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NYT: Pressured By Gelb, Opera News Will Stop Reviewing Met Opera Performances
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Mark S
May 22, 2012, 2:36:01 AM5/22/12
to
Latest Met Aria: Bad Opera News Is No News
By DANIEL J. WAKIN
Published: May 21, 2012
Opera News, 76 years old and one of the leading classical music
magazines in the country, said on Monday that it would stop reviewing
the Metropolitan Opera, a policy prompted by the Met’s dissatisfaction
over negative critiques.
The decision by the magazine, which is published by a Met fund-raising
affiliate, the Metropolitan Opera Guild, and which freely reviews
companies around the world, troubles some opera experts. It is also
the latest sign of sensitivity from the Met under its general manager,
Peter Gelb, in the face of criticism over its productions. The move
came after a review in April took aim at the Met’s new production of
Wagner’s “Ring” cycle — a hallmark of Mr. Gelb’s tenure that has led
to a firestorm — and after a top Opera News editor criticized the
Met’s direction in a scathing essay in the May issue.
Mr. Gelb said in an interview on Monday that the decision was made “in
collaboration with the guild” but that he never liked the idea that an
organization created to support the Met had a publication passing
judgment on its productions. Worse yet, he said, is a publication that
“continuously rips into” an institution that its parent is supposed to
help.
Last month Mr. Gelb protested to WQXR over a blog posting that called
his leadership into question. It was immediately pulled. Last year the
Met asked a blogger to stop revealing programming choices for future
seasons before the official announcement. The blogger complied.
The newest subject of wrath is Opera News. Citing a circulation of
100,000, the largest for a classical music magazine in the country, it
provides information on Met casts and broadcasts and glossy profiles
of star singers. Along with features on other opera houses, performers
of past eras and festivals, it also publishes critiques of
performances around the world by knowledgeable and respected
reviewers. They have included professional musicians, academics and
local newspaper critics.
“As of the June 2012 issue, Opera News is not reviewing Metropolitan
Opera productions,” F. Paul Driscoll, the magazine’s editor in chief,
said in a terse telephone interview. He declined to elaborate but
acknowledged that no other opera company had been banished from its
pages.
During Mr. Gelb’s tenure, the Met has tightened the reins on the
guild.
The company’s assistant manager for operations, Stewart Pearce, was
made managing director of the guild, and the Met plays a stronger role
in its educational programs. Three guild board members also have ex
officio positions on the Met board, and donors solicited by the Met
receive a subscription to the magazine as a perquisite. Slightly fewer
than half the subscribers receive it that way.
Mr. Gelb may have reason to be more sensitive these days. He is under
enormous pressure to raise money for the Met’s voracious seasons,
which command budgets in excess of $300 million. Mr. Gelb has also
been a tireless promoter of theatrically innovative productions and
the importance of replacing old productions with new ones. Both leave
him open to fire from critics and traditionalists.
Opera News has reviewed Met productions continuously since at least
the mid-1970s, Mr. Driscoll said. While not frequent, negative notices
have periodically made their way in, to the discomfiture of previous
Met administrations. But no ban was imposed, at least in recent
decades.
In the April issue, a review by Fred Cohn criticized the staging of
Götterdämmerung, the final work in the “Ring” cycle. The productions
of the four operas, which finished their run this month and were
directed by Robert Lepage, were the subject of much critical scorn,
although they had many fans too. Mr. Lepage’s huge piece of machinery
used for all the operas functioned as a lightning rod.
“The physical scale of Robert Lepage’s ‘Götterdämmerung’ may have been
immense, but its ambitions seemed puny,” Mr. Cohn wrote.
An essay in the May issue by Brian Kellow, the features editor, may
have spelled the end. It read, “The public is becoming more dispirited
each season by the pretentious and woefully misguided, misdirected
productions foisted on them.”
Mr. Gelb singled out the line in Monday’s interview. Such negative
comments from a publication that is part of a Met support organization
“certainly would not be in the best interests of the Met,” he said.
One prominent opera supporter saw the ban as something else:
censorship.
