BLO Artistic Advisor John Conklin follows up his post from yesterday regarding the continually unfolding story of the Met/Opera News relationship...
Well, that didn't take long. The mighty Met
blinked, retreated, gave in with what appears to be a humiliating defeat. You
can check out the veritable (and almost instantaneous) avalanche of criticism,
reproach, anger, scorn, bitterness, ridicule directed at Peter Gelb when
the story hit. …and this just on the New York Times website. Is there more fall-out coming?
Interesting... the Gelb "censorship" news
was on the front page of The New York
Times yesterday but the story of today's retraction was on page 3 of the Arts
Section. It's getting to be like trying to interpret news from the
Kremlin or psyching out the meaning of where the Russian
leaders are standing for the May Day parade. Incidentally, there were many blog
comments on the Soviet-Stalinist tone of the Met pronouncements... as well as
calls for the overthrow/deposition of Comrade Gelb. Occupy the Met?
Audiences of the World Unite?
I was as angry as anyone at Mr. Gelb's colossal misstep but I'd like to make two comments. First, the original decision and its rescission were both on the "front page" of the online digital edition of the NYTimes which I check several times a day. I commented on both events, strenuously criticizing Mr. Gelb in the morning and expressing best wishes for continued success in the evening. Which is to say, I think there have been hits and misses during his tenure but I approach each new opera with a willingness to be persuaded (as I did with Sarah Caldwell). Does anyone think that she stayed with the tried and true? Hardly.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I hope Mr. Conklin wasn't adopting the "Comrade Gelb" attitude. It ill behoves anyone with hopes for personal success in managing the arts or any other civilized enterprise to go overboard in his/her ad hominem attacks. We get enough of those from Karl Rove. I was appalled by one of Emily Rooney's shows on James Levine's leaving the BSO which included vicious, insensitive and unsubstantiated attacks and allegations by one of her guests. Thankfully Lloyd Schwartz was also there to defend Mr. Levine's monumental artistic integrity.
Finally, I've had motes in my eye too but, through the blur, I can still see Mr. Conklin's.