It was Paris Opera GM Gerard Mortier’s penultimate opportunity – his term ends in July –  to moon opening night Parisian audiences and he did just that. He flew in bad-boy director Dmitri Tchernlakov from an opera house in Novosibirsk, Russia, to wreak havoc on Verdi’s Macbeth.

Before the overture, we see a ugly town square where someone shows up in a backpack, drawing people from the surrounding buildings who shout a welcome. During the overture, we see projected images of Google Earth circling a town; ironically,  it was Google Earth I was using earlier in an unsuccessful attempt to locate Novosibirsk. We float down to a lifeless house and look through window at a plain room with a happily flaming gas fireplace.

Clueless stage direction rule number one: when crowds drink, never put a table for the empty glasses. Macbeth set his on a chair and later, when he has his banquet mad scene the couple managed their rough-housing while holding champagne goblets. The departing crowd had to place their goblets precariously on the various chairs when leaving.

Lady M. appears, inexplicably, with a top hat during her mad scene. The Soviet-style pants suit she was given was credited to the director but resembled rather the fashion house of Hormel. Macduff sings his sole aria in a wooden playpen complete with toys. Men are wearing ill-fitting Kruschev-era cheap suits. The costumes for the crowds are 20th Century Refugee. They could have brought the entire lot at the Salvation Army store for $375 but, as the costume shop made them, you can add three or four zeros to the cost. The witches were judged expendable as were the assassins of Banquo – roles assumed by the shabby crowd.

The chorus, although unannounced, was apparently on strike (or the variation the French call service minimum) the first half, singing mezza voce, and make only a little more effort later. You could count on the
fingers of one hand when they entered on the beat – and, remember, the chorus plays a key role in this opera.

The conductor, Teodor Currentzis, was standing on every phone book in the building, partially obstructing the view of anyone with orchestra seats. He managed to convince the lazy orchestra, however, that he actually was 10 feet tall and they played like the polished ensemble they could be but never are. If you can imagine a young John Cleese doing his out-of-control conductor bit, you can come close to the fun I had watching him in action. The good news: he stirred the orchestra into such a pitch, they drowned out most of the singing.

Just as well. Our Macbeth was Dimitris Tiliakos whose approximate Italian, raspy voice and limp delivery was uncomfortable to watch and hear. His wife, Violeta Urmana, took about a half-hour to find the right key but even then sang with an painful edge. Clearly theatrically challenged, she was awkward from first to last and obviously was getting no help from the stage director. There was not a single gesture by anyone this night that seemed real.

Ferruccio Furlanetto’s Banquo sounded shopworn but fortunately his character is dispatched early. Stefano Secco, a well-known tenor in this house, was the parka-wearing Macduff. His new rafter-raising voice, winning large applause for his only aria, had regulars speculating that he was miked.

The production dispenses with the action which ends the opera – the director couldn’t be further bothered. We seen Macbeth alone on stage encouraging the audience to fight while the backstage chorus, well-amplified, reply. The celebratory chorus ending the opera, one of the most stirring Verdi every wrote, is sung offstage as we leave the building and float back up to Google heaven. It was Verdi drained of meaning, passion, truth and purpose. The ones who disemboweled this early masterwork were roundly booed at the curtain but Mortier somewhere was certainly smiling.

Gerard “La Môme” Mortier told Le Monde yesterday that he has “no regrets” walking away from the New York City Opera. The wily Belgian impresario added, “But through it all, when there was doubt, I ate it up and spit it out. I faced it all and I stood tall; and did it my way.” [via NYT]

The people have spoken, and so from henceforth George Steel will be known by his, whatchamacallit, you know, his sobriquet, which (per your decree) is “The Man of Steel.”

La Cieca thought she should review at least a couple of the biggest challenges facing The Man of Steel as he and the NYCO begin a restoration project that, as the saying goes, makes Hoover Dam look like an egg cup.

First and foremost, of course, is giving the heave-ho to Susan L. Baker, preferably after guilting her into flinging a couple million bucks to the company strings-free. Since (as La Cieca hears) Steel was not Baker’s choice to ascend the throne, she should reasonably be readying her exit even as we speak. Prediction: an announced resignation at the same time Steel offcially starts the job in February. 

Now the hard part.  In every medium sized or larger opera company, there are a number of department heads who take on specialized tasks: you might think of them as the worker bees of the hive, whereas the General Director is more of a queen. (Though this is not always true; in fact, La Cieca hears whispers that one big advantage Steel has with the current NYCO board is that he is a smooth pimp who loves the pussy. Or, to put it in a less litigation-friendly way, rumor has it that the board were quietly hoping for a nice straight family man type for the job. But let us not go too far afield, or for that matter, let us not talk about pussy this early in the morning. Ewww.)

To continue. Among these positions that are both generally understood as necessary and currently vacant at the New York City Opera are Chief Financial Officer and Artistic Administrator. The latter of these two positions is particularly crucial because over the last decade the AA at NYCO has been Robin Thompson, who actually expanded the role to include broader artistic decisions that strictly speaking should have been made by Paul Kellogg. (In his defense, Kellogg was a very busy man during that era, what with lobbying the city to make NYCO a gift of a brand new opera house and keeping his bowtie collection neatly arranged.)

