven-Eric Bechtolf, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Kirsten Dene, Andrea Clausen, Bruno Ganz, Karlheinz Hackl, Robert Meyer, Gertraud Jesserer, August Diehl, Jutta Lampe, Susanne Lothar, Michael Maertens, Tamara Metelka, Birgit Minichmayr, Nicholas Ofczarek, Hedwig Pistorius, Elisabeth Orth, Martin Schwab, Peter Simonischek, Ulrich Tukur, Franz Tscherne and Gert Voss.
Some famous former members of the ensemble were Max Devrient, Josef Kainz, Josef Lewinsky, Joseph Schreyvogel, Adolf von Sonnenthal, Charlotte Wolter, Ludwig Gabillon, Zerline Gabillon, Attila Hörbiger, Paula Wessely, Curd Jürgens, O. W. Fischer, Paul Hörbiger, Otto Tausig, Peter Weck, Fritz Muliar, Christoph Waltz, Ignaz Kirchner and Gert Voss. Deserving artists may be designated honorable members, their names are engraved in marble at the bottom end of the ceremonial stairs at the side of the theatre facing the Volksgarten. Members of honor include: Annemarie Düringer, Wolfgang Gasser, Heinrich Schweiger, Gusti Wolf, Klaus Maria Brandauer and Michael Heltau; the Burgtheater has seen productions staged by directors like Otto Schenk, Peter Hall, Giorgio Strehler, Luca Ronconi, Hans Neuenfels, Terry Hands, Jonathan Miller, Peter Zadek, Paulus Manker, Luc Bondy, Christoph Schlingensief, Thomas Vinterberg. Among the staged and costume designers were Fritz Wotruba, Luciano Damiani, Pier Luigi Pizzi, Ezio Frigerio, Franca Squarciapino, Josef Svoboda, Anselm Kiefer, Moidele Bickel, a
Cosima Wagner
Cosima Wagner was the illegitimate daughter of the Hungarian pianist and composer Franz Liszt and Marie d'Agoult. She became the second wife of the German composer Richard Wagner, with him founded the Bayreuth Festival as a showcase for his stage works. Commentators have recognised Cosima as the principal inspiration for Wagner's works Parsifal. In 1857, after a childhood spent under the care of her grandmother and with governesses, Cosima married the conductor Hans von Bülow. Although the marriage produced two children, it was a loveless union, in 1863 Cosima began a relationship with Wagner, 24 years her senior, she married him in 1870. During her directorship, Cosima opposed theatrical innovations and adhered to Wagner's original productions of his works, an approach continued by her successors long after her retirement in 1907, she shared Wagner's convictions of German cultural and racial superiority, under her influence, Bayreuth became identified with antisemitism. This was a defining feature of Bayreuth for decades, into the Nazi era which followed her death in 1930.
Thus, although she is perceived as the saviour of the festival, her legacy remains controversial. In January 1833 the 21-year-old Hungarian pianist and composer Franz Liszt met Marie d'Agoult, a Parisian socialite six years his senior. Marie's antecedents were mixed. Marie had been married since 1827 to Charles, Comte d'Agoult, had borne him two daughters, but the union had become sterile. Drawn together by their mutual intellectual interests and Liszt embarked on a passionate relationship. In March 1835 the couple fled Paris for Switzerland. In the following two years Liszt and Marie travelled in pursuit of his career as a concert pianist. Late in 1837, when Marie was pregnant with their second child, the couple were at Como in Italy. Here, on 24 December in a lakeside hotel in Bellagio, a second daughter was born, they named her Francesca Gaetana Cosima, the unusual third name being derived from St Cosmas, a patron saint of physicians and apothecaries. With her sister she was left in the care of wet nurses, while Liszt and Marie continued to travel in Europe.
Their third child and only son, was born on 9 May 1839 in Venice. In 1839, while Liszt continued his travels, Marie took the social risk of returning to Paris with her daughters, her hopes of recovering her status in the city were dented when her influential mother, Madame de Flavigny, refused to acknowledge the children. Liszt's solution was to remove the girls from Marie and place them with his mother, Anna Liszt, in her Paris home while Daniel remained with nurses in Venice. By this means, both Marie and Liszt could continue their independent lives. Relations between the couple cooled, by 1841 they were seeing little of each other. By 1845 the breach between them was such. Liszt forbade contact between mother and daughters. Marie threatened to fight him "like a lioness", but soon gave up the struggle. Though they were living in the same city, she did not see either of her daughters for five years, until 1850. Cosima and Blandine remained with Anna Liszt until 1850, joined by Daniel. Cosima's biographer George Marek describes Anna as "a simple, unworldly but warmhearted woman... for the first time experienced what it was to be touched by love".
