Joseph Volpe, whose sixteen-year tenure as the general manager of the Metropolitan Opera ends this season, may be remembered as a man who stayed true to his title: he managed. Performances went off with maximum efficiency, seven each week. World-class singers showed up in mostly suitable roles, and if they misbehaved they were shown the door, or at least treated brusquely. James Levine was kept happy. Electronic subtitles appeared on the backs of the seats. Modest efforts were made in the direction of fresh production styles, novel repertory, and premieres - Tobias Picker's "An American Tragedy" bowed this month - but not enough to ruffle anyone's feather boa... http://www.newyorker.com/critics/music/ Janos Gereben/SF www.sfcv.org [log in to unmask]