In the Met’s Many Revivals, Sometimes Second Casts Finish First

The closure of opera houses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic created an alarming decrease in audience attendance that many companies are still struggling with, especially those in the U.S. In response, the Metropolitan Opera’s general director Peter Gelb has embarked on a plan to expand the company’s repertoire by producing new works, but public response to the operas presented has so far been mixed. The most common strategy at the Met and elsewhere to address sagging attendance has been to dramatically...