holders frequently imposed themselves upon general managers of the house( Fiedler, 2003). They assured the general manager of the house knew that their funds allowed the doors to remain open. This would bring the aforementioned dissonance between the box holders and the creative directors of the house. An internal conflict in 1906 nearly split the factions of the opera house in half. According to Fielder, a conflict of interest between the box holders regarding the relationship between artistic direction and financial gain. Opera Company board member Eliot Gregory is quoted saying,“ The performances are better and better, and yet the [ Real Estate ] box holders are kicking like mules.”( Fielder, 2003).
This division between the box holders and the creative team of the opera house culminated in the 1906 production of Richard Strauss’, Salome. The opera, which centers around King Herrod’ s daughter, Salome, and her relationship with John The Baptist was initially deemed too“ salacious” for the company to perform( Fielder, 2003). However, a young board member eventually convinced the box holders that the opera had international acclaim and that it should be put on( Fielder, 2003). However, it seems as though the initial reservations of the board may have been correct as the production was met with widespread harsh criticism, including condemnation from the daughter of J. P. Morgan( Fielder, 2003). In fact Morgan’ s daughter was so taken aback by the production that she convinced her father to advise the board to cancel the remaining performances of the opera( Fielder, 2003). The performances were indeed canceled, which led to a great deal of distaste and distrust from the performers within the company regarding their governing body. They were so upset that they refused to take the money offered by J. P. Morgan to account for any losses from the cancellation of the
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