Upstaging the opera
Night's performance a hit
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But at the Metropolitan Opera's 40th anniversary gala in Gotham Tuesday night, general manager Peter Gelb used the event as a platform to pump his populist vision for the org. "You won't be attending any performances like this at the City Opera of the future, or the Paris Opera of the present," he declared, drawing a few catcalls and grumbles from the highfalutin gathering for those remarks.
Though a departure from the norm, the night's perf was a hit, however, as up-and-comers Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon belted out a sort of "greatest hits" selection culled from operatic crowd-pleasers like "La Boheme," rather than one full work.
Gelb called the two charismatic singers "the future glory and hope for opera," which drew hearty applause. As for the G.M.'s plans to simulcast operas in movie theaters, he boldly told Daily Variety, "I want our operas being reported in the box office."
