Like everyone else, La Cieca was watching Mad Men last night, and suddenly something clicked. She realized that the “current” time on the series as of last night was August, 1966—which means that sometime in the next week or two the chronology of the Gotham-based melodrama will coincide with the opening of the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, September 16. And what that further means is a) La Cieca is old and b) the 50th anniversary of the “New Met” is only four seasons away.

That’s where you come in.  

Your doyenne proposes a competition in which you, the cher public, play impresario. Your challenge: to program the Met’s 2016-17 “Golden Anniversary” season, with a list of repertoire to be performed along with as much detail about casting and personnel as you care to include.

Your projected season ideally should rival in ambition Mr. Bing’s spectacular first Lincoln Center season, which featured two world premieres (Antony and Cleopatra and Mourning Becomes Elektra), a company premiere (Die Frau Ohne Schatten), six more new productions and about 20 revivals. You are permitted to include in your plans any repertoire that is already rumored for the 2016-17 season.

Please propose your season in the comments section of this post. The competition opens immediately and closes at midnight on Sunday, April 29. From the entries in the comments section La Cieca’s blue-ribbon panel will select two winners: Best in Show (for overall excellence) and Gelb’s Folly (for humorous entertainment value). Each of the winners will receive a coveted Amazon gift card in the amount of $100. The decisions of La Cieca, based upon the recommendations of the blue-ribbon panel, are both final and subject to whim.

Dazzle me!

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