Peter Gelb

Peter Gelb, the president of the Sony Classical record label and former manager of pianist Vladimir Horowitz, was named Friday to succeed Joseph Volpe as general manager of New York City's Metropolitan Opera. The 50-year-old recording executive had been rumored in recent months to be on a short list of candidates for the prestigious post.

It's the end of an artistic era: After more than a century, the Metropolitan Opera has disbanded its ballet with a modern-day buyout. The eight remaining members of the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, down from 16 in 2011, agreed Monday to leave the company, the New York Times reports. The dancers accepted a package that includes $75,000 in severance and two additional years of health care coverage under the opera's plan. There's disagreement on whether the ballet, which has been associated with the Met since its inception in 1883, will be forever defunct.

HOW'S this for coming strong out of the gate -- the Metropolitan Opera season had not yet officially begun, the gala opening night still days off, and yet the guy in the suit, who doesn't sing a note, was getting an ovation, cheers, "Bravos!" from a packed house, all 3,800 seats filled. And it wasn't only veteran opera-goers who had scooped up those free tickets for the final dress rehearsal of "Madama Butterfly."

Los Angeles TimesFilm Critic Once upon a time, Richard Wagner dreamed a mighty dream. The composer envisioned a series of four operas so ambitious they dealt with nothing less than the creation and destruction of the world. And he dreamed of doing things - like having singers swimming underwater and riding through the clouds on winged horses - that were frankly impossible to stage. That did not, however, stop people from trying, both then and now. "Wagner's Dream,"an engaging new documentary directed by Susan Froemke, details the most recent attempt to put on a new version of the 19th century Ring cycle, considered, one insider says, "the peak of the mountain" for any opera company.

Reacting to a mini-firestorm that erupted today with the news that the Metropolitan Opera would no longer allow Opera News to review its performances , the company reversed its decision early this afternoon. "From their postings on the internet , it is abundantly clear that opera fans would miss reading reviews about the Met in Opera News," the Met wrote in a statement. "Ultimately, the Met is here to serve the opera-loving public and has changed its decision because of the passionate response of the fans.

It's the end of an artistic era: After more than a century, the Metropolitan Opera has disbanded its ballet with a modern-day buyout. The eight remaining members of the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, down from 16 in 2011, agreed Monday to leave the company, the New York Times reports. The dancers accepted a package that includes $75,000 in severance and two additional years of health care coverage under the opera's plan. There's disagreement on whether the ballet, which has been associated with the Met since its inception in 1883, will be forever defunct.

Los Angeles TimesFilm Critic Once upon a time, Richard Wagner dreamed a mighty dream. The composer envisioned a series of four operas so ambitious they dealt with nothing less than the creation and destruction of the world. And he dreamed of doing things - like having singers swimming underwater and riding through the clouds on winged horses - that were frankly impossible to stage. That did not, however, stop people from trying, both then and now. "Wagner's Dream,"an engaging new documentary directed by Susan Froemke, details the most recent attempt to put on a new version of the 19th century Ring cycle, considered, one insider says, "the peak of the mountain" for any opera company.

Watching Peter Sellars rehearse is to observe a man possessed. Last week at the Metropolitan Opera House, L.A.'s reknowned theater director was fine-tuning "Nixon in China," which opens Wednesday. The new production of the John Adams opera, about the pre-Watergate president's historic meeting with Chairman Mao Zedong in 1972, will mark, at long last, Sellars' debut at the Met. It will be broadcast live in movie theaters worldwide Feb. 12. Working on a scene in which Premier Chou en-Lai greets the Nixons in the Great Hall of the People, an ornate banquet room, Sellars raced across the stage like Puck, wearing a polyester shirt left over from "Starsky & Hutch.

In a bold venture that the Los Angeles Philharmonic hopes will boost its "national brand" recognition and help raise the profile of classical music from Manhattan to Orange County, the orchestra next year will transmit live performances of three of its concerts to more than 450 high-definition-equipped movie theaters throughout the United States and Canada. Under the new project, announced Monday, the Philharmonic will partner under an exclusive one-year contract with Denver-based NCM Fathom, the entertainment division of National CineMedia, and Cineplex Entertainment, which distribute scores of concerts, sporting contests and other entertainment events to movie theaters and other venues.

Sony Buying Music TV and Film Unit: Cami Video, a division of Columbia Artists Management Inc., will be acquired by Sony Music Entertainment for an undisclosed price. Cami Video, which produces music television programs, will operate as part of Sony Crescendo, a new unit formed to expand Sony's classical music businesses. Peter Gelb was named Sony Crescendo president.

Reacting to a mini-firestorm that erupted today with the news that the Metropolitan Opera would no longer allow Opera News to review its performances , the company reversed its decision early this afternoon. "From their postings on the internet , it is abundantly clear that opera fans would miss reading reviews about the Met in Opera News," the Met wrote in a statement. "Ultimately, the Met is here to serve the opera-loving public and has changed its decision because of the passionate response of the fans.

Watching Peter Sellars rehearse is to observe a man possessed. Last week at the Metropolitan Opera House, L.A.'s reknowned theater director was fine-tuning "Nixon in China," which opens Wednesday. The new production of the John Adams opera, about the pre-Watergate president's historic meeting with Chairman Mao Zedong in 1972, will mark, at long last, Sellars' debut at the Met. It will be broadcast live in movie theaters worldwide Feb. 12. Working on a scene in which Premier Chou en-Lai greets the Nixons in the Great Hall of the People, an ornate banquet room, Sellars raced across the stage like Puck, wearing a polyester shirt left over from "Starsky & Hutch.

HOW'S this for coming strong out of the gate -- the Metropolitan Opera season had not yet officially begun, the gala opening night still days off, and yet the guy in the suit, who doesn't sing a note, was getting an ovation, cheers, "Bravos!" from a packed house, all 3,800 seats filled. And it wasn't only veteran opera-goers who had scooped up those free tickets for the final dress rehearsal of "Madama Butterfly."

Peter Gelb, the president of the Sony Classical record label and former manager of pianist Vladimir Horowitz, was named Friday to succeed Joseph Volpe as general manager of New York City's Metropolitan Opera. The 50-year-old recording executive had been rumored in recent months to be on a short list of candidates for the prestigious post.

Russian-born concert pianist Vladimir Horowitz has canceled an autumn tour of Europe, Milan's La Scala opera house said today. La Scala, where the 83-year-old Horowitz was to have played Oct. 18, said it had been told of the cancellation by his agent, Peter Gelb, in a telex from New York. Gelb gave no reason, a spokesman for La Scala said.

An auction of new art by major living artists -- part of an ongoing effort by the Metropolitan Opera's General Manager Peter Gelb to combine the visual and vocal arts while keeping his house humming along financially -- raised more than $1.8 million for future productions. Most of the lots sold Sunday night were specially commissioned, opera-themed works. Soprano Renee Fleming, for example, was the subject of pieces by Chuck Close and Robert Wilson.