Transcripts For WJZ 60 Minutes 20131027

It was obvious. Miller mike morell was Deputy Director of the cia and he gave us the only Television Interview hes ever done. I think he has betrayed his country. Miller first thing we asked morell about was the last thing he did at cia, taking part in the Damage Assessment on edward snowden. How serious a threat is that to National Security . This is the most serious leak, the most serious compromise of classified information in the history of the u. S. Intelligence agency. Miller because of the amount of it or the type in the amount and the type. Simon the phrase the greatest show on earth usually refers to the circus, but man named peter gelb who runs the metropolitan opera in new york city is doing everything he can to change that. Theres no other place where you can see such monumental staging, elaborate sets and a cast of hundreds. But the met is above all about extraordinary voices, some of the best voices in the world. Tonight were going to take you backstage at the met and show it to you in a way youve never seen it before. Im steve kroft. Im lesley stahl. Im morley safer. Im bob simon. Im lara logan. Im scott pelley. Those stories tonight on 60 minutes. Cbs money watch update sponsored by glor good evening. The fed meets this week and is expected to maintain its current bondbuying program, currently 85 billion a month. The New York Stock Exchange says the mock ipo it staged for twitter this weekend went well. And apple is out with earnings tomorrow. Facebook on wednesday. Im jeff glor, cbs news. What you wear to bed is your business. So, if youre sleeping in your contact lenses, ask about the air optix® contacts so breathable theyre approved for up to 30 nights of continuous wear. Serious eye problems may occur. Ask your doctor and visit airoptix. Com for Safety Information and a free onemonth trial. [ bell dings ] [ bell dings ] [ buzzer ] [ buzzer ] [ female announcer ] check it out. 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Diplomats and military leaders safe for the last decade. On a night he describes as sheer hell, morgan jones snuck into a benghazi hospital that was under the control of al qaeda terrorists, desperate to find out if one of his Close Friends from the u. S. Special mission was the american hed been told was there. Morgan jones i was dreading seeing who it was, you know . It didnt take long to get to the. To the room. And i could see in through the. Through the glass. And i didnt even have to go into the room to see who it was. I knew who it was immediately. Logan who was it . Jones it was the ambassador, dead. Yeah, shocking. Logan morgan jones said hed never felt so angry in his life. Only hours earlier, ambassador Chris Stevens had sought him out, concerned about the security at the u. S. Special Mission Compound where morgan was in charge of the libyan guard force. Now, the ambassador was dead and the u. S. Compound was engulfed in flames and overrun by dozens of heavily armed fighters. Although the attack began here, the more organized assault unfolded about a mile across the city at a top secret c. I. A. Facility known as the annex. It lasted more than seven hours and took four american lives. Carney we do not have any indication at this point of premeditation or preplanned attacks. Logan contrary to the white houses public statements, which were still being made a full week later, its now well established that the americans were attacked by al qeada in a wellplanned assault. Five months before that night, morgan jones first arrived in benghazi, in Eastern Libya about 400 miles from the capital, tripoli. He thought this would be an easy assignment compared to afghanistan and iraq. But on his first drive through benghazi, he noticed the black flags of al qaeda flying openly in the streets and he grew concerned about the guard force as soon as he pulled up to the u. S. Compound. Jones there was nobody there that we could see. And then we realized they were all inside drinkin tea, laughin and jokin. Logan what did you think . Instantly i thought were gonna have to get rid of all these guys. Logan morgan jones job was training the unarmed guards who manned the compounds gates. A second libyan force an armed militia hired by the state department was supposed to defend the compound in the event of an attack. Morgan had nothing to do with the militia, but they worried him so much, he could not keep quiet. Jones i was saying, these guys are no good. You need to. You need to get em out of here. Logan you also kept saying, if this place is attacked these guys are not gonna stand and fight . Jones yeah. I used to say it all the time. Yeah, in the end i got quite bored of hearing my own voice saying it. Andy wood we had one option leave benghazi or you will be killed. Logan Green Beret Commander Lieutenant Colonel andy wood was one of the top American Security officials in libya. Based in tripoli, he met with ambassador stevens every