Forced perspective
As we approach the end of the first all-Peter Gelb season at the Met, there’s already a certain amount of editorial judgment on the General Manager’s “aesthetic agenda.” That’s only fair, of course: judgement is what critics do. What does disturb La Cieca just a bit is what she sees as a short-sighted tendency to act as if unsuccessful productions at the Met suddenly began with Gelb’s arrival. For your discussion, then, La Cieca would like for you to consider the following list of new productions mounted a the Met under the aegis of the previous General Manager. Those of you who are new to Met-gazing or who may have forgotten some of these efforts are invited to refresh your memories with the Met archives.
1990-1991
Un Ballo in Maschera
Salome
Semiramide
Andrea Chénier
Die Zauberflöte
Kát’a Kabanová
Parsifal
1991-1992
La Fanciulla del West
L’Elisir d’Amore
The Ghosts of Versailles
Der Fliegende Holländer
Elektra
1992-1993
The Voyage
Lucia di Lammermoor
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Ariadne auf Naxos
1993-1994
Stiffelio
Rusalka
I Lombardi alla Prima Crociata
Death in Venice
Otello
1995-1995
Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk
Madama Butterfly
Simon Boccanegra
Pelléas et Mélisande
1995-1996
The Queen of Spades
The Makropulos Case
Così Fan Tutte
La Forza del Destino
Andrea Chénier
1996-1997
Fedora
Carmen
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Wozzeck
1997-1998
Eugene Onegin
La Cenerentola
The Rake’s Progress
Capriccio
Samson et Dalila
Lohengrin
1998-1999
Le Nozze di Figaro
La Traviata
Lucia di Lammermoor
Moses und Aron
Susannah
1999-2000
Mefistofele
Tristan und Isolde
The Great Gatsby
The Merry Widow
2000-2001
Fidelio
Il Trovatore
Doktor Faust
Nabucco
The Gambler
2001-2002
Norma
Luisa Miller
Die Frau ohne Schatten
War and Peace
Sly
2002-2003
Il Pirata
A View from the Bridge
Jenufa
Les Troyens
2003-2004
La Juive
Benvenuto Cellini
Don Giovanni
Salome
2004-2005
Die Zauberflöte
Rodelinda
Faust
Cyrano de Bergerac
2005-2006
Roméo et Juliette
An American Tragedy
Mazeppa
Don Pasquale
Interesting… We heard yesterday also that James Levine had his surgery last week and is recovering. I certainly hope he is doing well. The dire prophecy quoted in number 44 notwithstanding!
Ooops, double sorry. Vicar insisted that John Carol Case be listed, and despite the furtive whispers of “Who the fuck is THAT?” we agreed that we really couldn’t think of anything bad to say about someone that none of us had ever heard, and whom none of us were willing to admit that we had never heard. So Case was included in an ex officio capacity. His name is followed by an asterisk.
Sarah & Betsy: I was thinking of this occasion on January 2, 2010:
This statement was made by Baritenor at comment 188 in the “Votre chat, je peux vous le rendre” thread:
http://parterre.com/2009/12/31/votre-chat-je-peux-vous-le-rendre/comment-page-5/#comments
My God, the kid’s got a mind like a steel trap door knob hill top notch.
Oh Betsy@54, you are naughty, so very naughty. But very funny.
Pretty impressive fast research! And it’s nice to hear that Joyce is as lovely as she seems to be….
I think Lucia Popp has come up once or twice as a singer no one here criticizes–though pointing that out occasionally prompts someone to point out her innumerable faults.
You realized it too late, Zerby. Never mind, we can still head ‘em off. Git the womin and chillern into the wagons and light bonfires, lotsa bonfires. Hank, war’dja put them thar silver bullets?
Did someone mention the name Helen Donath? One of my all time favorites. The Arabella Zdenka duet with Lorengar and Donath. What can be more ravishing?
What “could” be more ravishing?