« TT: Early adopter | Main | TT: Almanac »
February 12, 2004
TT: One foot out the door
Joseph Volpe, the Metropolitan Opera's general manager, is retiring in 2006. John Rockwell reflects on the implications of his departure in the New York Times:Ever the hard-nosed administrator, he can crack the whip at recalcitrant singers and settle with the unions and placate his board and terrorize his underlings and prevent the centrifugal force of a thousand egos from spinning the Met out of control. His pleasure in his position is always evident and endearing. But can he plan repertory and oversee casting and productions with the requisite, insightful sophistication and taste?
For a long time such questions lurked half-whispered backstage. The Met was selling tickets, its huge endowment was swelled by the bubble of the late 1990's, and [James] Levine was more of a presence than he is now. But in recent years, like so many American opera companies, the Met has fallen on relatively hard times. Relative, because the endowment, currently at $285 million, provides a comfy cushion. Deficits have run $10 million each of the last two fiscal years (although Mr. Volpe is hoping to balance the budget this year). Attendance has been down sharply, as have annual donations (with the implosion of Alberto Vilar's pledges, to the Met and others, only part of the problem)....
Mr. Volpe is a tough guy, even (say many) a bully. So logic might dictate a smoother, tonier, more soft-spoken manager, more in line with patrician Met tradition. And maybe one with greater sophistication about the musical and dramatic side of opera.
What needs to be done? To figure out a way to fill the Met's vast, 3,900-seat theater with artistically respectable fare; even the most conservative audiences eventually grow tired of routinely cast Franco Zeffirelli productions of "La Bohème" and "Turandot." To find new audiences without alienating the old ones. To sustain casting and conducting in an era when European artists seem increasingly loath to commit months of time in rehearsal and performances across the ocean. To develop and cultivate supportive yet progressive board members. And, one way or another, to corral those egos.
Read the whole thing here.
I think Rockwell has summed up the Met's problems very neatly. And I think the answer to his first question, about Volpe's ability to make smart artistic decisions (as opposed to shrewd ones), is an unequivocal no. Volpe is a manager, not an artist. When he and James Levine were working in counterpoise, it didn't matter nearly as much. Now that Levine has withdrawn most of his attention from the Met and its doings, it matters hugely.
For several seasons, the Volpe-led Met has basically been alternating between big, dumb, ultra-naturalistic new productions of standard-rep operas (some of which worked, most of which didn't) and Eurotrashily "adventurous" new productions of less well-known works (most of which have been appalling). It was during that period that I first started going to New York City Opera more often than the Met, and with greater pleasure, in spite of City Opera's lower budgets, generally less impressive singers, and second-rate (but well-meaning) orchestra. Why? Because I believe that opera in the theater is drama, first and foremost. Under Paul Kellogg, City Opera agrees, and usually acts accordingly; under Volpe, the Met doesn't. Volpe believes in spectacle, not drama. To some extent, the huge Metropolitan Opera House enforces his preference simply by virtue of its size, but it doesn't have to, at least not all the time. I've seen great drama at the Met. Mark Lamos' Wozzeck and Elijah Moshinsky's Queen of Spades, for instance, were spellbindingly fine. But since then...what? It's been a long time between drinks.
So I'm glad that Volpe is going. It's about time. I don't know who can--or should--replace him. The chances are better than even that his replacement will fail dismally. I expect it'll take at least two more general directors to turn that ocean liner around. But this is a start.
Posted February 12, 2004 12:02 PM
