New Met

Posted at 4:30 PM on December 6, 2006 by Rex Levang

Many a new wind is blowing at the Metropolitan Opera these days, as you may have noticed in the newspapers and magazines, and even on David Letterman, where the cast of "The Barber of Seville" made a late-night appearance.

This Saturday, the Met returns to the airwaves -- hardcore opera fans already have their calendars marked. Here's a press release laying out some of the new thinking, which affects even the Opera Quiz -- it will now include a round of rapid-fire questions (the Presto round), and opportunities for audience participation.

The mover behind all of this is the Met's new general manager, Peter Gelb, who talked about some of his plans and his career path in an extended speech to the service organization Opera America last spring; audio and video versions here.