Of the sisters, Blandine was evidently the prettier. Although Liszt's relations with his children were formal and distant, he provided for them liberally, ensured that they were well educated. Both girls were sent to Madame Bernard's, an exclusive boarding school, while Daniel was prepared for the prestigious Lycée Bonaparte. In 1847 Liszt met Princess Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, the estranged wife of a German prince who lived in Russia. By the autumn of 1848 she and Liszt had become lovers, their relationship lasted for the remainder of his life, she assumed responsibility for the management of Liszt's life, including the upbringing of his daughters. Early in 1850 Liszt had been disturbed to learn that Blandine and Cosima were seeing their mother again. Liszt's instructions were clear—Madame Patersi was to control every aspect of the girls' lives: "She alone is to decide what is to be permitted them and what forbidden". Blandine and Cosima were subjected to the Patersi curriculum for four years.
Cosima's biographer Oliver Hilmes likens the regime to that used for breaking in horses, though Marek describes it as exacting but u
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany, which belongs to the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a federal state of Germany. As a commercial and industrial city with a major port on the River Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen/Oldenburg Metropolitan Region, with 2.5 million people. Bremen is eleventh in Germany. Bremen is a major economic hub in the northern regions of Germany. Bremen is home to dozens of historical galleries and museums, ranging from historical sculptures to major art museums, such as the Übersee-Museum Bremen. Bremen has a reputation as a working-class city. Bremen is home to a large number of manufacturing centers. Companies headquartered in Bremen include Vector Foiltec. Four-time German football champions Werder Bremen are based in the city. Bremen is some 60 km south of the mouth of the Weser on the North Sea. Bremen and Bremerhaven together comprise the state of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen; the marshes and moraines near Bremen have been settled since about 12,000 BC.
Burial places and settlements in Bremen-Mahndorf and Bremen-Osterholz date back to the 7th century AD. Since the Renaissance, some scientists have believed that the entry Fabiranum or Phabiranon in Ptolemy's Fourth Map of Europe, written in AD 150, refers to Bremen, but Ptolemy gives geographic coordinates, these refer to a site northeast of the mouth of the river Visurgis. In Ptolemy's time the Chauci lived in the area now called Lower Saxony. By the end of the 3rd century, they had merged with the Saxons. During the Saxon Wars the Saxons, led by Widukind, fought against the West Germanic Franks, the founders of the Carolingian Empire, lost the war. Charlemagne, the King of the Franks, made a new law, the Lex Saxonum, which forbid the Saxons worshipping Odin. In 787 Willehad of Bremen became the first Bishop of Bremen. In 848 the archdiocese of Hamburg merged with the diocese of Bremen to become Hamburg-Bremen Archdiocese, with its seat in Bremen, in the following centuries the archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen were the driving force behind the Christianisation of Northern Germany.
In 888, at the behest of Archbishop Rimbert, Kaiser Arnulf of Carinthia, the Carolingian King of East Francia, granted Bremen the rights to hold its own markets, mint its own coins and make its own customs laws. The city's first stone walls were built in 1032. Around that time trade with Norway and the northern Netherlands began to grow, thus increasing the importance of the city. In 1186 the Bremian Prince-Archbishop Hartwig of Uthlede and his bailiff in Bremen confirmed – without waiving the prince-archbishop's overlordship over the city – the Gelnhausen Privilege, by which Frederick I Barbarossa granted the city considerable privileges; the city was recognised as a political entity with its own laws. Property within the municipal boundaries could not be subjected to feudal overlordship. Property was to be inherited without feudal claims for reversion to its original owner; this privilege laid the foundation for Bremen's status of imperial immediacy. But in reality Bremen did not have complete independence from the Prince-Archbishops: there was no freedom of religion, burghers still had to pay taxes to the Prince-Archbishops.
Bremen played a double role: it participated in the Diets of the neighbouring Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen as part of the Bremian Estates and paid its share of taxes, at least when it had consented to this levy. Since the city was the major taxpayer, its consent was sought. In this way the city wielded fiscal and political power within the Prince-Archbishopric, while not allowing the Prince-Archbishopric to rule in the city against its consent. In 1260 Bremen joined the Hanseatic League. In 1350, the number of inhabitants reached 20,000. Around this time the Hansekogge became a unique product of Bremen. In 1362, representatives of Bremen rendered homage to Albert II, Prince-Archbishop of Bremen in Langwedel. In return, Albert confirmed the city's privileges and brokered a peace between the city and Gerhard III, Count of Hoya, who since 1358 had held some burghers of Bremen in captivity; the city had to bail them out. In 1365 an extra tax, levied to finance the ransom, caused an uprising among the burghers and artisans, put down by the city council after much bloodshed.