“It is irrational and interferes with the business of presenting
artistic events,” said Nathalie Wagner, president of the Wagner
Society of New York and a longtime Opera News subscriber. “Censorship
doesn’t work in other countries, and it should not exist here. We
think Opera News does an excellent and a vital job in covering opera.”
David J. Levin, a professor at the University of Chicago and the
editor of the academic journal Opera Quarterly, also criticized the
decision. “It’s inconceivable to me that the Met wouldn’t welcome
nuanced and challenging criticism,” he said. If the Met is serious
about presenting innovative productions and repertory, he added, they
should not be met with a “rubber stamp.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/arts/music/opera-news-will-stop-reviewing-metropolitan-opera.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1337666882-0hs5Mdb4Lh4tKWLSfq/1tQ
IMO, Opera News should not be reviewing any opera productions if the
Met is now off limits. It's unseemly for a house publication of the
Met to assume to review and criticize performances from other houses
while shielding themselves from such criticism.
By DANIEL J. WAKIN
Published: May 21, 2012
Opera News, 76 years old and one of the leading classical music
magazines in the country, said on Monday that it would stop reviewing
the Metropolitan Opera, a policy prompted by the Met’s dissatisfaction
over negative critiques.
The decision by the magazine, which is published by a Met fund-raising
affiliate, the Metropolitan Opera Guild, and which freely reviews
companies around the world, troubles some opera experts. It is also
the latest sign of sensitivity from the Met under its general manager,
Peter Gelb, in the face of criticism over its productions. The move
came after a review in April took aim at the Met’s new production of
Wagner’s “Ring” cycle — a hallmark of Mr. Gelb’s tenure that has led
to a firestorm — and after a top Opera News editor criticized the
Met’s direction in a scathing essay in the May issue.
Mr. Gelb said in an interview on Monday that the decision was made “in
collaboration with the guild” but that he never liked the idea that an
organization created to support the Met had a publication passing
judgment on its productions. Worse yet, he said, is a publication that
“continuously rips into” an institution that its parent is supposed to
help.
Last month Mr. Gelb protested to WQXR over a blog posting that called
his leadership into question. It was immediately pulled. Last year the
Met asked a blogger to stop revealing programming choices for future
seasons before the official announcement. The blogger complied.
The newest subject of wrath is Opera News. Citing a circulation of
100,000, the largest for a classical music magazine in the country, it
provides information on Met casts and broadcasts and glossy profiles
of star singers. Along with features on other opera houses, performers
of past eras and festivals, it also publishes critiques of
performances around the world by knowledgeable and respected
reviewers. They have included professional musicians, academics and
local newspaper critics.
“As of the June 2012 issue, Opera News is not reviewing Metropolitan
Opera productions,” F. Paul Driscoll, the magazine’s editor in chief,
said in a terse telephone interview. He declined to elaborate but
acknowledged that no other opera company had been banished from its
pages.
During Mr. Gelb’s tenure, the Met has tightened the reins on the
guild.
The company’s assistant manager for operations, Stewart Pearce, was
made managing director of the guild, and the Met plays a stronger role
in its educational programs. Three guild board members also have ex
officio positions on the Met board, and donors solicited by the Met
receive a subscription to the magazine as a perquisite. Slightly fewer
than half the subscribers receive it that way.
Mr. Gelb may have reason to be more sensitive these days. He is under
enormous pressure to raise money for the Met’s voracious seasons,
which command budgets in excess of $300 million. Mr. Gelb has also
been a tireless promoter of theatrically innovative productions and
the importance of replacing old productions with new ones. Both leave
him open to fire from critics and traditionalists.
Opera News has reviewed Met productions continuously since at least
the mid-1970s, Mr. Driscoll said. While not frequent, negative notices
have periodically made their way in, to the discomfiture of previous
Met administrations. But no ban was imposed, at least in recent
decades.
In the April issue, a review by Fred Cohn criticized the staging of
Götterdämmerung, the final work in the “Ring” cycle. The productions
of the four operas, which finished their run this month and were
directed by Robert Lepage, were the subject of much critical scorn,
although they had many fans too. Mr. Lepage’s huge piece of machinery
used for all the operas functioned as a lightning rod.
