Michael Heaston was promoted yesterday to Deputy General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera.
Heaston was hired five years ago as artistic administrator in place of Jonathan Friend.
Now he’s just a heartbeat away from the hot seat.
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No one who worked in senior administration with Gelb when he leaves should remain. He still hasn’t figured out the art form, nor how to run a break even not for profit operation.
Truer words have never been spoken. His administration has been a disgrace.
Michael’s a safe pair of hands. He did a great job at HGO and he’s well-liked at the Met.
I applied for the job but they didn’t hire me because I wouldn’t recruit new DEI staff and I only wanted to do the repertory classics.
How Embarrassing!
Well, but it’s worth clarifying the Met already has two pre-existing “Deputy General Managers” already. Three’s a crowd.
I believe he is to succeed Diana Fortuna, who held the post for about ten years.
Probably not. It is to replace Sarah (formerly Sally) Billinghurst (now Solomon) who held the top artistic position, although I remember her title being Assistant General Manager, Artistic. Diana Fortuna is only finance; nothing artistic.
It is all just a game of titles. The top “management” is so bloated it often rivals the number of seats in the Parterre…
Billinghurst retired 10 years ago. It generally doesn’t take a decade to replace a head honcho.
Since Peter fancies himself as artistic director, it does.
For a hot minute they had Diane Zola (also from HGO) as Assistant GM for Artistic. It did not end well.
To pick up the slack, they retained Jonathan Friend after his retirement as a consultant. He may still be on the payroll.
There was also Robert Rattray, who sadly died suddenly in 2018 after four years as Assistant General Manager, Artistic, at the the Met.
With his vast knowledge of the world of singers and conductors, Robert was an ideal replacement for Sarah Billinghurst. His early death at the age of just 67 was tragic.
Confusing Diana Fortuna with Diane Zola.
During his time at Rice, Michael was a fine musician and a fine teacher, admired by all and deeply missed when he returned to the Met.