Nathalie Stutzmann has released an open letter apologizing to the Metropolitan Orchestra following a comment in the New York Times.

In a letter obtained by slippedisc, she said “Dear Musicians of the Orchestra of The Metropolitan Opera, It saddens me deeply that my comments, as reported in the New York Times on 18 May have caused such disappointment amongst the orchestra. My intention was only to celebrate the fact that Simon McBurney’s wonderful production of ‘The Magic Flute’ celebrates the orchestra visually, including it in the production, and I wanted to focus on that. The audience can see you like never before, and you can see all the action on stage. It gives me much joy to be part of this positive experience. It was certainly not my intention to diminish or undervalue in any way the stature and standing of your outstanding orchestra. I understand the great pride you take in always being attuned to the singers on the stage, regardless of the physicality of the pit.”

She added, “Maybe I should not have overlaid my experiences in the opera pit, when I was a bassoonist all those years ago! I am convinced that opera is the ultimate art-form which unites so many different genres, but for me the most important of all is the musical soundtrack – maybe we could more often work with directors that bring more visibility for orchestral players in particular. Together, if I may say, we are achieving wonderful musical results, and I look forward to our further performances of both ‘Don Giovanni’ and ‘The Magic Flute’ in the coming days. It is a privilege to work at The Met, and to work with one of the greatest orchestras in the world.”

The apology comes days after Stutzmann said in a New York Times interview, “There’s nothing more boring than being an orchestra musician and being in the back of a cave with no idea of what’s happening on the stage. Can you imagine spending three or four hours, five for Wagner, at the bottom of a pit and have no idea what’s happening above you?”

The orchestra then responded in an Instagram post noting,  “In the recent otherwise excellent article in the New York Times about the Met’s innovative new production of Die Zauberflöte, we were disheartened to read our guest conductor’s supposition that the Met Orchestra might be bored playing in the pit.”

Nathalie Stutzmann is currently conducting “Don Giovanni” and “Die Zauberflöte.”