"Galatea" had its first New York performance at the Academy of Music in Brooklyn, on December 30, 1886, under the direction of Arthur Mees; Delibes's ballet "Coppélia" at the Metropolitan on March 11, 1887, under the direction of Gustav Hinrichs. It is likely that both works were previously given by the National Opera Company on tour.
The fourth regular subscription season of opera at the Metropolitan Opera House (third season of opera in German) began on November 8, 1886, under the management of the board of directors, the direction of Edmund C. Stanton, with Anton Seidl and Walter Damrosch, conductors. It extended over fifteen weeks, the closing date being February 26, 1887, and comprised forty-five subscription nights, and fifteen matinées, no opera having been given from December 5th to January 3d. In the prospectus the directors had promised to produce fourteen operas, and the promise was kept as to number, though two operas, "Tristan und Isolde" and "Fidelio," were substituted for "Siegfried" (which had been completely staged) and "Les Huguenots." The operas thus substituted were the most successful of the list, "Fidelio" being received with so much favor on the two occasions for which it had been announced that an extra performance had to be given to satisfy the popular demand. Of this incident more presently. This extra performance raised the number of representations to sixty-one, which were distributed through the list of operas as follows:
"Die Königin von Saba" ........... November 8 ....... 4 "Die Walküre" .................... November 10 ...... 3 "Aïda" ........................... November 12 ...... 4 "Der Prophet" .................... November 17 ...... 5 "Das Goldene Kreutz" and ballet .. November 19 ...... 4 "Tannhäuser" ..................... November 28 ...... 6 "Tristan und Isolde" ............. December 1 ....... 8 "Faust" .......................... December 8 ....... 3 "Lohengrin" ...................... December 15 ...... 4 "Merlin" ......................... January 3 ........ 5 "Fidelio" ........................ January 14 ....... 3 "Die Meistersinger" .............. January 21 ....... 5 "Rienzi" ......................... January 31 ....... 5 "La Muette de Portici" ........... February 16 ...... 2 -- Total performances ................................ 61