Joementum
“Joseph Volpe, who served as the Met’s general manager from 1990 to 2006 and authored a memoir about the experience called The Toughest Show on Earth, has been hired by Mr. Gelb, his successor, to represent the company in upcoming contract negotiations with its three major labor unions.” [New York Observer]
If Joe Volpe was to the leadership of the Met what his BFF Rudy Giuliani was to the city of New York, one could argue that Peter Gelb is to the leadership of the Met what George W. Bush was to the U.S. and its presidency. Discuss.
I must say I find very disturbing the administration’s push for all-out war with the Bayerische Staatsoper.
let’s see, gelb knows nothing about voices or singing, and runs an opera house… and bush knows nothing about …. hmmmm…
Gelb knows more about voices and singing than Volpe ever did (that is a fact, I was present at a fundraising event at the MET many years ago where Volpe clearly did not know that Marilyn Horne was a mezzo. He kept referring to the retired diva as a soprano)….Gelb knows more about marketing and media than Volpe does…Volpe knows more about labor relations and the technical side of things than Gelb does. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, folks.
Back to Ben Jonson :
“Volpone, childless, rich, feigns sick, despairs,
“Offers his state to hopes of several heirs,
“Lies languishing: his parasite receives
“Presents of all, assures, deludes; then weaves
“Other cross plots, which ope themselves, are told.
“New tricks for safety are sought; they thrive: when bold,
“Each tempts the other again, and all are sold.”
(acrostic)
Probably this is naive thinking compared to the more knowledgeable folks here but I think this is a smart move on Peter Gelb’s part. Clearly, labor relations was a Joe Volpe’s strength. It seems to me that Gelb put aside the ego thing and didn’t hesitate to depend on his predecessor in time of need.
I think that the much touted claim that the yodeling hordes possess and employ ‘techniques of vocal distruction’ is just a ruse to gain unlimited access to the increasingly elusive lifeblood of Das Gelb(e) Imperium. First we take Munich, and then we get Audi, Siemens, BMW and all their other sponsors…
HELP! I’ve been trying for the last few days to respond to the “Le Snore” thread, but it won’t fully load–it stops 2/3 of the way down (I’ve tried at work and at home). Is there something I can do or switch on/off to make the whole page and all 146 comments load? Thanks!
To me it happens every time I try Firefox instead of IE.
Can we add a tag for “Peter Gelb is a fucking genius” for this story, because he is.
Makes sense. Volpe was not ousted from the Met Management. He’s big guns for them in this regard.
It happens to me too. But you don’t have to use IE to avoid the problem. Try Google’s Chrome – a much better browser. It’s worth taking the time to download and install!
If Gelb was a “fucking genius”, then he would have avoided most if not all of the union problems, LePage mess and NOT have to bring in “Uncle Joe”. Gelb may spin like a master, but he is just a small guy behind the curtain. Bravo to La Cieca for scooping though. Wow.
Intermission:
STUPID STAGING! Looks like the stage manager called the curtain too early. Taken out of context it looks really amateur with no sense of style except for the painting on the curtain from the Garnier. Flailing little nixxie too, isn’t she, even before she walks the plank. Not even reaching for the highest lotus can raise her pitch to the correct level. She would drive a piano tuner crazy.
Now for some real melodramatic bel canto:
httpv://www.youtube.com/user/Zotthel#p/u/2/BkvlzE1zT7k
Oh I hate this.
Pernille, thanks! I got Chrome and it worked fine. Too bad my comments are a couple days after that thread went cold but oh well.
Bringing in Joe Volpe is a conciliatory sign, not an aggressive one. The unions will be thrilled to deal with him rather than Gelb. Volpe was a softie with the unions, and why shouldn’t he be, his son and daughter-in-law are both unionized Met employees.
one could argue that Peter Gelb is to the leadership of the Met what George W. Bush was to the U.S. and its presidency.
Yay. I feel safer already.
you are kidding right? Volpe was and continues to be a formidable negociator and he will lay it out as it is. The company has lost so much money it is in a lot of trouble. if they want jobs and they want it to continue past this first rush of too many new productions, they will all have to work.
but the unions know volpe will not ask as much as Gelb was hinting at, and Gelb’s cred with union was pretty much destroyed their first go around and then the story of his not taking a pay cut but asking them too was circulated in the paper not owned by his “relations”.
Volpe in there means for a minute someone who knows how to talk to the unions will be in there. win win for the house. and then hopefully, he leaves. but what are we left with?
incidentially, this is a move insisted by the board, Gelb had NO choice.
Maddalena I am in agreement with Valmont. PG is a genius. Union negotiations at the Met (and most organizations) are notoriously sensitive/difficult. Gelb is doing what a good manager does – delegate the job to the best eprson for the job and like him or not; JV is the best person to handle the negotiations.
You ask me if I’m kidding, but then you yourself point out that “Volpe will not ask as much as Gelb was hinting at.” The next comment points out that this move was insisted on by the board. Not a sign of strength for Gelb. If Gelb wanted to be scary, he would have brought in a real ax-man. I think the chance of strike/lockout just went from 30% to 1%.
I didn’t think it possible that I could loathe her more than I do now.
Yet, here we are.
From the Wall Street Journal – very funny out of context:
“I think the fact that I would engage [Mr. Volpe] is an indication that I’m trying to formulate a successful strategy to manage labor relations,” Mr. Gelb said. “I can’t do everything.…So I think that’s somewhat of a misinformed remark.”