Her concerns, at the moment, are considerably minor. The soprano should start her part with more confidence. Why is Don Pedro chewing gum? Should the mouthed chatter by characters be in English or French?
She talks with director David Kneuss during a break. He’s glad to listen. Kneuss knows Koenig’s background. In her previous life, at the Metropolitan Opera, they worked together as directors.
“Usually, general directors are fund-raisers or peacemakers,’’ says Kneuss, who directed Opera Boston’s 2010 production of “La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein.’’ “The difference with Lesley is that I don’t need to explain how I do my job. It’s built into Lesley’s system. I can concentrate on the stuff I like to do, working with singers and creating the product.’’
A few minutes later, Koenig sits for an interview at a cafe outside the Calderwood. It is lunchtime, but the wiry opera boss, 54, rarely eats lunch. Over a cup of coffee, she’s asked about her unorthodox path to Boston. This is a woman who directed at the Met in her 30s, served as San Francisco Ballet’s general manager for six years, and then interviewed at a half-dozen opera companies for new jobs, everywhere from New York to Covent Garden. She speaks fluent Italian, German, and French and has a business degree from Stanford.
“Could I run the Met? Sure,’’ she says. “Do I want to? Today, no.’’
This isn’t cockiness. Back in 2004, Koenig was on the Met’s short list for the top job along with record company executive Peter Gelb, opera star Plácido Domingo, and current Los Angeles Philharmonic president Deborah Borda. Gelb got the job.
The headhunters kept calling, sometimes three a week.
The jobs, though, would never be as good as they seemed.
