Eyebrows rose last summer when the Dallas Opera named George Steel its new general director.
Oh, sure, the opera board was proud of landing a "star" from New York.
And there was boo-hooing in the New York media at the loss of one of the artsy crowd's darlings, acclaimed for 11 years of imaginative programming at Columbia University's Miller Theatre.
But with the Dallas Opera facing daunting financial challenges with its impending move to the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Winspear Opera House, savvy operaphiles wondered why Dallas was hiring someone who had never run an opera company. And it wasn't long after Steel's arrival here, in October, that whispers of discontent became a crescendo of complaint.
Then, on Wednesday, came confirmation of what had been rumored for the last month: Steel is leaving at the end of January to take over the New York City Opera.
Abuzz with gossip for weeks, opera blogs have gone nuclear over the news. (If you don't mind some adult language, check parterre.com.)
Whatever his gifts, and the good intentions of the Dallas Opera board, George Steel was miscast here.
He was right to advocate more adventurous programming. For a company with a history of imaginative offerings in decades past, the Dallas Opera has gone bland in recent years. The 2008-09 season is about as daring as macaroni and cheese.
But, in a challenging economy, when audiences hesitate to take chances on anything but sure bets, Steel was making noises about booking really obscure French operas and Leonard Bernstein's generally dismissed A Quiet Place.
He evinced little interest in the mainstream Mozart-to-Puccini repertory that fills seats and pays bills. One person close to the opera wondered whether Steel could name the top five characters in the five most popular operas.
Yet he seemed determined to second-guess choices made by experienced senior staff.
Nobody will say so for the record, but even far beyond Dallas it's no secret that staff members, even orchestra musicians, found Steel remote and dismissive.
Steel could run his own show at the Miller Theatre, but opera companies depend on elaborate webs of collaboration.
Several members of the company expressed amazement that Steel hardly stuck his head into rehearsals for The Marriage of Figaro and never attended a complete performance. They were also surprised when he didn't put in an appearance at some gatherings with patrons. He sometimes seemed more interested in promoting himself as a conductor than in actually running the opera company.
He could not be reached on Friday to discuss his departure. On Wednesday, he spoke glowingly of the company, saying it was "poised on the threshold of extraordinary things."
Steel is the Dallas Opera's third general director this decade who hasn't lived up to expectations, and hasn't lasted long.
Anthony Whitworth-Jones, a British charmer, pushed daring programming but evinced little enthusiasm for raising money.
Another Brit, Karen Stone, proved effective at fundraising, but people skills weren't her forte.
By all accounts, Steel was a great success at the Miller Theatre. But with a university-subsidized budget of $3.5 million, he only had to fill 688 seats for single performances.
The Dallas Opera, by contrast, will have 2,200 seats to fill in the Winspear Opera House.
And while a seat count one-third smaller than the Music Hall's will vastly improve both visual and aural experiences, it will require more performances, raising costs.
The current $12 million budget will need to grow.
With his preppy good looks, obvious intelligence and smooth-talking manner, Steel may be just the savior the New York City Opera needs.
We can only wish him and that seriously beleaguered company well.
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