New Yorkers are buzzing about Gerard Mortier’s appointment to lead NY City Opera. But Parisians offer a reality check: “Some see his tenure here as a disappointment; most view it as a failure, marked by hostile, sagging audiences, acid press criticism and unfilled promise. His campaign to ‘reinvent opera’ has yet to show any positive effect, and with his penchant for intemperate public statements and his widely criticized management style, one has to wonder how his tenure in New York will unfold.”