HE'S FIGHTING TO "KEEP THE MET SINGING" IN WASHINGTON, DC

John Patterson, in front of the Metropolitan Opera (MetManiac.com website photo)

When John Patterson, a mild-mannered and extremely modest Washington civil servant with more than a passing resemblance to Clark Kent, learned last April that the local commercial classical music station, WGMS-FM, had dropped the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts from its schedule, he was shocked.

Patterson is the host of MetManiac.com, an internet opera archive that is a shrine to Metropolitan Opera. He is a passionate collector, who has assembled over 1200 complete radio transcriptions, as well as video recordings of all of the Live from the Met, and Metropolitan Opera Presents Telecasts.

He was not alone.

Not too long before this blow, Washington NPR station WETA cancelled classical music programming to run more NPR talk shows. At that time, WGMS had been a beneficiary, as listeners switched to the commercial station's 24-hour all-classical format. As was Baltimore's WBJC, a classical music station listened to by 60,000 residents of Washington's northern fringe (the WBJC signal cannot reach downtown Washington or its Virginia suburbs), which gained as well.

The one-two punch of losing classical music on NPR, followed by the cancellation of the Met on its commercial competitor, was almost too much for the city's music lovers to bear.

Washington Post cultural writer Tim Page said, "It is a disgrace that the capital city of the nation does not have the finest opera that is broadcast in the country. A lot of radio stations are phasing out vocal music, and I'm disgusted by it." The Washington Post itself denounced WGMS' cancellation in a blistering editorial.

Opera-L , the extremely active internet mailing list -- where outraged fans organized the now legendary protests against Robert Wilson's modernist production of Wagner's Tannhauser -- was flooded with e-mails condemning WGMS and demanding a boycott.

Outraged though he was, John Patterson decided he would not focus on WGMS. Instead, he would help to light a candle against the cultural darkness descending on the nation's capital. He would dedicate his website to the cause of "keeping the Met singing in Washington."

On May 3rd, Patterson posted a letter on Opera-L to volunteer his efforts to save the program. It was headlined: "Just Do It!"

In his notice, Patterson declared that it was time "to get together and fight the good fight." He offered to donate space on his MetManiac website as "Protest Central, " to organize a planning meeting of outraged opera fans, and urged Opera-L members to "network, network, network."

The goal was simple, to convice WETA, as a public service NPR station that was already in trouble with the classical music community, to take over the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts that had been dropped by WGMS.

Despite his passionate zeal -- Patterson received no help from either Texaco or the Metropolitan Opera -- he remained very modest, telling Opera-L readers:

Believe me, I'm not trying to "muscle in" on this; if anyone else wants to do it, please, have at it. But whoever does it, we need everyone who can to pitch in. I'm confident many of you will do that.

No one else took over from Patterson, though he credits the help of many opera fans, mentioning Louise Remmey and Judith Oppenheim by name, and soon his website was a beehive of activity, operating under the slogan, "Keep the Met Singing."

It was not an easy task. Initial suggestions from the public were rebuffed by WETA management.

Peggy Harrison posted her letter to WETA on the MetManiac.com website, which shows their original aloofness to the concept Patterson was promoting.

Harrison reported that when she suggested the station pick up the Met broadcasts, WETA Audience Service Coordinator Connie Hassan replied, "Program content is always under consideration, however, there are no plans at this time to introduce any program changes on WETA FM."

Harrison told WETA, "This response is unsatisfactory, becuase what you should be saying, in my opinion, is that you are giving serious consideration to carrying opera broadcasts."

Patterson's campaign among Opera-L members would provide the pressure that forced WETA to give the Met that serious consideration.

Patterson posted a six point letter writing campaign to WETA management, underwriters, officers and board of trustees, opera-lovers, and the general public. He established a phone tree, where each opera fan called ten more to call ten more, and so on. He posted model letters for Opera-L readers to use as the basis for their correspondence with WETA. Over 350 letter writers responded, including members of the Washington Opera, Placido Domingo and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Patterson also promoted the distribution of flyers to businesses and organizations in the Washington metropolitan area. He set up an email bulletin service. He republished newspaper articles on the popularity of opera. And he organized a meeting with WETA officials -- posting the minutes on his website.

The pow-wow took place on July 12th with WETA CEO Joe Bruns and General Manager Dan DeVany. Clearly the massive pressure campaign had paid off. As he reported to his supporters:

Here's the bottom line: a decision about whether or not to carry the Metropolitan opera has not yet been made. But it is clearly under very serious consideration at WETA. The executives have received a great deal of mail on this issue, and they are aware of the keen interest of the opera-loving public..."

While Dan DeVany will not admit Patterson's group of opera lovers are responsible for his station's reconsideration of the Met broadcasts, he does confess that when WGMS cancelled the show, he did not pick up the phone and ask Texaco for the series.

"It was my second day on the job," he told The Idler. "John's effort was helpful in channeling feedback, but the decision will be made only in terms of public service."

Cary Smith, CEO of WBJC-FM, a Baltimore, Maryland public radio station that broadcasts 52 weeks of opera each year, says that one factor in WETA's decision might be that Texaco has a tradition of paying commercial stations to run the Metropolitan Opera -- but not paying NPR stations a dime.

"Texaco gives us the program for free," he told The Idler. "But it does not give us a grant, or any public relations money, or outreach money, or additional underwriting." (Texaco Vice President for Corporate Communications and Government Affairs Rosemary Moore did not answer telephone calls, voicemail, or email).

Smith says that WBJC is happy with its deal, because the opera is expensive to produce, and opera listeners are generous donors to WBJC, which schedules pledge drives around Met broadcasts.

But WETA is not WBJC, and may be looking for a better deal.

DeVany is still noncommittal, saying only WETA would now like to broadcast the opera, and is negotiating with the Met and Texaco.

However, he says, there are "hard logistics, it is a big commitment to sign up for a season, because the length of shows pre-empts other programming that is already there."

"We are not looking for Texaco to give WETA money to put opera on our air," he adds. "But simply to put it on without doing anything around it would not be enough. We are not taking on the Met just for the Met's sake."

DeVany says that WETA might like to schedule other opera broadcasts around the Met's season, and would like to be able to buy ads to publicize the move of the Met from WGMS to WETA.

If the day ever comes that the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts return to Washington, DC (and sources hinted that Texaco, the Met and WETA are not that far apart in their negotiations) one might suggest the copy on Texaco's ad credit a modest, self-effacing, unassuming, dedicated, passionate, relentless, opera fan, "Met Maniac," and organizer with nerves of steel:

Thank you John Patterson -- for keeping the Met singing in the Nation's Capital!

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