Gerard Mortier, a Belgian opera director whose nonconformist style often grated the tradition-bound elite and who became a fiercely avant-garde impresario, has died. He was 70.
Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo made the announcement today, and the country's media said Mortier died the day before at his home in Brussels after a protracted battle with pancreatic cancer.
Di Rupo called Mortier a "visionary and generous personality," praise echoed by French President Francois Hollande, who said, "He never stopped fighting, until the end of his strength, for culture in Europe."
Teatro Real, where Mortier was serving as artistic adviser, said in a statement: "He contributed to promoting Spain's operatic and cultural landscape and placing the Teatro Real among the world's leading international opera houses."
A baker's son from a humble background, Mortier was enchanted with opera from a young age and tried to revolutionise it at revered institutions, from the National Opera of Belgium to the Salzburg Festival.
The artist became the director of Belgium's National Operation, known as La Monnaie, in 1981, steering it away from "bourgeois" entertainment and to international recognition and acclaim.
He did so without relying on "star" singers, some of whom he considered little more than hired voices, and instead looked for the best stage directors who would immerse themselves in his vision.
At a time when much of opera was still ensconced in the regalia of "old" art, Mortier relied on people such as director Peter Sellars and composer Philip Glass to push the artistic envelope, sometimes to a breaking point.
Mortier oversaw a sumptuous renovation of the Brussels opera house and projects such as the world premiere of "The Death of Klinghoffer" on the 1985 killing of a handicapped American Jew by Palestinian terrorists aboard the cruise ship Achille Lauro.
