New York: It is unclear whether Giacomo Puccini would have been weeping or cheering in his grave. He might well have been dismayed by the acoustic competition his Madame Butterfly was facing from honking New York taxi drivers. He would have winced at the visual clash between the singers' Japanese costumes and flashing neon advertisements.

But he surely would have chuckled at the scene in Times Square. Alongside the giant image of his character BF Pinkerton proclaiming that "a Yankee travels the world, he drops anchor wherever and whenever he pleases" a recruitment video was playing for the U.S. armed forces, complete with a picture of a stealth bomber.

There could not have been more dramatic evidence on Monday night that New York's Metropolitan Opera, the largest privately funded theatre in the world, has been given a boot up its proverbial backside. The Met had never before done an outside simulcast — a trick long adopted by London's Royal and English National operas — let alone in the modern jungle of Manhattan.

The man wearing the boot has big plans for the Met, and Times Square is just the start. He is Peter Gelb, the new general manager, the 16th in the Met's 123-year history. He comes from Sony, where as president of the classical record label he gained a reputation for cross-cultural innovation, prompting sceptical critics to ask whether he would cast Charlotte Church in La Traviata. But he has not let sniping deflect him from his triple mission: "Our theatre will thrive, our box office will be restored, and the prospects for opera will improve," he said.

The Met he inherits suffers from the general malaise of most 21st century opera houses. Its gargantuan auditorium, with 3,800 seats, was last season on average only 77 per cent full. The drop-off is partly explained by the decline in New York audiences since 9/11. More worryingly, it is a reflection of the aging profile of the average Met subscriber, which is approaching 65. "New Yorkers have become gun-shy about the Met as they don't believe it can appeal to anybody other than a classical music lover," Mr. Gelb said. His predecessor as general manager was the straight-talking Joseph Volpe (a "volatile Italian" as Franco Zeffirelli called him). Mr. Volpe ran a tight and efficient ship, but in recent years the institution had begun to lose its edge and its reputation for risk-taking. Zeffirelli's productions in the 1960s to 1980s of Antony and Cleopatra, La Boheme, Tosca and other grand operas were groundbreaking, but have grown comfortably old along with their audience.

In comes Mr. Gelb, breaking the mould the moment he set foot in the opera house in February, when he held its first press conference in almost nine years. His aim is to "reconnect the Met with the world" by introducing exciting new theatrical productions. "We need to reinvigorate the creative process," he said. "We have the greatest singers and a great orchestra and chorus led by our brilliant conductor James Levine. Now we need to bring the Met theatrically up to date so that it regains its reputation as a vital performing arts experience."

He began by tearing up Mr. Volpe's schedule. Out went the planned first night, the traditional tame medley of favourite arias. In came Monday night's Madame Butterfly in a luminous production transferred from ENO by the film director Anthony Minghella. Outside, the Met's home in the Lincoln Centre a red carpet was rolled out for celebritiesin a thinly disguised emulation of Oscar night. —

© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006

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