So these are two of the about five major vacancies that need to be filled at NYCO like, immediately, and these are exactly the type of job that tend to require a many-month search for a right fit, which of course includes finding someone who is actually available.

Oh, and did I mention Development Director? That spot is vacant at NYCO right now too, and obviously these next couple of seasons are going to be all about finding new sources of philanthropy. La Cieca is told that one of the selling points offered the board about the selection of Gerard Mortier lo those many months ago was that the big name would inspire a veritable flood of new benefactors to the company, thus funding his extravagant plans. Sadly (if you look at it that way), Mortier turned out to be pretty much a dud as a cash cow; according to La Cieca’s sources, donations to the company stayed more or less flat after the Mortier announcement.

Now, it may well be that The Man of Steel can charm the gold teeth out of a dowager or two; he has a reputation as a charismatic guy. But keep in mind that every hour spent fundraising is an hour spent away from creation and administration, which until now anyway have seemed like Steel’s strong suits.

Before taking a break, La Cieca will repeat a rumor she heard about either the first NYCO season or maybe the one after that. The Man of Steel, one hears, has posited the idea of “theme seasons” — you know, “in their various ways each of these operas is about the changing role of women in the Faust legend,” that kind of thing. One season theme title La Cieca has heard is “The Perfume of French Opera,” which would make for a great tie-in with Susan Graham’s fragrance launch.

“Belgian Gerard Mortier said Thursday he hopes to turn Madrid’s Teatro Real into one of Europe’s top opera houses when he takes over as artistic director, adding that many of his productions would be from the 20th century.” [via AFP]

Just announced: Gerard Mortier has accepted the job of artistic director Madrid’s Teatro Real, beginning in 2010. [via AP]

Kennedy Center head Michael Kaiser will assist the New York City Opera in finding a new leader and scheduling a 2009-10 season following the departure of Gerard Mortier. [via AP]

Meanwhile, here in New York, the NYCO board is meeting to discuss possible candidates to fill the gap left by the defection of Gerard Mortier. City Opera honchess Susan Baker told Bloomberg News she hopes a new general manager may be hired by the end of the year. Reportedly Michael Kaiser is assisting in the search process.

Baker, speaking at a fundraiser for the NYCO, lamented the “punishing economic environment that has so affected philanthropy.” Bloomberg neglects to mention whether the black-tie crowd pelted her with garbage.

Sadly, La Cieca, who foresaw the beginning, foresaw the end as well.

Now, La Cieca asks you, cher public. Wouldn’t you think that someone as experienced in deconstructing Mozart as Gerard Mortier would find some new take on the role of the coy Zerlina, instead of all this “I would and then I waver, I tremble to depa-art” nonsense. Well, yes, you would, and so would La Cieca, but apparently we’d all be wrong, because, you see (as reported by Opera Chic earlier this evening) the Wiener Zeitung is now speculating that, well, maybe the Ingenuous Intendant is not coming to New York City Opera after all. Though, on the other hand, maybe not, he is. The gossipy piece from the Austrian website only goes so far as to say Mortier “hat anklingen lassen, dass er die Direktion der New York City Opera vielleicht doch nicht übernehmen möchte,” which includes enough conditional tenses to allow for at least a season’s worth of Wackelnraum.

UPDATE: Though, on another hand — and La Cieca realizes we are now up to three hands now, but Mortier is famous for his multitasking, isn’t he?  Well, anyway, doesn’t it seem to you that with all the “will he or won’t he” controversy swirling, Mortier should be taking extra care to restate and reinforce his commitment to NYCO, and not letting things just sort of “anklingen lassen?” This tenuous control over one’s own message is beginning to remind La Cieca of the recent freefall of the McCain Presidential campaign, though she’s not sure who would be Sarah Palin in this analogy. However, it would not surprise your doyenne to see Mortier on Saturday Night Live guying his own elusiveness?

Your doyenne of course will be would have been most interested to hear reports of Mortier’s little talk tomorrow night  at the Morgan Library and Museum, in particular any definite statements of “andiam, andiam mio bene.” But per the Morgan site (as pointed out by several of you cher public) that event has been postponed.  Ah, well. Anyway. If (or as increasingly seems likely) when Mortier officially announces he is ditching NYCO, remember, cher public, you read it first here two months ago.

Next week at The Morgan Library and Museum, New York City Opera General Manager-Designate Gerard Mortier will discuss his vision of opera. The lecture, entitled “The Excitement of 20th-Century Opera,” will focus on classic works composed by Claude Debussy, Leos Janácek, Olivier Messiaen, Karol Szymanowski, Mieczyslaw Weinberg, and others. Tickets for the program, scheduled for Friday, November 7 at 6:30 pm, are $20 and $25. More details may be found here.