“The physical scale of Robert Lepage’s ‘Götterdämmerung’ may have been
immense, but its ambitions seemed puny,” Mr. Cohn wrote.
An essay in the May issue by Brian Kellow, the features editor, may
have spelled the end. It read, “The public is becoming more dispirited
each season by the pretentious and woefully misguided, misdirected
productions foisted on them.”
Mr. Gelb singled out the line in Monday’s interview. Such negative
comments from a publication that is part of a Met support organization
“certainly would not be in the best interests of the Met,” he said.
One prominent opera supporter saw the ban as something else:
censorship.
“It is irrational and interferes with the business of presenting
artistic events,” said Nathalie Wagner, president of the Wagner
Society of New York and a longtime Opera News subscriber. “Censorship
doesn’t work in other countries, and it should not exist here. We
think Opera News does an excellent and a vital job in covering opera.”
David J. Levin, a professor at the University of Chicago and the
editor of the academic journal Opera Quarterly, also criticized the
decision. “It’s inconceivable to me that the Met wouldn’t welcome
nuanced and challenging criticism,” he said. If the Met is serious
about presenting innovative productions and repertory, he added, they
should not be met with a “rubber stamp.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/arts/music/opera-news-will-stop-reviewing-metropolitan-opera.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1337666882-0hs5Mdb4Lh4tKWLSfq/1tQ
IMO, Opera News should not be reviewing any opera productions if the
Met is now off limits. It's unseemly for a house publication of the
Met to assume to review and criticize performances from other houses
while shielding themselves from such criticism.
Terry Simmons
May 22, 2012, 8:41:53 AM5/22/12
to
In article
<11d09c25-6d47-476c...@o3g2000pby.googlegroups.com>,
> Wagnerąs łRing˛ cycle ‹ a hallmark of Mr. Gelbąs tenure that has led
>
> Mr. Gelb said in an interview on Monday that the decision was made łin
> Opera productions,˛ F. Paul Driscoll, the magazineąs editor in chief,
> guild.
>
> The companyąs assistant manager for operations, Stewart Pearce, was
> doesnąt work in other countries, and it should not exist here. We
> http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/arts/music/opera-news-will-stop-reviewing-me
Negative crits. are uncomfortable for thin-skinned impresarios,
directors, conductors and singers. But the simple fact of bringing
before the public the intelligent discussion of productions is worth a
great deal. There is nothing more expensive than oblivion. This is going
to be gain for other houses and loss for the Met.
<11d09c25-6d47-476c...@o3g2000pby.googlegroups.com>,
Mark S <markst...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Latest Met Aria: Bad Opera News Is No News
> By DANIEL J. WAKIN
> Published: May 21, 2012
>
> Opera News, 76 years old and one of the leading classical music
> magazines in the country, said on Monday that it would stop reviewing
> the Metropolitan Opera, a policy prompted by the Metąs dissatisfaction
> Latest Met Aria: Bad Opera News Is No News
> By DANIEL J. WAKIN
> Published: May 21, 2012
>
> Opera News, 76 years old and one of the leading classical music
> magazines in the country, said on Monday that it would stop reviewing
> over negative critiques.
>
> The decision by the magazine, which is published by a Met fund-raising
> affiliate, the Metropolitan Opera Guild, and which freely reviews
> companies around the world, troubles some opera experts. It is also
> the latest sign of sensitivity from the Met under its general manager,
> Peter Gelb, in the face of criticism over its productions. The move
> came after a review in April took aim at the Metąs new production of
>
> The decision by the magazine, which is published by a Met fund-raising
> affiliate, the Metropolitan Opera Guild, and which freely reviews
> companies around the world, troubles some opera experts. It is also
> the latest sign of sensitivity from the Met under its general manager,
> Peter Gelb, in the face of criticism over its productions. The move
> Wagnerąs łRing˛ cycle ‹ a hallmark of Mr. Gelbąs tenure that has led
> to a firestorm ‹ and after a top Opera News editor criticized the
> Metąs direction in a scathing essay in the May issue.
