George Steel is the General Manager and Artistic Director of the New York City Opera

New York City Opera

The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...

. At New York City Opera, he has overseen new productions of Don Giovanni, Leonard Bernstein's A Quiet Place, (in its New York premiere), and an evening of monodramas (including works by John Zorn and Morton Feldman in their New York stage premieres) directed by Michael Counts. In addition, the Steel's tenure has seen revivals of Chabrier's L'Etoile, Weisgall's Esther, and Madama Butterfly, among others. Steel has recently been at the center of the controversy concerning the departure of the New York City Opera from Lincoln Center.

Biography

Steel was executive director of Miller Theatre

Miller Theatre

Miller Theatre at Columbia University is located on the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University. It is a performing arts producer dedicated to developing and presenting new music....

, the performing-arts venue of Columbia University from 1997 through 2008, for which he received considerable praise. In the 2004-2005 season, Steel received the ASCAP-Chamber Music America (CMA) Award for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music. He was awarded the 2003 Trailblazer Award from the American Music Center, the 2003 ASCAP Concert Music Award, and the 2001-2002 ASCAP-CMA Award for Adventurous Programming. New York Magazine named George Steel one of the most influential people in New York in its 2006 “Influentials” issue, and recognized his programming in its 2005 “Cultural Elite” issue, listing Miller Theatre as having the “Best Music Programming before 1800 or after 1990” and the “Best Night at the Ballet.”

Steel was appointed General Manager of the Dallas Opera

Dallas Opera

The Dallas Opera is an opera company located in Dallas, Texas . The company was founded in 1957 as the Dallas Civic Opera by Laurence Kelly and Nicolà Rescigno, both of whom had been active with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the first as administrator, the second as artistic director.-The company's...

. , a post which he held for only three months before leaving for the New York City Opera in 2009, replacing Gerard Mortier

Gérard Mortier

Gerard Alfons August, Baron Mortier is a Belgian opera director and administrator of Flemish origin.Mortier has served as general director of La Monnaie and of the Salzburg Festival...

who had himself recently and suddenly resigned.

Steel is also the founder of groups dedicated to Renaissance vocal polyphony (Vox Vocal Ensemble), Baroque period-instrument performance (Gotham City Baroque Orchestra), and works of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries (Gotham City Orchestra and Sinfonietta).

Controversy at the New York City Opera

As General Manager and Artistic Director of the New York City Opera, Steel has recently come under significant criticism for his plan to move the NYCO out of its long time home at Lincoln Center, and to significantly reduce the size and scope of the opera company in nearly every capacity. An open letter of protest, penned by Catherine Malfitano, has been signed by over 120 music professionals, including such opera luminaries as Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Frederica von Stade, Sherrill Milnes, Samuel Ramey, and Joyce DiDonato. Steel has declined to publicly respond to the signatories offer of help. Steel has been under increasing pressure to resign from his post by singers and musicians of the NYCO , and has been accused by union leaders of being entirely uninterested in negotiating. Steel, who was brought in to resuscitate the NYCO in 2009, claims that the cuts are necessary to reduce costs.