UPDATE: A new production of Janacek’s The Cunning Little Vixen has just opened at the Opéra Bastille; according to the program it’s a co-production with the NYCO. Says reviewer George Loomis in the International Herald Tribune, “Happily, André Engel’s staging will warm the hearts of even those most wary of the radical production style linked to Mortier.”

So, this is what La Cieca gathers in the way of hearsay and rumor about the “future” of the New York City Opera.

According to an NYCO insider, in the wake of La Cieca’s speculation that Gérard Mortier might not be taking on the NYCO job after all, “total chaos ensued,” spurring an emergency meeting between the board and Mortier on speaker phone, with the intendant-elect receiving “quite a drubbing for at least an hour.” Mortier then reassured the board that all was well, he was practically out the door, etc., etc., provided Jane M. Gullong (executive director) would be fired. Which, as we eventually discovered, she was, summarily.

Since then, Mortier has been conspicuous by his absence from New York. He has reportedly signed the NYCO contract, and at one point announced plans to make a permanent move to New York early in 2009. However, it seems he will be detained in Paris since Nicolas Joël’s series of strokes has complicated the transition process at the Opéra National.

In the meantime, Cory Lippiello and Kevin Murphy are acting as Mortier’s artistic administrators here, but they’re apparently in a holding pattern. La Cieca’s sources at big management agencies (e.g, CAMI) report that there are no contracts signed with artists for the 2009-2010 season, though there are some “inquiries” and “holds” for various singers. Contracts for NYCO’s January 2009 concert performances of Antony and Cleopatra are apparently all in order, and the project seems to be a “go.”

Meanwhile at the State Theater, construction continues on the new improved orchestra pit.

In what is becoming the New York City Opera’s only conduit of information to the public, a Friday afternoon news dump reveals that the company has laid off 11 members of its administrative staff.  The layoffs are “because of financial pressures and a lack of work caused by the cancellation of most of its season.”

The startling bit here is that there was no official announcement made: NYCO’s spokesman, Pascal Nadon, finally admitted the development when directly questioned about it, according to Daniel J. Wakin.  Nadon added (oh, did I mention this?) that the company has dismissed its executive director, Jane M. Gullong, will leave the company, “as Mr. Mortier has effectively eliminated her job.”

In a related Times piece, Anthony Tommasini writes that Gérard Mortier’s last minute bid to run the Bayreuth Festival was in fact nothing more than a ploy to get the NYCO board’s attention. Mortier explains that he felt he was “drowning” and needed to be rescued. Susan L. Baker, the City Opera chairwoman (at right in photo), had a different simile handy: “he is like the pretty girl at the dance who gets lots of offers to trip the light fantastic.”

La Cieca is still goggling at a press release she just received. Cher public, you can talk about this for a while.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York City Opera Commissions Philip Glass to Compose an Opera Based on the Life of Walt Disney

(New York, NY, September 29, 2008) Following a meeting of New York City Opera’s Board of Directors, Gerard Mortier, General Manager Designate today announced that City Opera is commissioning Philip Glass to compose a new opera, The Perfect American which imaginatively explores the life and career of Walt Disney. Based on the recent novel Der König von Amerika (translated into English as The Perfect American) by Peter Stephan Jungk, the opera, presented in collaboration with Improbable, is scheduled to open City Opera’s 2012-2013 season.

Well, now you should be prepared for a shock, cher public, or at least for what may be the biggest story of the year. La Cieca hears a whisper that the Mortier/NYCO deal has gone sour, leaving the company rudderless beginning in 2009. Of course, your doyenne is probably wrong (she so often is!) but, on the chance that she’s not, well, remember you heard it here first!

UPDATE:  A member of the cher public has forwarded La Cieca a thought-provoking clip from Daily Yomiuri Online.  Sylvain Cambreling (Mortier’s “longtime collaborator,” per the New York TImes) has been named principal conductor of The Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, effective April 1, 2010. The tipster notes “…Tokyo Opera City would be thrilled to get their hands on a star like Mortier if he were so inclined. And I bet they’re fully funded there…”

According to a statement on the Bayreuth website, stepsisters Katharina Wagner and Eva Wagner-Pasquier will take over the Festspiele from their father Wolfgang Wagner, who is retiring after more than half a century at the helm of the festival.

Members of the “Wieland” branch of the Wagner family tree are, of course, furious at this selection of Wolfgang’s daughers as “Festspielleiterinnen” by the foundation that administers the Festival. Wolf Siegfried Wagner (son of Wieland) slammed the selection process as “unworthy.” Wolf Siegfried’s sister Nike Wagner lost their a joint bid with Gerard Mortier (not a member of the Wagner family at the moment) to head the festival.

“Of course I am sad about the outcome of the process,” Nike sighed in a statement released to Bloomberg News. “I hope that my cousins will seize the initiatives that Gerard Mortier and I presented. I wish them much success in that.’”

Katharina’s next artistic project at the Festival will be a new production of Tristan und Isolde in 2015, with Christian Thielemann as music director.

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.