Those of you who who worry that the New York City Opera gets less than favorable coverage in the New York Times may now cease and desist your fretting. Gérard Mortier hasn’t even come yet, but Tony Tommasini is already licking his lips at the prospect of all that “brilliant, unabashedly provocative” Belgian goodness:

As someone who has been exasperated by the stodginess of many American orchestras and opera companies, I find it odd to be worried about whether the City Opera is going too far too fast.