By Anne Levin

Once, during a backstage tour of the Metropolitan Opera House, visitors were treated to a glimpse of soprano Natalie Dessay rehearsing for the evening’s performance of Bellini’s “La Sonnambula.” Nearby in the wings, they strolled by towering stacks of sets for three different productions that were being presented that week.

They visited the wig and costume shops and spoke with members of the crew. Finally, they stood in front of the footlights and gazed out into the glittering auditorium, sensing the magnitude of what it must be like to belt out an aria or dance a pas de deux (American Ballet Theatre performs there, too) on the celebrated stage where countless stars have made their debuts.

Such are the possibilities of a behind-the-scenes tour at some of New York’s most popular performing arts venues. At the NBC Studio, you might catch a young cast member of “Saturday Night Live” or late night television host Jimmy Fallon arriving for rehearsals. At Radio City Music Hall, Rockettes in full costume are known to pop out of dressing rooms to chat with visitors. At “Behind the Emerald Curtain,” a mini-museum and tour focused on the musical “Wicked,” enthusiastic cast members clue tour-goers in on the mechanisms of that elaborate production.

Have you ever wondered just how the bed in the snow scene of “The Nutcracker” at Lincoln Center’s Koch Theatre whirls around the stage during the onstage blizzard? Are you curious about just how the Rockettes achieve their famously precise kickline at every performance? A behind-the-scenes LINCOLN CENTER tour is a way to find out. Even the most seasoned patrons of New York’s cultural attractions can learn something, not only about stagecraft and special effects, but history and architecture as well.

Some tours take visitors behind the curtain. Others, like the one at Carnegie Hall, stick to the other side of the footlights. One of the world’s most prestigious concert venues for both classical and popular music, the National Historic Landmark building’s stage has been host to Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Benny Goodman, and Judy Garland. Dr. Martin Luther King spoke there in 1968.

While visitors aren’t taken backstage during tours of the building, they get a view of the hall from several unexpected vantage points. They view historic documents and artifacts and learn about the 123-year-old building’s distinctive history. Experienced guides tell the dramatic story of how the hall was saved from destruction in 1960, largely by the efforts of violinist Isaac Stern. Through the violinist’s persistence, the City of New York purchased the building for $5 million and put aside another $100,000 to spruce it up. Stern even got the family selling the hall to lower the price by $250,000 as a contribution to the project. It makes sense that the main hall is known as Stern Auditorium.

Carnegie Hall is at 57th Street and Seventh Avenue. Tours are given daily, subject to performance and rehearsal schedules. Tickets are $15 ($10 for students and seniors and $5 for children under 12). Visit www.carnegiehall.org/ tours for more information.

A bit uptown at Lincoln Center, there is more than one tour to choose from. The Metropolitan Opera Backstage Tours are held during performance seasons on weekdays and Sundays, but not on the days when final dress rehearsals or special events are being held. Tickets are $22 ($18 for students or groups of 10 or more). Visit www.metguild.org.

A bit uptown at Lincoln Center, there is more than one tour to choose from. The Metropolitan Opera Backstage Tours are held during performance seasons on weekdays and Sundays, but not on the days when final dress rehearsals or special events are being held. Tickets are $22 ($18 for students or groups of 10 or more). Visit www.metguild.org.

Radio City Music Hall also offers a variety of tours, most of which go backstage. The one-hour Stage Door tour can take in a rehearsal hall, dressing room (on non-event days), the lighting booth, or projection room. The Art Deco Tour goes further, giving guests a detailed examination of the interior design including the massive auditorium (1.8 million cubic feet), the Grand Foyer, elegant lounges, and the Roxy Suite. The Career Educational Tour is for groups interested in combining the Stage Door Tour with insight into just what it takes to run this huge theater, which is located at Avenue of the Americas and 50th Street. Tickets are $24 for adults ($18 for seniors, and $17 for children 12 and under). Call (212) 247-4777 or visit www.radiocity.com.

Nearby at Rockefeller Center’s NBC Studios, tours have been going on since 1933. On hiatus during a major renovation this year, the tours are set to resume in mid-2015. They are very popular, so it’s advisable to reserve in advance.

Visitors get a glimpse of the studios where “Saturday Night Live,” “Nightly News with Brian Williams,” “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” “Football Night in America,” “The Today Show” and MSNBC take place. Other stops include the NBC/Sharp Globe Theater, Broadcast Operations, the make-up room, and the High Definition mini-control studio. You can even have your photo taken at the news desk and help give a weather demonstration. For updated reopening and price information, visit www.nbcstudiotour.com.

Fans of the Tony-Award-winning musical “Wicked” are known to return again and again to “Wicked: Behind the Emerald Curtain,” an intimate look beyond what is seen onstage. Anyone interested in behind-the-scenes Broadway might enjoy a tour of this mini-museum, which displays sets and costumes, props and wigs. Commentary is by former and current members of the cast, who talk about the $2.5 million spent on costumes, the masks made specifically for each actor, and why it takes 125 people, cast and crew, to do each show. A video and a question-and-answer session are part of the experience. The location is the Gershwin Theatre, 222 West 51st Street, and tickets start at $30. Tours are given on Saturday mornings at 10 AM. Visit www.wickedthemusical.com for information.

If the “Wicked” tour whets the appetite for more Broadway behind-the-scenes, try The Inside Broadway Tour, a 1 hour and 45 minute trek around the theater district. The tour explores the history of Broadway and tells backstage stories of how to make it in show business. Guides relate how some of the theaters evolved after the Great Depression to become radio and television studios. Professional actors, singers, and directors who are licensed tour guides lead these expeditions. Tickets are $35 and leave daily at 1 PM and 4 PM from the George M. Cohan statue at 46th and Broadway in Times Square. Visit www.insidebroadwaytours.com for more information.