Shaky Met cancels opening shows
NewsThe Metropolital Opera, still negotiating a return to work with its orchestra, has made changes to the first part of its season, including the cancellation of Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride and the idefinite postponement of an orchestral concert with the soprano Anna Netrebko.
Here’s the statement:
While we are busy preparing to welcome you back to the opera house in September, the Met has had to make some changes to the start of the season to accommodate the necessary technical preparations after more than 16 months of closure. This has resulted in the cancellation of the revival of Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride, originally scheduled to run from September 29 to October 15, as well as the October 7 performance of Puccini’s Turandot. Soprano Anna Netrebko’s performance with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Met Orchestra, originally scheduled for October 10, will be postponed to a future season.
Expect further changes.
They had almost 1.5 years time and have now found that they have to do “necessary technical preparations” after the long closure. Did nobody go in there to check if everything is working properly, move the stage or something? Jeez…
It’s about the time needed to do technical rehearsals for the season. They are starting later because of the labor negotiations. Easier to drop one of the earlier rep productions to prepare everything else that’s higher profile.
For much of the Volpe era, there were other presentations in July, following ABT (which used to extend into July), such as the Kirov opera and ballet, etc. Didn’t affect Joe’s timeline. Just sayin’.
Volpe also didn’t have to contend with Covid, Tiredofitall.
Joe would have done so without alienating an entire company of singers, players, artisans, and techicians. Joe was many things, but above all he was a mensch.