# Yannick Nézet-Séguin to the Met



## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Met announces Yannick Nézet-Séguin will be MD with effect from 2020/21. What happens during the intervening four years?

Since 2012, Nézet-Séguin has been Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, which announced today that he has extended his contract with them until 2025/26. I don't think the Met will like that but apparently they were struggling to find someone and they didn't wanted Nézet-Séguin to sign with anyone else.


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

The first line after the headline there is an important bit of messaging:


> The 41-year-old conductor will become only the third Music Director in the history of the Met


Yes, Levine has been Music Director for 40 years, but before that there was only Rafael Kubelík, for a single season, a couple seasons before Levine took over.

A NYT article by Michael Cooper says



> A music director is sometimes thought of as the artistic conscience of an opera house, and Mr. Nézet-Séguin said that he planned to take an active role as the steward of the company's musical affairs almost immediately.
> 
> [...]
> 
> In the coming seasons, he is scheduled to conduct operas by composers including Wagner, Strauss, Puccini, Poulenc and Verdi - including a new production of "La Traviata" in 2018-19.


I have also seen that he'll start planning future seasons now; with how far out the Met plans their seasons, it sounds like he will have had a significant say in planning the first season he is Music Director.


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

And I don't see any reason to believe that the Met has a problem with YNS continuing on in Philadelphia. And extending that contract goes a long way towards drowning out the hang-wringing there would be over when YNS would step down from Philadelphia. It makes it clear: he won't.

I mean, I'm not even sure they would prefer someone so low profile that they only worked at the Met.

James Levine was Music Director of the Ravina Festival when he started at the Met (and until 1993), then in Munich, and then Boston.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

mountmccabe said:


> And I don't see any reason to believe that the Met has a problem with YNS continuing on in Philadelphia. And extending that contract goes a long way towards drowning out the hang-wringing there would be over when YNS would step down from Philadelphia. It makes it clear: he won't.
> 
> I mean, I'm not even sure they would prefer someone so low profile that they only worked at the Met.
> 
> James Levine was Music Director of the Ravina Festival when he started at the Met (and until 1993), then in Munich, and then Boston.


I didn't know that about Levine.

Will be very interesting to see what changes (if any) YNS makes once he's got his feet under the table.


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

Similarly, for most of his 15 year tenure at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim was also music director of the Berlin State Opera. And having been in Chicago for both the immediate transition from Solti and Barenboim, and the three year search and transition from Barenboim to Muti, I can say there is probably no harm in a period of "palate cleansing" between music directors. 

This must have been a pretty open secret if even the likes of me heard it was in the works over a year ago. It was probably more a matter of letting Maestro Levine bow out on his own terms. 

Anyway, based on the few times I've seen Nézet-Séguin conduct at the Met, this is a very good thing.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Cavaradossi said:


> Similarly, for most of his 15 year tenure at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim was also music director of the Berlin State Opera. And having been in Chicago for both the immediate transition from Solti and Barenboim, and the three year search and transition from Barenboim to Muti, I can say there is probably no harm in a period of "palate cleansing" between music directors.
> 
> This must have been a pretty open secret if even the likes of me heard it was in the works over a year ago. It was probably more a matter of letting Maestro Levine bow out on his own terms.
> 
> Anyway, based on the few times I've seen Nézet-Séguin conduct at the Met, this is a very good thing.


I assumed that if you were MD of an organisation as huge as the Met you wouldn't have time to do anything else.


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## jflatter (Mar 31, 2010)

Pappano is MD at ROH and is paid to work around 6 months a year. He has his orchestra in Rome and guest conducts with other orchestras. 

YNS is a good conductor and at first glance is a good appointment. However, not being officially in post until 2020 will cause uncertainty.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Gads! I hope I live to 2020. I get two for the price of one -- Philadelphia Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera and YNS. Life is good!!


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## phlrdfd (Jan 18, 2015)

There is even precedent with the Philadelphia Orchestra for this. Muti was also the director of La Scala for the second half of his directorship in Philadelphia during the 80s and early 90s.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

nina foresti said:


> Gads! I hope I live to 2020. I get two for the price of one -- Philadelphia Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera and YNS. Life is good!!


Some people have all the luck


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

sospiro said:


> Met announces Yannick Nézet-Séguin will be MD with effect from 2020/21. What happens during the intervening four years?
> 
> Since 2012, Nézet-Séguin has been Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, which announced today that he has extended his contract with them until 2025/26. I don't think the Met will like that but apparently they were struggling to find someone and they didn't wanted Nézet-Séguin to sign with anyone else.


The even did even send me an e-mail just now.
( I am on the mailing list)


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

There was a nice article in our newspaper, telling us that he still will be the honourable conductor for life at the 
Rotterdam Philharmonic and how he never will forget how grateful he was giving him a chance in 2008 .


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

Nezet-Seguin does not take over at the Met until 2020 , but he will be conducting at least one or two operas there per season season until he does, and will still be closely involved in planning and decision making , so there's no cause for undue worrying . 
Only time will tell what happens under the new guy , but he's he's one of the greatest talents among the younger generation of conductors , and things look very promising .
After all, no one new what Levine was going to accomplish when he was new to the Met, and he wasn't even as well known yet , and even younger . You can't deny the enormous accomplishments of Levine there .


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

superhorn said:


> Nezet-Seguin does not take over at the Met until 2020 , but he will be conducting at least one or two operas there per season season until he does, and will still be closely involved in planning and decision making , so there's no cause for undue worrying .
> Only time will tell what happens under the new guy , but he's he's one of the greatest talents among the younger generation of conductors , and things look very promising .
> After all, no one new what Levine was going to accomplish when he was new to the Met, and he wasn't even as well known yet , and even younger . You can't deny the enormous accomplishments of Levine there .


If you read carefully , nobody is saying that, not everyone cop of tee , that's a whole different matter.


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