>
> Mr. Gelb said in an interview on Monday that the decision was made łin
> collaboration with the guild˛ but that he never liked the idea that an
> organization created to support the Met had a publication passing
> judgment on its productions. Worse yet, he said, is a publication that
> łcontinuously rips into˛ an institution that its parent is supposed to
> organization created to support the Met had a publication passing
> judgment on its productions. Worse yet, he said, is a publication that
> help.
>
> Last month Mr. Gelb protested to WQXR over a blog posting that called
> his leadership into question. It was immediately pulled. Last year the
> Met asked a blogger to stop revealing programming choices for future
> seasons before the official announcement. The blogger complied.
>
> The newest subject of wrath is Opera News. Citing a circulation of
> 100,000, the largest for a classical music magazine in the country, it
> provides information on Met casts and broadcasts and glossy profiles
> of star singers. Along with features on other opera houses, performers
> of past eras and festivals, it also publishes critiques of
> performances around the world by knowledgeable and respected
> reviewers. They have included professional musicians, academics and
> local newspaper critics.
>
> łAs of the June 2012 issue, Opera News is not reviewing Metropolitan
>
> Last month Mr. Gelb protested to WQXR over a blog posting that called
> his leadership into question. It was immediately pulled. Last year the
> Met asked a blogger to stop revealing programming choices for future
> seasons before the official announcement. The blogger complied.
>
> The newest subject of wrath is Opera News. Citing a circulation of
> 100,000, the largest for a classical music magazine in the country, it
> provides information on Met casts and broadcasts and glossy profiles
> of star singers. Along with features on other opera houses, performers
> of past eras and festivals, it also publishes critiques of
> performances around the world by knowledgeable and respected
> reviewers. They have included professional musicians, academics and
> local newspaper critics.
>
> Opera productions,˛ F. Paul Driscoll, the magazineąs editor in chief,
> said in a terse telephone interview. He declined to elaborate but
> acknowledged that no other opera company had been banished from its
> pages.
>
> During Mr. Gelbąs tenure, the Met has tightened the reins on the
> acknowledged that no other opera company had been banished from its
> pages.
>
> guild.
>
> The companyąs assistant manager for operations, Stewart Pearce, was
> made managing director of the guild, and the Met plays a stronger role
> in its educational programs. Three guild board members also have ex
> officio positions on the Met board, and donors solicited by the Met
> receive a subscription to the magazine as a perquisite. Slightly fewer
> than half the subscribers receive it that way.
>
> Mr. Gelb may have reason to be more sensitive these days. He is under
> enormous pressure to raise money for the Metąs voracious seasons,
> in its educational programs. Three guild board members also have ex
> officio positions on the Met board, and donors solicited by the Met
> receive a subscription to the magazine as a perquisite. Slightly fewer
> than half the subscribers receive it that way.
>
> Mr. Gelb may have reason to be more sensitive these days. He is under
> which command budgets in excess of $300 million. Mr. Gelb has also
> been a tireless promoter of theatrically innovative productions and
> the importance of replacing old productions with new ones. Both leave
> him open to fire from critics and traditionalists.
>
> Opera News has reviewed Met productions continuously since at least
> the mid-1970s, Mr. Driscoll said. While not frequent, negative notices
> have periodically made their way in, to the discomfiture of previous
> Met administrations. But no ban was imposed, at least in recent
> decades.
>
> In the April issue, a review by Fred Cohn criticized the staging of
> Götterdämmerung, the final work in the łRing˛ cycle. The productions
> been a tireless promoter of theatrically innovative productions and
> the importance of replacing old productions with new ones. Both leave
> him open to fire from critics and traditionalists.
>
> Opera News has reviewed Met productions continuously since at least
> the mid-1970s, Mr. Driscoll said. While not frequent, negative notices
> have periodically made their way in, to the discomfiture of previous
> Met administrations. But no ban was imposed, at least in recent
> decades.
>
> In the April issue, a review by Fred Cohn criticized the staging of
> of the four operas, which finished their run this month and were
> directed by Robert Lepage, were the subject of much critical scorn,
> although they had many fans too. Mr. Lepageąs huge piece of machinery
> directed by Robert Lepage, were the subject of much critical scorn,
> used for all the operas functioned as a lightning rod.