day. The last time he went to benghazi was in june, just three months before the attack. While he was there, al qaeda tried to assassinate the british ambassador. Wood says, to him, it came as no surprise because al qaeda using a familiar tactic had stated their intent in an online posting, saying they would attack the red cross, the british and then the americans in benghazi. Logan and you watched as they. Wood as they did each one of those. Logan attacked the red cross and the british mission. And the only ones left. Wood were us. They made good on two out of the three promises. It was a matter of time till theythey captured the third one. Logan and washington was aware of that . Wood they knew we monitored it. We included that in our. In our reports to both state department and d. O. D. Logan andy wood told us he raised his concerns directly with ambassador stevens three months before the u. S. Compound was overrun. Wood i made it known in a country team meeting, you are gonna get attacked. You are gonna get attacked in benghazi. Its gonna happen. You need to change your security profile. Logan shut down. Wood shut down. Logan the special mission. Wood shut down operations. Move out temporarily. Or change locations within the city. Do somethin to break up the profile because you are being targeted. They are. They are. They are watching you. The attack cycle is such that theyre in the final planning stages. Logan wait a minute, you said, theyre in the final planning stages of an attack on the American Mission in benghazi . Wood it was apparent to me that that was the case. Reading. Reading all these other attacks that were occurring, i could see what they were staging up to, it was. It was obvious. Logan we have learned the u. S. Already knew that this man, senior al qaeda leader abu anas al libi, was in libya, tasked by the head of al qaeda to establish a clandestine terrorist Network Inside the country. Allibi was already wanted for his role in bombing two u. S. Embassies in africa. Greg hicks it was a frightening piece of information. Logan because it meant what . Hicks it raised the stakes, changed the game. Logan greg hicks, who testified before Congress Earlier this year, was ambassador stevens deputy, based in tripoli, a 22year veteran of the Foreign Service with an impeccable reputation. Logan and in that environment you were asking for more security assets and you were not getting them . Hicks thats right. Logan did you fight that . Hicks i was in the process of trying to frame a third request, but it was not allowed to go forward. Logan so why didnt you get the help that you needed and that you asked for . Hicks i really, really dont know. I, in fact, would like to know that. The answer to that question. Logan in the months prior to the attack, ambassador stevens approved a series of detailed cables to washington, specifically mentioning, among other things, the al qaeda flag has been spotted several times flying over government buildings. When the attack began on the evening of september 11, ambassador stevens immediately called greg hicks, who was back in tripoli. Hicks ambassador said that the consulates under attack. And then the line cut. Logan do you remember the sound of his voice . Hicks oh yeah, its indelibly imprinted on my mind. Logan how did he sound . Hicks he sounded frightened. Logan in benghazi, morgan jones, who was at his apartment about 15 minutes away, got a frantic call from one of his libyan guards. Jones i could hear gunshots. And he said, therestheres men coming into the mission. His voice, he was. He was scared, you could tell he was really scared and he was running. I could tell he was running. Logan his first thought was for his american friends, the state Department Agents who were pinned down inside the compound, and he couldnt believe it when one of them answered his phone. Jones i said, whats going on . He said, were getting attacked. And i said, how many . And he said, theyre all over the compound. And i felt shocked. I didnt know what to say. And i said, well, just keep fighting. Im on my way. Logan morgans guards told him the armed libyan militia that was supposed to defend the compound had fled, just as morgan had predicted. His guards unarmed and terrified sounded the alarm, but they were instantly overwhelmed by the attackers. Jones they said, were here to kill americans, not libyans, so theyd give em a good beating pistol whip them, beat them with their rifles and let them go. Logan were here to kill americans. Jones thats what they said, yeah. Logan not libyans. Jones yeah. Logan about 30 minutes into the attack, a Quick Reaction force from the c. I. A. Annex ignored orders to wait and raced to the compound, at times running and shooting their way through the streets just to get there. Inside the compound, they repelled a force of as many as 60 armed terrorists and managed to save five american lives and recover the body of Foreign Service officer, sean smith. They