New York City Opera history

…conductor or director of the New York City Opera, 1944–79.

He also directed the Third Street Music School (1945–52) and acted as music director of the New York City Light Opera.

Rudel achieved a memorable success with Cole Porter’s Kiss Me, Kate at the Vienna Volksoper in 1956.

Reviewing the City Center production in the Times, Howard Taubman called it musical theater “of the first order.” Two years later, the production, featuring Phyllis Curtis and Norman Treigle, was part of the American presentation at the 1958 World’s Fair in Brussels.

But in September 1965, the newly formed New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission included the opera house on its first list of proposed designated landmarks.

But the Metropolitan Opera Association sued (eventually winning) and serious preservation efforts were terminated in August 1966.

The formidable American bass-baritone, Norman Treigle, made a distinct impression at the devil in the premiere in 1969.

In 1970, the World Apparel Center was built on the site.

In 2000, by contrast, ticket sales covered nearly half of the company’s expenses.

Deficits have been mounting since 2003, a situation that has led some to call the opera’s new logo of a black dot “the black hole.”

When Paul Kellogg departed as general manager in May 2007, his successor, Gerard Mortier, directed the company for more than a year from Paris, where he had another job.

In 2008 when he was presented with a $34 million budget, he quit, saying he couldn’t transform the company on such an amount.

Steel, who had just spent 14 weeks running the Dallas Opera, took over in January 2009.