>
> łThe physical scale of Robert Lepageąs ŚGötterdämmerungą may have been
>
> immense, but its ambitions seemed puny,˛ Mr. Cohn wrote.
>
> An essay in the May issue by Brian Kellow, the features editor, may
> have spelled the end. It read, łThe public is becoming more dispirited
>
> An essay in the May issue by Brian Kellow, the features editor, may
> each season by the pretentious and woefully misguided, misdirected
> productions foisted on them.˛
>
> Mr. Gelb singled out the line in Mondayąs interview. Such negative
> productions foisted on them.˛
>
> comments from a publication that is part of a Met support organization
> łcertainly would not be in the best interests of the Met,˛ he said.
>
> One prominent opera supporter saw the ban as something else:
> censorship.
>
> łIt is irrational and interferes with the business of presenting
> One prominent opera supporter saw the ban as something else:
> censorship.
>
> artistic events,˛ said Nathalie Wagner, president of the Wagner
> Society of New York and a longtime Opera News subscriber. łCensorship
> doesnąt work in other countries, and it should not exist here. We
> think Opera News does an excellent and a vital job in covering opera.˛
>
> David J. Levin, a professor at the University of Chicago and the
> editor of the academic journal Opera Quarterly, also criticized the
> decision. łItąs inconceivable to me that the Met wouldnąt welcome
>
> David J. Levin, a professor at the University of Chicago and the
> editor of the academic journal Opera Quarterly, also criticized the
> nuanced and challenging criticism,˛ he said. If the Met is serious
> about presenting innovative productions and repertory, he added, they
> should not be met with a łrubber stamp.˛
> about presenting innovative productions and repertory, he added, they
> http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/arts/music/opera-news-will-stop-reviewing-me
> tropolitan-opera.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1337666882-0hs5Mdb4Lh4tKWLSfq/1tQ
>
> IMO, Opera News should not be reviewing any opera productions if the
> Met is now off limits. It's unseemly for a house publication of the
> Met to assume to review and criticize performances from other houses
> while shielding themselves from such criticism.
IMO, the absence of these reviews will do the Met incalculable damage.
>
> IMO, Opera News should not be reviewing any opera productions if the
> Met is now off limits. It's unseemly for a house publication of the
> Met to assume to review and criticize performances from other houses
> while shielding themselves from such criticism.
Negative crits. are uncomfortable for thin-skinned impresarios,
directors, conductors and singers. But the simple fact of bringing
before the public the intelligent discussion of productions is worth a
great deal. There is nothing more expensive than oblivion. This is going
to be gain for other houses and loss for the Met.
loris
May 23, 2012, 8:49:22 AM5/23/12
to
On May 22, 8:41 am, Terry Simmons <tlste...@tpgi.com.au> wrote:
> In article
> <11d09c25-6d47-476c-be8a-f6f6b5f72...@o3g2000pby.googlegroups.com>,
> Mark S <markstenr...@yahoo.com> wrote:
As of Wednesday morning, it would appear that Gelb has changed his
mind and retracted the chop order.
OT, does anyone know if Lepage intends to use the machine for The
Tempest next season?
> In article
> <11d09c25-6d47-476c-be8a-f6f6b5f72...@o3g2000pby.googlegroups.com>,
> Mark S <markstenr...@yahoo.com> wrote:
As of Wednesday morning, it would appear that Gelb has changed his
mind and retracted the chop order.
OT, does anyone know if Lepage intends to use the machine for The
Tempest next season?
Ato Z
May 23, 2012, 10:35:29 AM5/23/12
to
Gelb's simple but brilliant strategy: "What you don't know won't hurt
you - or us. You can complain *after* you've paid to see the trash."
you - or us. You can complain *after* you've paid to see the trash."
cjt
May 23, 2012, 5:28:50 PM5/23/12
to
On 05/22/2012 01:36 AM, Mark S wrote:
<snip>
... or maybe fewer soon.
<snip>
> The newest subject of wrath is Opera News. Citing a circulation of
> 100,000,<snip>
... or maybe fewer soon.
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