were forced to fight their way out before they could find the ambassador. Not long afterwards, morgan jones scaled the 12foothigh wall of the compound that was still overrun with al qaeda fighters. Jones one guy saw me. He just shouted. I couldnt believe that hed seen me cause it was so dark. He started walking towards me. Logan and as he was coming closer . Jones as i got closer, i just hit him with the butt of the rifle in the face. Logan and . Jones oh, he went down, yeah. Logan he dropped . Jones yeah, like a stone. Logan with his face smashed in . Jones yeah. Logan and no one saw you do it . Jones no. Logan or heard it . Jones no, there was too much noise. Logan the same force that had gone to the compound was now defending the c. I. A. Annex. Hours later, they were joined by a small team of americans from tripoli. From defensive positions on these rooftops, the americans fought back a professional enemy. In a final wave of intense fighting just after 5 00 a. M. , the attackers unleashed a barrage of mortars. Three of them slammed into this roof, killing former Navy Seals Tyrone woods and glen doherty. Logan they hit that roof three times. Wood they hit those roofs three times. Logan in the dark. Wood yeah, thats getting the basketball through the hoop over your shoulder. Logan what does it take to pull off an attack like that . Wood coordination, planning, training, experienced personnel. They practice those things. They knew what they were doing. That was a. That was a well executed attack. Logan we have learned that there were two Delta Force Operators who fought at the annex and theyve since been awarded the distinguished Service Cross and the navy cross, two of the militarys highest honors. The americans who rushed to help that night went without asking for permission, and the lingering question is why no larger military response ever crossed the border into libya something greg hicks realized wasnt going to happen just an hour into the attack. You have this conversation with the defense attache. You ask him what military assets are on their way. And he says. Hicks effectively, theyre not. And i. For a moment, i just felt lost. I just couldnt believe the answer. And then i made the call to the annex chief, and i told him, listen, youve gotta tell those guys there may not be any help coming. Logan thats a tough thing to understand. Why . Hicks it just is. We. For us, for the people that go out onto the edge, to represent our country, we believe that if we get in trouble, theyre coming to get us. That our back is covered. To hear that its not, its a terrible, terrible experience. Logan the u. S. Government today acknowledges the americans at the u. S. Compound in benghazi were not adequately protected, and says those who carried out the attack are still being hunted down. Just a few weeks ago, abu anas allibi was captured for his role in the africa bombings and the u. S. Is still investigating what part he may have played in benghazi. Weve learned that this man, sufian bin qumu, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee and longtime al qaeda operative, was one of the lead planners along with faraj alchalabi, whose ties to Osama Bin Laden go back more than 15 years. Hes believed to have carried documents from the compound to the head of al qaeda in pakistan. The morning after the attack, morgan jones went back to the compound one last time to document the scene. He took these photos, which he gave to the f. B. I. , and has published in a book he has written. After all this time, he told us hes still haunted by a conversation he had with Foreign Service officer sean smith a week before the attack. Jones yeah, he was worried. He wasnt happy with the security. Logan and you didnt tell him all your worries . Jones no. No, didnt want to. Logan why not . Jones i didnt want to worry him anymore, you know . Hes a nice guy. I sort of promised him hed be okay. Logan you think about that . Jones every day, yeah. Logan the u. S. Pulled out of benghazi and al qaeda has grown in power across libya. When a member of our team went to the u. S. Compound earlier this month, he found remnants of the americans final frantic moments still scattered on the ground. Among them ambassador stevens official schedule for september 12, 2012, a day he didnt live to see. Its simple physics. A body at rest tends to stay at rest. While a body in motion tends to stay in motion. Staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. But if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. Prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. Because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. Plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. Celebrex can be taken with or without food. And its not a narcotic. You and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. All prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. They all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. This