Stars Show Up For Metropolitan Opera House Season Opener

By Annie Reuter

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The entertainment world was represented in full force at Monday night's Metropolitan Opera season opener at Lincoln Center.

Before Anna Netrebko took the stage for her performance in Anna Bolena, model Tyra Banks, musician Maxwell, and actresses Christine Baranski, Archie Panjabi and Leelee Sobieski walked the red carpet.

Along with them was Katie Couric, Martha Stewart and designer Zac Posen.

While the stars attended the event, opera fans without a celebrity name could watch the performance on multiple screens in Times Square, where 2,000 seats were available for the free screening.

Peter Gelb, general manager of the Metropolitan Opera, said he's trying to make it "an institution that is more than just a symbol, but also a very vital part of the cultural life in the city. We're trying to make opera much more accessible to a broad culturally minded audience."

A staple of the New York art scene, the Met has been around for 128 years.

"The Met is almost the epicenter of glamour to me," said Baranski.  "Glamour meets the arts."

Tyra Banks knows a thing or two about glamour.

Her first visit to the opera, she brought a tissue - just in case she was moved to tears. Excited about her visit to the legendary location, Banks reflected on the legacy she wishes for herself.

"I hope to leave a legacy that's more important and more known than my actual name. I would love for my business to be sustainable, that there are people running it that get up every day to expand the definition of beauty," she said. "And that young girls wake up in the morning and because of my company, even while I'm gone, they feel better about themselves and about their reflections."