Waffle Time! No NYCO For Morty...

Rock solid reporting in Austria's Wiener Zeitung indicates that Gérard Mortier may very well never come to NYCO, after all, as was already divined by big sister la Cieca, what with the financial crisis and all. The paper will run more with the strange little Frenchman [Belgianman, whatevs] next week...

For now, Wiener Zeitung speculates the fallout for reasons that Mortier is dissatisfied with the low artistic standards of the NYCO (in comparison to the houses and festivals he's worked with in the past), the bad name that "Eurotrash" direction has in America, and the financial limitations that the struggling NYCO will put on his ~artistic visions~. Time to jump on your backcycle & backpeddle!

Comments

[Designer]

Lucky New York! The rest of the world is now shuddring.

[88 keys]

New York has dodged a bullet.

[PM]

Coming from Europe, Mortier quickly realized he coulnd't fill his pockets with enough cheap American dollars to make it worth his time. A man of his principles thinks only of money, not the music.

[Dearly]

As a New Yorker who treasured the endearing and unfussy productions that the NYCO put on throughout the years, I am pleased that Mortier is looking elsewhere. The whole arrangement was based on hype anyway. NYCO, as the Metropolitan's younger sibling, wanted a little attention and a bit of the spotlight. Who can blame them? Let's hope that the NYCO gets itself back on track quickly.

[inter mezzo]

well, he's cancelled his New York engagements for this week, if that's any hint.

But the problem doesn't lie exactly where the WZ claim. Mortier knew about the financial constraints, artistic standards, audience conservatism, etc before he accepted the NYCO appointment. He would have loved to stay in Paris (where I for one think he's done a tremendous job). But reaching the official retirement age of 65 this month bars him from employment in the state-owned opera of France and in many other European countries too. So he had to lower his sights. The NYCO offer seems to have been a case of convenient timing, as much as anything.

But recent events have turned the NYCO's financial difficulties into a full-blown crisis. What NYCO need now is not just artistic regeneration but cold hard cash. Mortier is an artist not a businessman, and he's not the right man for the job any more, if he ever was (as WZ point out). NYCO would be wise to wash their hands of Mortier, if they haven't already, and chase someone like Wasfi Kani instead.

And btw - Mortier is not a Frenchie (no thx) - he's as Belgian as waffles :)

[Coloratura Tempura]

NYCO is so over

[Maria]

Morty simply wanted to multiply his easy money; he thinks so high of himself! Good for the Americans that they did not hire him finally. They would really spend their money on one of the big representatives of Eurotrash.

[chansonette]

Well, all I can say is, "DUH". What was NYCO thinking? This would never have worked, and I am guessing even without the financial crisis Mortier would have pulled out.

I am just afraid for the future of the company--clearly no one is minding the store...

[Edward]

Now that Mortier is out of the picture, people are saying that Fort Worth Opera's Darren Woods should head up NYCO. Now that's something Fort Worth won't allow.