| There are enterprising people who might have found ways to utilize that space. Rudolph Bing realized this too, since for all its faults and virtues, the old house had been used for many years. Bing played up all the faults and downplayed what NY would be missing at the old house and built up all the necessary things for advanced stagecraft, more stages and backstage and under the stage to allow much more scenery to be stored, etc to get the new house built. But he was mostly unsentimental and calculating as to the the destruction of the old house, allowing a final concert to sum up all the nostalgia and summon up the historical ghosts that had sung at the building. The old Met was too big to be the "Mini Met" that others have talked about for having smaller operas produced in a smaller, more intimate setting. But the old house represented something Bing didn't want around -- an existing opera house that someone else could have leveraged to get opera singers to give concerts, perhaps European houses on American tours to rent out, etc. It's possible buildings across the street or nearby could have been bought and converted to store scenery, at the right price as well. Or else potential producers would have been aware of what the technical limitations were of the house in future bookings. But a destroyed opera house kept out any possibilities. |
