Appeal: Please help Met chief who is now destitute
NewsWe have been asked to publicise an appeal for Craig Rutenberg, Director of Music Administration at the Metropolitan Opera from 2006-2015 and one of the best voice coaches anywhere.
Craig has fallen suddenly on very hard times. You’d think the big Met donors might rally round, but they haven’t.
Here’s what Craig writes:
Life changes in a minute. My landlord evicted me in February while I was in the hospital for surgery, my second surgery in a year. Since then, I’ve been living in a physical rehabilitation facility in the Bronx. But Medicare says my time there is expiring momentarily.
I need some help getting back on my feet. Literally. I need help to pay for big uncovered medical expenses and a small place to live. I’ve run out of other options until I can work again – but I hope to “get by with a little help from my friends.”
Donate here.
How is it possible that such a renowned, respected and coveted musician find himself in such dire straits?
You must not be American. Scores of US citizens go bankrupt every day due to health costs. It’s not a news flash to say that America is a third-world country in so many respects.
And this will be blamed on Peter Gelb in 3… 2… 1…
Craig has been an asshole for as long as I have known him. Carma can be a real bitch.
ET, go home.
Pleased you’re elevating the conversation.
And you are?
From that response sounds like a better description of you. And it’s spelled “Karma”.
My previous comment apparently didn’t clear moderation. I am a singer who came up through the Met. Craig was the most horrible coach for the young singers. He was two-faced and treated us all like dirt. His only joy in life was gossiping about singers and trashing people behind their backs. Just one of the worst people to be around when we were at such an early stage of our career. If he hadn’t been such a jerk, he would have surely lasted longer at the Met. Instead of lifting people up and helping us to be better, he acted like a weight around our necks. We all dreaded working with him. If you see who is donating to him, there are very few singers and virtually no one who came through the Met program.
Not sure what list you’re looking at but I see NUMEROUS names of singers who have generously donated.
Does that mean “he should die, and go straight to hell”? Because then just say that.
I can’t disagree with a lot of what you said — I was there — but still…
Craig worked quite a bit at the Mariinsky Theatre. Maybe they can help him
That is America. No health service like the UK.
If he was treated in an NHS hospital it would have taken him months to have each surgery because of wait times and he would have likely died from substandard care. The MET Opera on the other hand has an excellent healthcare plan that gives employees access to medical care that wealthy Brits cross the pond to get.
If he lived in Europe where all the governments are social democracies, he’d have no uncovered medical bills.
If he lived in England he probably would be on a waiting list for surgery and might die first. In Holland they might offer him an all expense paid assisted suicide. US is a mess no doubt but the EHS is no role model. Was it not recently reported that more than 50 percent of patients urgently referred for chemotherapy were still waiting after 2 months?
Bravo. In Australia you can wait 3 years for knee replacements, with agony in the meanwhile.
There’s always, always an opportunity cost with “free”.
Not entirely accurate. Australian hospitals move fast when necessary. I was very ill with lung cancer 13 years ago. Diagnosed 31/12, lung removed on 12/1. And absolutely no cost.
Due to Tory-inspired underfunding and cutbacks.
Rubbish. The National Health Service is 75 years old. It hasn’t worked well for a long time but any significant reform would be such an upheaval that no government has been able to manage it. The Labour party aren’t proposing to do much about it if they’re elected.
This kind of antipathy towards the Conservatives is moronic.
Why didn’t the Met give this guy a pension?
Gun laws and national health insurance, 2 essentials that Americans just don’t grasp. The same disasters, personal or familial or communal, over and over again, and the govt just walks by. Unbelievable.
William, how do you know the issue is uncovered medical bills? If you don’t pay rent, you get evicted even in Germany, no?
From my life experience I suspect there’s much much more to this story than meets the eye. It’s a bit like looking at the eyes of a bird and trying to determine what it looks like by doing that!!
Because he says himself in the article there is a big issue with big uncovered medical bills.
The list of donors on his gofundme page includes:
Gianandrea and Lucia Noseda
Thomas Hampson
Christine Goerke
Jane Glover
Thomas B. Heppner
Carol Vaness
Fabio Luisi
Eric Owens
Anthony Tommasini
Sarah Connolly
and a whole bunch of Anonymouses whom I will assume to be the Gelbs and other Met patrons.
He’s still $20K short of his $100K goal, I tell you, American health care is just one giant blackhole that sucks every penny out of you for identical care that costs 1/100th in Europe.
Good luck. And move to Europe.
You can add $5,000 from Kirill Petrenko.
This is what life in America is like. You are one accident/illness away from complete destruction at all times.
I only met Craig once and was immediately captivated by his great heart and profound love of music. Get better soon!
Why is it anyone else’s responsibility to fund his medical expenses?
I don’t know about Craig’s personal financial situation, but a lot of musicians that I know are completely reckless in how they manage their own.
Yes blame the victim. If American, I suspect you are a Republican. (Or Tory, if British etc.)
Would you acknowledge that there are some “victims” from both parties that deserve “blame” for their own decisions that get one into a mess?