chance increases if you have Heart Disease or risk factors such as high Blood Pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. Nsaids, like celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. Patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. Dont take celebrex if you have bleeding in the stomach or intestine, or had an asthma attack, hives, other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. Get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. Tell your doctor your medical history. And find an Arthritis Treatment for you. Visit celebrex. Com and ask your doctor about celebrex. For a body in motion. Man [ laughs ] those look like baby steps now. But they were some pretty good moves. And the best move of all . Having the right partner at my side. Its so much better that way. [ male announcer ] have the right partner at your side. Consider an aarp Medicare Supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. Go long. As your life and career change, fidelity is there for your personal economy, helping you readjust your Retirement Plan along the way, rethink how youre invested, and refocus as your career moves forward. Wherever you are today, a fidelity i. R. A. Has a wide range of Investment Choices to help you finetune your personal economy. Call today, and well make it easy to move that old 401 k to a fidelity i. R. A. Miller there may be no period that so dramatically redefined the world of u. S. Intelligence than the decade following the september 11 attacks. Through those tumultuous years, there was one man who was in the room for almost every important decision. Mike morell was Deputy Director of the c. I. A. , and gave us the only Television Interview hes ever done. He spoke to us, largely because he believes the very nature of the spy business keeps successes in the shadows, but often pushes failure into the bright lights. Morell operated in those shadows, but his insights have helped shape the key Foreign Policy decisions of the last three president s. The first thing we asked morell about was the last thing he did at the c. I. A. taking part in the Damage Assessment on edward snowden, the n. S. A. Contractor who leaked classified documents about americas secret electronic surveillance programs. Mike morell i do not believe he was a whistleblower. I do not believe he is a hero. I think he has betrayed his country. Miller how serious a hit is that to National Security . Morell i think this is the most serious leak the most serious compromise of classified information in the history of the u. S. Intelligence community. Miller because of the amount of it . Or the type . Morell the amount and the type. Miller but of the hundreds of pages of n. S. A. Documents that snowden has leaked, morell pointed to one in particular that has caused a great deal of damage to u. S. Intelligence. Its a copy of the top secret document the c. I. A. Calls its black budget. What value would that have to an adversary . Morell the real damage of leaking that document was that certainly they could focus their counterintelligence efforts on those places where were being successful and not have to worry as much about those places where were not being successful. Miller kinda like handing over the playbook. Morell uhhuh. Miller . To the other team . Morell uhhuh. Miller he went first to hong kong and then to russia. Do you think that china and russia now have access to all or much of that material . Morell i think we have to assume that any material that mr. Snowden had with him has been compromised. Miller protecting secrets is so engrained in the c. I. A. Culture that cell phones arent even allowed in the building. Meetings are held in leadlined rooms called secure compartmented intelligence facilities, or scifs, and if there is one room where they discuss the most closely guarded secrets of all it is the c. I. A. Directors conference room. Morell on an average day, you know, were making. Were making hundreds of decisions, a good number of them in this room. And they range across the entirety of the National Security issues that this country faces. Miller mike morell joined the c. I. A. In 1980 as an Energy Policy analyst. A selfdescribed nerd, he wanted adventure, and he would soon find plenty of it, as he rose through the ranks and became the key intelligence briefer for president george w. Bush. Morell traveled with the president wherever he went and was with him at a Florida Elementary School on september 11, 2001. Morell and what im actually standing there thinking is i wonder how long were gonna be here because Everybody Knows the president was gonna be at this school on this date. And is somebody gonna fly a plane into this place . Miller morell would travel back to washington with the president. He was busy reviewing early intelligence the c. I. A. Had collected, when he was told to look out the window of air force one. Morell and what you could see was an f15 on the wing tip. You could