The Perils of Casting an Opera Five Years in Advance March 22, 2012

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Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2012/02/28/Extraordinary_Lives_Peter_Gelb

Metropolitan Opera General Manager Peter Gelb explains why production plans casting up to five years prior to an actual performance. Despite the foresight, Gelb recounts a recent troublesome casting as an instance of when that approach fell short.

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Peter Gelb, General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera in conversation with Bill Kelly at the CUNY Graduate Center.

Over his long and varied career, Peter Gelb has consistently sought to attract new audiences to opera and classical music. Since becoming general manager of the Met in 2006, he has revitalized the company's repertory, enhanced the theatricality of its productions, and pioneered the use of new media technology to broadcast live performances online and in theaters across the globe.

Extraordinary Lives explores great minds that have shaped our cultural landscape. In this series, Graduate Center President Bill Kelly has one-on-one conversations with a diverse group of vital contemporary thinkers, artists, and visionaries who have indelibly impacted the fields in which they work. Previous participants have included Patti Smith, Ira Glass, and Danny Meyer.