An Editorial on Opera, Eh?

The New York Times editorial board comments on George Steel´s new posting at City Opera:

He has his work cut out for him. He will have to struggle to keep the chorus and the orchestra on salary while there are essentially no revenues. And he is facing a fund-raising and endowment crisis, like almost every other institution on the planet.

The operatic ground has also shifted in recent years. City Opera used to be a roguish young company compared with the grand dame of Joseph Volpe’s Metropolitan Opera. But Peter Gelb’s Met is staging vibrant, often hip productions that will compete directly for the City Opera audience. We hope that Mr. Steel will hurl himself at these problems with all the passion of an operatic tenor, if perhaps more focus and business sense.