Editing Metropolitan Opera (section)

===Gentele to Southern===
Following Bing's retirement in 1972, the Met's management was overseen by a succession of executives and artists in shared authority. Bing's intended successor, the Swedish opera manager [[Göran Gentele]], died in an auto accident before the start of his first season. Following Gentele's death, [[Schuyler Chapin]] served as general manager for three seasons. The key achievement of his tenure was the Met's first tour to Japan for three weeks in May–June 1975 which was the brainchild of impresario [[Kazuko Hillyer International|Kazuko Hillyer]]. The tour played a significant role in popularizing opera in Japan, and boasted an impressive line-up of artists in productions of ''[[La traviata]]'', ''[[Carmen]]'', and ''[[La bohème]]''; including [[Marilyn Horne]] as Carmen, [[Joan Sutherland]] as Violetta, and tenors [[Franco Corelli]] and [[Luciano Pavarotti]] alternating as Rodolfo.<ref>{{cite journal| url=http://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2015/7/Features/Pacific_Overtures.html| title=Pacific Overtures| first=Fred| last=Cohn| journal=[[Opera News]]| date=July 2015| volume=80| number=1| access-date=July 18, 2015| archive-date=July 21, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721154156/http://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2015/7/Features/Pacific_Overtures.html| url-status=live}}</ref> Soprano [[Renata Tebaldi]] retired from the Met in 1973 as Desdemona in [[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]]'s ''[[Otello]]'', the same role she debuted there in 1955.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/renata-tebaldi-soprano-1-571667|title=Renata Tebaldi, Soprano|website=[[The Scotsman]]|access-date=July 5, 2020|archive-date=December 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228103153/https://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/renata-tebaldi-soprano-1-571667|url-status=live}}</ref>

From 1975 to 1981, a triumvirate of directors led the company: the general manager (Anthony A. Bliss), artistic director ([[James Levine]]), and director of production (English stage director [[John Dexter]]). Bliss was followed by Bruce Crawford and [[Hugh Southern]]. Through this period, the constant figure was Levine. Engaged by Bing in 1971, Levine became principal conductor in 1973 and emerged as the Met's principal artistic leader through the last third of the 20th century.

During the 1983–1984 season, the Met celebrated its 100th anniversary with an opening night revival of Berlioz's opera ''[[Les Troyens]]'', with soprano [[Jessye Norman]] making her Met debut in the roles of both Cassandra and Dido. An eight-hour Centennial Gala concert in two parts followed on October 22, 1983, broadcast on [[PBS]]. The [[Met Gala (opera)|gala]] featured all of the Met's current stars as well as appearances by 26 veteran stars of the Met's the past. Among the artists, [[Leonard Bernstein]] and Birgit Nilsson gave their last performances with the company at the concert.<ref>{{cite journal| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oeICAAAAMBAJ&q=Met+Gala&pg=PA50| title=Texaco Celebrates the Metropolitan Opera Centennial| access-date=July 22, 2014| date=October 17, 1983| journal=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]| page=50| archive-date=July 19, 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719175552/https://books.google.com/books?id=oeICAAAAMBAJ&q=Met+Gala&pg=PA50| url-status=live}}</ref> This season also marked the debut of bass [[Samuel Ramey]], who debuted as Argante in Handel's ''[[Rinaldo (opera)|Rinaldo]]'' in January 1984.

The immediate post-Bing era saw a continuing addition of African-Americans to the roster of leading artists. [[Kathleen Battle]], who in 1977 made her Met debut as the Shepherd in Wagner's ''[[Tannhäuser (opera)|Tannhäuser]]'', became an important star in lyric soprano roles. Bass-baritone [[Simon Estes]] began a prominent Met career with his 1982 debut as Hermann, also in ''Tannhäuser''.