see the pilots face. And in the background, you could see the still burning pentagon. And that is a memory ill never forget. Miller the c. I. A. Launched a plan to dismantle alqaeda and even today, the single most controversial piece of that strategy was the use of enhanced interrogation techniques. Let me read you a list of some of the techniques that were used by the c. I. A. To get information waterboarding, hitting, bouncing suspects off walls, confining them in small spaces, loud music, sleep deprivation, nudity, keeping suspects in physical stress positions. If these were americans being held overseas by a foreign power, would we have called that torture . Morell i actually, john, want to challenge you on the word torture. My officers carried out the guidance that was provided to them in both administrations, and obviously that was differing guidance. Whats my view . My view was that those coercive techniques were the wrong thing to do. My view was that those techniques were inconsistent with american values. And for that reason i dont think they should have been done. Miller no top c. I. A. Official has ever said that before. In morells 33 years in the c. I. A. , perhaps the boldest change in how the agency achieved results came literally out of the blue armed drones in the skies over afghanistan, pakistan, somalia and yemen became the goto weapon to kill alqaeda terrorist. But the u. N. And others have said they have also caused hundreds of civilian fatalities. Morell this is a very precise weapon. Collateral damage is very low. Its not zero, i wish it was. But it is as close to zero as we have gotten with any weapons system in the history of this country. There is no doubt in my mind that without these operations, that there would have been another attack in the homeland that would have rivaled the scale of 9 11. Miller to pave the way for military and intelligence operations including the use of drones, the c. I. A. Has reportedly supplied between 50 and 100 million over the past decade, in direct cash payoffs to president karzai. Foreign aid is one thing, but cash in suitcases and backpacks to the president and key aides has a different feel to it. Morell its all foreign assistance to the government of afghanistan. Miller is there a quid pro quo here about you take care of me, and ill allow unfettered Drone Operations in the country even though theyre unpopular . Morell i think that those things that president karzai allows the United States of america to do in afghanistan are in the interests of afghanistan. Miller the c. I. A. Has paid in cash, but also in blood during the war in afghanistan. At the agencys headquarters stars are etched into the marble marking the number of c. I. A. Officers killed throughout the agencys history. A ledger contains a list of names, but some remain classified. When i look here, i see Forward Operating base chapman, probably if not the worst, one of the worst, days for losses in c. I. A. History. Morell absolutely. December, 2009 we lost seven officers. It happened at this base in the Khost Province of afghanistan. A team of c. I. A. Officers waited for this man, humam albalawi. Morell somebody that we hoped to be an asset of ours in this fight had essentially doublecrossed us and detonated a suicide vest. Miller this was the first time that a c. I. A. Asset killed his case officer. Miller but while the attack in khost was the biggest loss of life for the c. I. A. Since the start of the afghan war, the biggest loss of credibility came with the intelligence that led to the invasion of iraq. Morell i think that my biggest mistake was not in scrubbing that analysis more closely. I wish i would have done that. Miller after iraq, c. I. A. Analysts were required to not just analyze the intelligence but also give an assessment of their level of confidence in what the agencys spies were reporting. Morell and so what we really learned from that experience was that analysts need to think about their confidence level and to be very, very clear with policy makers about it. Miller that would happen today . Morell that would happen today. Miller as a matter of discipline . Morell as a matter of course. As a matter of discipline, as a matter of the trade craft of doing intelligence analysis. Miller and that, morell says, was a key factor when the analysts were asked how sure they were Osama Bin Laden would be found hiding in this compound in abbottabad. Morell the lead analyst put the number at 95 . The collective group of analysts put that number at 80 . When i said 60, the president asked me, do you think we should do this . And i said absolutely because i thought it was the best chance we ever had and might be the best chance we would have for a long, long time. Miller this photo, taken in the white house situation room on the night of the raid, was seen everywhere, but the operation was actually being run at c. I. A. Headquarters, inside this room. Morell place was packed with