NATION : Korean to Lead Opera Bastille
A young Korean conductor was officially named music director at the new Opera Bastille today, ending months of public speculation.
Myung Whun Chung, 36, who has studied and performed in the United States, fills the vacancy left in January when Paris Opera Chairman Pierre Berge fired Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim, accusing him of elitist ideas on opera and saying his salary was too high.
“I have preferred to bet on youth and audacity,” Berge, the head of the Yves Saint Laurent fashion empire, told reporters. “(Chung) is a man of talent, integrity, ambition and enthusiasm.” He declined to disclose Chung’s salary.
Berge and Chung were pressed for details on their plans for performances but said they could not yet provide them. The schedule for the new opera has been the subject of intense public disputes for years.
“If there is a fight, and I’ll say it publicly right now, I won’t fight, I’ll just leave,” the soft-spoken Chung said in English, translated into French for reporters.
“I have one request--that we work together for the benefit of the Opera Bastille as a unified team and do not let other people throw us off,” he said.
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