The moment Gerard Mortier was named as the new director of New York City Opera, the speculation began: would Mortier be able to build his new company into a formidable challenger to Peter Gelb’s Met? Charles Michener says that every American opera lovel should be hoping that he can. “The most salutary thing that could happen to opera in New York would be for the David and the Goliath of Lincoln Center to go head to head. May the best–not necessarily the biggest–man win.”