In 1366, Albert II tried to take advantage of the dispute between Bremen's city council and the guilds, whose members had expelled some city councillors from the city. When these councillors appealed to Albert II for help, many artisans and burghers regarded this as a treasonous act, fearing that this appeal to the prince would only provoke him to abolish the autonomy of the city; the fortified city maintained its own guards, not allowing soldiers of the Prince-Archbishop to enter it. The city reserved an extra narrow gate, the so-called Bishop's Needle, for all clergy, including the Prince-Archbishop; the narrowness of the gate made it physically impossible. On the night of 29 May 1366, Albert's troops, helped by some burghers, invaded the city. Afterward, the city had to a
Century Theatre (New York City)
The Century Theatre the New Theatre, was a theatre located at 62nd Street and Central Park West in New York City. Opened on November 6, 1909, it was noted for its fine architecture but due to poor acoustics and an inconvenient location it was financially unsuccessful; the theatre was replaced by the Century Apartments building. The New Theatre was once called "New York's most spectacularly unsuccessful theater" in the WPA Guide to New York City. Envisioned in 1906 by Heinrich Conried, a director of the Metropolitan Opera House, its construction was an attempt to establish a great theatre at New York free of commercialism, one that, broadly speaking, would resemble the Comédie Française of Paris. Thirty founders each subscribed $35,000 at the start, a building designed to be the permanent home of a repertory company was constructed on Central Park West on the Upper West Side at a cost of three million dollars. Architecturally, it was one of the handsomest structures in the city, designed by the prominent Beaux-Arts architectural firm Carrère and Hastings.
With Winthrop Ames as the only director, the New Theatre Company occupied the building for only two seasons, 1909–10 and 1910–11. Capable of seating 2,300 persons, the New Theatre was opened on November 6, 1909, with impressive ceremonies and under the most favoring auspices, but a serious defect in the acoustics became apparent at once and this was only remedied by the installation of a sound-deflecting bell. Several Shakespearean plays were given, by far the most notable presentation being that of The Winter's Tale. On the whole the company did its best ensemble work in some of the modern plays of that time, like Maeterlinck's The Blue Bird and Sister Beatrice, Galsworthy's Strife, Edward Sheldon's The Nigger starring Annie Russell. A poetic drama of distinction was Josephine Preston Peabody's The Piper. From Europe in 1912 came Judith Gautier and Pierre Loti and supervisors of The Daughter of Heaven. In most cases the stage settings were of high quality. Not long ago an institution, expected to benefit the Stage and the Public went down in miserable failure, in the collapse of the New Theatre.
The Directors of that institution provided'practically unlimited capital' for the venture, — an aid which Lester Wallack, for one, never had and never dreamed of having. The observer of to-day was able to see at first hand what kind of theatrical company could be formed after a long absence of stock-companies; the building was located a mile above the Theater District, it was exceedingly expensive to maintain. Financially, the venture proved to be a boondoggle. At the end of the second season, it was found to be impracticable to plan for a third; the building was leased to other theatre managers, who changed the name to the Century Theatre, the Century Opera House, the Century once more, with Florenz Ziegfeld as manager. In 1917, producers Florenz Ziegfeld and Charles Dillingham opened the roof garden as a nightclub and named it the Cocoanut Grove, based on the success of a similar venue, Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic at the New Amsterdam Theatre, it was of no use. The "Shrine of Snobbism" as a populist New York paper dubbed it was demolished and the Art Deco Century Apartments, designed by the office of Irwin S. Chanin, rose on the site in 1931.
