Opera lovers are buzzing that the enormous cost of the upcoming productions of Wagner’s “Ring Cycle” could bankrupt the Metropolitan Opera, which ran a $4 million deficit this year.
But spokesfolk for the opera company say the rumors are hogwash and the whispered numbers are grossly exaggerated.
Although critics of Met general manager Peter Gelb say costs for the four “Ring” operas will top $40 million, Met representatives insist the tab will be about $17 million, only slightly above the $4 million per-production average.
One opera buff snarked, “They went to the Cirque du Soleil designer to build the set. They did it in stainless steel. The stage could not take the weight, so they had to rip up two floors of offices and conductor Jimmy Levine‘s suite to put new supports under the stage. Then they had to rebuild the offices and suites.”
The 45-ton, two-tower set was built in Montreal by Ex Machina, the production company of Robert Lepage, who’s directing the Met’s “Ring” series. The computerized set will be used for all four operas, which debut Sept. 27 with “Das Rheingold.”
“They had the thing built in Canada,” said our source. “A huge Met staff had to go up to Canada and spend weeks there — at time and a half, plus food and hotels.”
The Times — where Gelb’s father, Leslie Gelb, was a national security correspondent, columnist, and op-ed editor — covered the stage reinforcement in June, reporting that three 65-foot girders had to be installed. Met reps claim the job cost less than $1 million.
Met flacks also deny anyone is being asked for donations to cover the burgeoning costs. “Ann Ziff and her family are totally funding the productions. No one has been asked for a penny,” said a Met rep. Ziff, who will become board chairwoman next year, gave $30 million to the company last March.