The delectable details of the 2007-2008 season at the Metropolitan (discussed this morning in a press conference with Peter Gelb, James Levine and representatives of the new season’s production teams) may be found on the Met’s web site. Our publisher JJ was there in the flesh, and he forwards his impressions:
The biggest news this morning was something unspoken. Instead, it was Levine’s body language, which (in contrast to previous years) suggested he is both comfortable and secure working with Gelb. Levine stayed for the entire press conference and was particularly attentive when Phillip Glass was speaking.
Mr. Gelb reflected on the successes of the current season, which include:
- An increased audience for the HD simulcasts, now up to 250 screens for Eugene Onegin
- The box office (though “not necessarily a thermometer”) is running nine percentage points higher than this point last season
- This season so far 61 performances have sold out, in contrast to 20 sellouts for the entire 2006-2006 season
- Eight HD presentations are booked for next year
- Opening night 2007 (new production of Lucia di Lammermoor) will be simulcast in the plaza, and the Met is in negotiations with NYC to show it in Times Square as well.
James Levine chimed in that what he finds “even more exciting” than the many innovations this year is that he sees a strong sense of follow-through. It is one thing to get new audiences into the theater the first time, but to sustain that audience you must offer them quality. He adds that he is pleased with how Gelb works with him on a day-to-day basis on solving problems. Levine will conduct the new productions of Lucia and Macbeth next season, plus revivals of Manon Lescaut and Tristan und Isolde, as well as the Met Orchestra’s Carnegie Hall series.
Tweaks to next season include revival of the Anthony Minghella Butterfly with Patricia Racette and Roberto Alagna, Barbiere and (as reported by La Cieca a while ago) The First Emperor.
Mary Zimmerman (funny, unpretentious and smart) talked about her production of Lucia. Scene changes in this staging will be done “a vista.”
Glass and associate director and designer Julian Crouch introduced Satyagraha. The composer stressed the political and social content of the work, and Crouch talked about how the set materials of corrugated iron and newspaper were suggested by the themes of the opera.
Stephen Wadsworth waxed un peu teachy-teachy on the subject of Iphigénie en Tauride (“Gluck was an ethnic Czech, did you know that?”), but, as Dawn Fatale pointed out, at least the set does not include a built-in shower. The edition of the score will be based on Gluck’s Vienna revision, in which Oreste is a tenor, presumably in order to facilitate the participation of Placido Domingo.
The other producers appeared on video. The most buzzworthy statement from this segment was from Adrian Noble, who says the design of his Macbeth is suggested by photographs by Diane Arbus.
The cutest stage director of the whole group was Laurent Pelly (La Fille du Régiment), with Crouch and Richard Jones (Hansel and Gretel) tied for second.
Zoe Caldwell will the the Duchesse de Krakenthorp.
In response to reporters’ questions, Gelb said that the Met has negotiated rights to release all its archival performances on CD, DVD, download on demand and “media not yet invented.” Anne Midgette asked if there were updates on new commissions by the Met, but Gelb declined to comment, saying that the Met would have a statement later this season.
And then, finger sandwiches and coffee on the Bass Grand Tier, where yet another of parterre.com’s web of reliable sources noted that the Gérard Mortier/NYCO deal is all but signed on the dotted line.