Consult The New Theatre, which gives the names of founders, etc. with biographical sketches and portraits of the company, The New Theatre, Season 1909-10, for titles of plays, dates of production, etc. Both the foregoing were circulated by the management. Consult the magazines of 1909-11 W. P. Eaton, in the Atlantic Monthly, volume cv, John Corbin, in the World's Work, volume xxii; the WPA Guide to New York City. Listing at WorldCat. Snippet view at Google Books; this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Gilman, D. C.. "article name needed". New International Encyclopedia. New York: Dodd, Mead; the New/Century Theatre at Internet Broadway Database New Theatre costume designs, 1909-1911, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Merano
Merano or Meran is a town and comune in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to 3,335 metres above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier Valley and the Vinschgau. In the past, the town has been a popular place of residence for several scientists, literary people, artists, including Franz Kafka, Ezra Pound, Paul Lazarsfeld, Empress Elisabeth of Austria, who appreciated its mild climate. Meran is the German name for the town. Both are used in English; the Ladin form of the name is Maran. The official name of the municipality is Stadtgemeinde Meran in German and Comune di Merano in Italian. In 17th-century Latin, the town was called Meranum. Other archaic names are an der Meran; the area has been inhabited since the 3rd millennium BC, as shown by the presence of menhirs and other findings. The story of the city proper began in 15 BC when the Romans occupied the Adige valley founding a road station, Statio Maiensis.
The settlement was first mentioned in an 857 deed as Mairania. The Counts at Castle Tyrol elevated Meran to the status of a city during the 13th century and made it the capital of their County of Tyrol. After the county had been handed over to the Habsburg dynasty in 1363 upon the abdication of Margaret, Countess of Tyrol, in 1420, Duke Friedrich IV of Austria moved the Tyrolean court to Innsbruck. Though Meran remained the official capital until 1848, it subsequently lost its predominant position and all its importance as an economic hub across the roads connecting Italy and Germany; the important mint was moved to Hall in 1477. The Tyrolean Rebellion of 1809 against the French occupation drew attention again to Meran. In that year, on the Küchelberg above the city, a peasants' army eked out a victory against the united French and Bavarian forces, before their revolt was crushed. After World War I, under the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye Meran became part of the Kingdom of Italy with the rest of the southern part of the former Cisleithanian crown land of Tyrol.
The town's coat of arms depicts the red Tyrolean eagle sitting on a wall with four pieces of Ghibelline battlements and three arches that symbolize the city. The arms is known from 14th century and the oldest seal dates from 1353, while the coloured one since 1390. In a 1759 image, the eagle is represented with a green wreath of honour. After World War I and the annexation of the town from Austria-Hungary to Italy was a new coat of arms given in 1928, which looked similar to the old one, but with five parts of the battlements and the arches with the gates opened on a lawn of shamrock. A mural crown was placed above the shield; the five parts of the battlement represented the districts of Untermais, Meran and Gratsch and Hafling, which were incorporated into the town by the Italian fascists. After World War II, Hafling became independent again and the historical coat of arms was restored. Among the town's landmarks are the medieval city gates such as the Vinschgauer Tor, Passeirer Tor, the Bozener Tor.
Belonging to the fortifications is the medieval Ortenstein tower, popularly called Pulverturm. The main churches are the Gothic St. Nicholas' Church and the St. Barbara's Chapel, both dating to the 15th century. Dating to this period is the Princely Castle, a residence of Archduke Sigismund of Austria; the Steinerner Steg stone bridge dates to the 17th century. The town saw further development as it became popular as a spa resort after Empress Elisabeth of Austria started visiting. Dating from the 19th century are civic theatre, the Kurhaus and the Empress Elisabeth Park. Famous are the arched Wandelhalle promenades along the river. After the annexation of the town to Italy in 1919, the Fascist authorities constructed the new town hall in the 1920s. Outside the town is its gardens. Located there is the Museum of Tourism, opened in the spring of 2003 and shows the historical development of tourism in the province. Tirol Castle is close-by; the average daily temperatures in summer in Meran lie between 27 and 30 °C, while at night temperatures drop to between 12 and 15 °C.
The average daily temperatures in winter lie between 6 and 10 °C, while at night temperatures drop to between -4 and -2 °C. The wettest month is August with 96 mm; this data was measured at the weather station Meran/Gratsch at an altitude of 333 metres between 1983 and 2017. The area is well known for its wines, both white and red, vineyards extend right into the town; the local wine, Meraner Leiten, is best drunk young. There are extensive orchards, apples are exported throughout Europe; the Forst Brewery on the edge of the town produces a popular range of beers, sold throughout northern Italy. Merano organizes the following events every year. Asfaltart Festival MeranJazz Meraner Musikwochen Christmas market Merano Merano WineFestival Hans Andersag, discovered Chloroquine, a malaria drug Ferdinand Behrens and city portraitist Arbeo of Freising, early medieval author and bishop Franciszka Arnsztajnowa and playwright Franco D'Andrea, jazz pianist Arnaldo Di Benedetto, literary critic and professor Ludwig Bemelmans, author Irène Galter, actress Ferdinand Gamper, serial killer Gloria Guida, It
