“From 1883, the year the Metropolitan Opera was founded, until 1986, the company went on extensive annual tours across the United States with occasional excursions abroad. … The scale of the Met tour, with orchestra, chorus, soloists, scenery and costumes, was massive. The typical mode of transportation was by train. In the first season, the company began with 13 performances in Boston from a repertory of 10 different operas as well as a concert.”