The Bliss Decade 1975–85

Beginning this season, the Metropolitan Opera was administered by a troika: Anthony A. Bliss as executive director, James Levine as music director and John Dexter as director of production. Bliss, a New York-born lawyer, was the son of the late Cornelius N. Bliss, chairman of the Met’s board of directors from 1938 to 1945. He himself had served on the board from 1949, acting as its president from 1956 until 1967. He had been among the earliest advocates of building the new opera house at Lincoln Center. In his new post, Bliss instituted ambitious fund-raising and marketing programs. New productions of five operas were mounted during 1975–76: Le Nozze’ di Figaro (November 20), Il Tabarro and Suor Angelica joined with the existing staging of Gianni Schicchi (December 19), Aida (February 3) and I Puritani (February 25). The Puccini triple bill was the Met’s first complete Il Trittico since 1920.