Peter Stein Sets The Record Straight

by Christie Connolley

You may remember back in July we told you that Peter Stein was leaving the Met’s production of Boris Godunov and was replaced by Stephen Wadsworth.  He cited ‘personal reasons’ for his departure, but is now telling all on the real story behind his departure.  The New York Times reports:

Mr. Stein said he had pulled out because he felt offended by his treatment at the United States Consulate in Berlin when he applied for a work visa and by a lack of sympathy from Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager, over confrontations with bureaucracy.

“I told Gelb from the beginning, ‘Don’t create a situation where I don’t feel well,’ ” Mr. Stein, 72, said Friday in a telephone interview from Berlin. “I’m old. When I work, I must have the feeling that I’m wanted, that I’m there, that I’ve helped. If this is not the case, I cannot work anymore. It’s not possible.”

Check out the article for all the details and of course, Gelb’s side of the story.