“The 52-year-old Met general manager arrived just in time to lead a bloated, tired and tiresome outfit that was drifting toward obsolescence with its creaky board, senior-citizen audience and slumping ticket sales. His appointment, while odd – -he had never run a theater and had toiled, not always happily, as president of Sony Classical — appears to be energizing a company whose previous director, Joseph Volpe, was too pleased with himself and the status quo.”