Gérard Mortier

Gerard, Baron Mortier (born November 25, 1943) is a Belgian opera director. He was born in Ghent, and, despite his French-sounding surname, is Flemish.
He is the general director of the Opéra National de Paris. In 2009, he will become the general director of the New York City Opera.

Mortier made his mark at the La Monnaie in Brussels, transforming it from an operatic hinterland into a postmodernist temple during his tenure there through the 1980s, although he left large debts behind.

The Salzburg Festival stunned the musical world by hiring him to succeed the hallowed Herbert von Karajan, and Mortier spent the 1990s there scandalizing many of its conservative, well-heeled opera patrons, the most notorious provocation being a production of Johann Strauss’s "Fledermaus" laced with cocaine and fornication and taking aim at Austria’s far-right political operatives. After a stint as founding director of the RuhrTriennale arts festival in Germany, he went to the Opéra National de Paris.

A recent production of Mozart’s "The Magic Flute" there caused an uproar with its air-mattress décor, video projections and costumes, including glittering, neon-lit silver jumpsuits and long black wigs adorning the Queen of the Night and her Three Ladies.

The New York cultural world is now speculating on a competition in original contemporary opera approach between the New York City Opera when Mortier will take over in 2009, and Peter Gelb's Metropolitan Opera. [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/11/arts/music/11tomm.html?th&emc=th]

Academic career and awards

*Professor of Communication Science, Ghent University, Belgium
*Honorary doctorate University of Antwerp, Belgium
*National medal of honor from Belgium
*National medal of honor from Germany
*French Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres
*Member of the Academy of Arts of Berlin.

Quotes

* "There was no reason for another Wagner "Ring" after Patrice Chéreau’s cycle at Bayreuth."Fact|date=July 2008
* "Art is anything but entertainment and unrelated to box-office receipts."Fact|date=July 2008
* "If talking is expression of the mind, singing is expression of the soul.”Fact|date=July 2008

Current and past positions

* General Director, l’Opéra National de Paris until 2009
* former president, Fedora
* former artistic director, Salzburg Festival
* founding director, RuhrTriennale Arts Festival, Germany
* former artistic director, La Monnaie (opera house), Brussels

References

* The New York Times, Daniel J. Wakin, Feb. 28, 2007 [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/28/arts/music/28oper.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin]