In Wednesday’s (5/23) New York Times, Daniel J. Wakin reports, “The Metropolitan Opera on Tuesday backed away from its decision to bar reviews of its productions in Opera News, its affiliated magazine and the leading opera publication in the country. The Met said an ‘outpouring of reaction’ from opera fans on the Internet caused it to change course a day after The New York Times reported that Met officials and the publishers of Opera News had decided to stop reviewing Met shows. ‘I think I made a mistake,’ said Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager. ‘The Metropolitan Opera only exists with the good will of the public. Clearly the public would miss Opera News not being able to review the Met, and we are responding to that,’ he added, referring to a ‘groundswell of disappointment.’ … Mr. Gelb had originally said it made no sense for Opera News to review performances by a company the Guild existed to support, especially when those reviews were negative. A review of Wagner’s Götterdämmerung in the April issue was highly critical, and an essay in the May issue was scathing about the Met’s direction. … Along with nuts-and-bolts information about Met productions, Opera News, with a circulation of 100,000, features articles about singers and other opera houses, and includes reviews of recordings and performance from around the world.”
Posted May 23, 2012