people. Computers everywhere, Video Conferencing with folks in afghanistan, the white house, folks at the pentagon. And just an awful lot of activity when the director and i walked in. Miller a picture captures the moment when mike morell and then c. I. A. Director leon panetta heard the news bin laden had been killed. Morell and thats when they said, geronimo, for god and country, geronimo. And the director and i gave each other a hug at that point. It wasnt a hug of happiness that bin laden had been killed; it was a hug of this is over. Thisthis piece of this story is over. Miller today, bin ladens gun which was never fired on the night of the raid as well as the scale model of bin ladens compound are on display at c. I. A. Headquarters, and as mike morell finishes a career of 33 years assessing the strength and weaknesses of nations, he believes america can manage most external threats. But as an analyst he sees our greatest vulnerability is one generated right here at home. Morell what really keeps me up at night is the inability of our government to make decisions that will push our economy and our society forward. And one of the things i learned looking at the world is that a countrys National Security any countrys National Security is more dependent on the strength of its economy and on the strength of its society than anything else. I think there is for some reason that i dont understand, john, theres been a change from a willingness of the two parties to Work Together to get things done to today, the two parties at each others throat and simply trying to score political points. And i dont know why thats occurred. And i. And i dont have a good understanding of how to fix that. But thats what needs to be fixed. Welcome to the cbs sports update presented by pacific like. Im james brown with scores from around the nfl today. The chiefs remain undefeated while the patriots scored 24 unanswered in their winch andy dalton and drew brees each threw five touches as their teams rolled. Denver scored 31 Fourth Quarter points. Erterrelle pryors recordsettig run paced the raiders to victory. For more sports news and information gosh, to cbssports. Com. He taught me that whales leave footprints, glassy circles on the surface that show us where theyve been and sometimes where theyre going. 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A suite of online tools that lets you turn insight into action. Simon the phrase the greatest show on earth usually refers to the circus, but a man named peter gelb, who runs the metropolitan opera in new york city, is doing everything he can to change that. He is reinventing opera, making it accessible to more people, even those who always thought they would hate it. Gelb wants opera to become as popular and populist as it was a hundred years ago. He believes people would come out in droves for opera if they just had a chance to see it. Theres no other place where you can see such monumental staging, elaborate sets and a cast of hundreds. And raw emotion. Beautiful women. Defiant. And doomed. And special effects that you might expect to find in a hollywood movie. But its not just about the magic, the met is above all about extraordinary voices. Some of the very best voices in the world. Beginning with rehearsals, we followed a new production, a reimagining of Giuseppe Verdis masterpiece rigoletto. Polish tenor Piotr Bezcala belts out one of verdis greatest hits. Whats the difference between singing at the met and singing in the smaller european houses . Piotr beczala its the most important opera house in the world. Simon do you get more nervous before met performance than at other performances . Beczala maybe a little. Maybe a little because i know how important is. It is here. Simon serbian baritone zjelko lucic sings the role of rigoletto. Zeljko lucic this is the kind of crown of our business, coming to new york and metropolitan. Because i know what kind of people, what singers sang here and stood at the same place where i am. Simon in fact, when you sing the first time at the met, is it a very big deal . Lucic yes, because thats your chance to prove yourself. And if you are, you know, if you. How can i say, blew it out . Simon if you blow it . Lucic if you blow it, youre done. Thats it. Simon unlike divas of the past german soprano diana damrau is a working mom, nursing a two month old baby and a cold. She has a lot to contend with. Simon you were quite sick last week . Diana damrau yes. Im still a bit. But i tried not to sing all the time, and reduce a little bit. Simon just a little bit, i mean you were belting it out. Damrau oh, no, only at the end. Simon rigoletto is far from the only thing going on here today. There can be as many as ten operas in production at once. Right now the met stage is being set up for a new version of richard wagners parsifal, a sacred opera thats never been done like this before. Dozens of ravenhaired maidens sloshing around in a river of blood. 