mortier on the green hill?
Opera Chic reports this morning that Gerard Mortier is throwing his hat in the, uh, Ring for the co-directorship of the Bayreuth Festival. The Belgian intendant is reportedly teaming up with Nike Wagner to apply for the top Bayreuth spot to be vacated as soon as it can be pried from Wolfgang Wagner’s cold dead fingers. (And he’s not even dead yet, so don’t hold your breath.)
The Mortier/Nike partnership is considered a dark horse for the job, with the odds-on favorite the team comprised of Wolfgang’s daughters Katharina Wagner and Eva Wagner-Pasquier.
Mr. Holland – I know that I am days late on getting back to this. I mentioned that his second in charge leaving for Canada only in saying that he will not be bringing his full “team” to NYCO. Nothing against Mortier for that – the guy would have been a fool to pass up that opportunity. I also never stated that he couldn’t do both jobs.I am HUGE fan of Mortier and like you said considering the past 5 seasons or so; he has nowhere to go but up from there.
Do the people at NYCO want to twin with Bayreuth? Isn’t this double dipping before the first dip has even started? Is American opera going to be buried? What about the pure partnership with Glimmerglass, in the shadow of the Baseball Hall of Fame. If the Opera needs to merge, at least they could merge with an American company.
If I were on the board at NYCO I’d give him 100,000 dollars and put him on the first plane back to Europe. Running an opera company (and certainly one in trouble) requires commitment and focus, not pocket filling self-interest. Simple as that.