1,600 gallons of the stuff, heated so the singers dont get cold. Overseeing all this is that worriedlooking man, peter gelb, the mets general manager. He says opera is a blood sport. Gelb i go in every day to the met knowing that this is. There is a battle to be. To be waged and fought for the survival of this art form. And so im here to do that. Simon this is your seventh year at the met . Gelb yes. Still here. laughs simon seven years micromanaging one of the biggest theatres in the world, and one of the most expensive to run. The met employs over 3,000 people. It spends more than a Million Dollars a day on its productions. Gelb we are the closest thing to an opera factory that one could possibly imagine, except the difference is that all of our factory workers are the greatest artists in the world. Right now. We got it. Wahoo gelb were doing seven performances a week, constantly going from opera to opera, which is why our stage is busier than any other opera house in the world. Its like a giant, self sufficient ocean liner. Simon but that liner was in danger of sinking when gelb took over in 2006. It was awash in debt with falling attendance and an audience which might not be around much longer. Gelb it was way behind the times. And it had become so mired in images of elitism that unless that changed, unless it was prepared to become accessible, as opera once had been, it was going to be very difficult for the met to survive. Simon to make opera more accessible, gelb opened up dress rehearsals to the public for free and put up huge screens in Lincoln Center and times square. And he did something which has never been done before he began transmitting Live Performances in hd to movie theaters around the world, now in 64 countries. Those broadcasts are money makers; this year they grossed nearly 60 million, more than threequarters of total tickets sold. Gelb theres no Opera Company in the world today that has a global audience that the met has because of these live hd transmissions. Simon but youre still a hundred Million Dollars in debt. How does that relate to everything youve done . Gelb operas always in debt. From a business point of view, opera shouldnt exist. I mean, it only exists because there are enough people who love opera, and my job is to try to persuade them that it is necessary to change in order to keep the art form alive. Otherwise. Otherwise it will die with them. Simon one of gelbs strategies to keep opera alive is to update the classics, like rigoletto. After four weeks of rehearsals its opening night. Rigoletto has been performed over 800 times here but this audience, almost 4,000 here and another 350,000 watching in hd as far away as tokyo, is about to see a radically different version. Ten minutes before curtain, you can cut the tension with an a flat. Beczala okay, im ready. Lucic it seems that im not nervous. But, yeah, of course i am. This is a big thing, so im kind of, you know, cooking somewhere here, you have this feeling that everythings. That you are going to throw up. laughs gilda to stage right, please. Ms. Damrau to stage right. Please. Maestro to the pit, please. Maestro to the orchestra pit, please. Simon Giuseppe Verdi set his tale of debauchery, lust, and vengeance in a corrupt court in 16thcentury italy. This one plays out in its modern equivalent las vegas in the 1960s. The heartthrob, the duke, is now a big shot singer and casino owner with an eye for the ladies. The met provides subtitles for its hd broadcasts, and those have been revamped too. Take it easy, fella. Simon its a big role of the dice for peter gelb. Will the old guard be ready for show girls, a pole dancer, even a sharpdressed hit man . His name is sparafucile, one of the longest names in opera. Simon when you decided to put on rigoletto, in las vegas, what worried you the most . Gelb that i was heading for a disaster, but its a risk worth taking. Simon the risk of doing nothing is the greatest risk of all. In the last act the mood changes. Rigoletto will not have a happy ending. Very few operas do. Damrau lets go and die. Lucic yeah, but peacefully. Simon the plot is much too complicated to explain, but well just tell you rigolettos daughter sacrifices herself to save the duke. It will be a spectacular death scene, with the met pulling out all its stops from the chorus backstage, to the lighting team, to the hd crew sending it out live around the world. The hitman offs the daughter and stuffs her into the trunk of a 1960 Cadillac Coupe deville. She breathes her last in her fathers arms. Ready on three. Wait for it. Simon at the final curtain, the audience jumps to its feet, even the orchestra applauds. That doesnt happen every day. For gelb, it was a good night. But in opera, as in so many other things, youre only as good as your next night. Find chinese restaurant. Thats awesome i know, voice activated and great gas mileage. So much better than choosing voice activated or great gas mileage. Thatd be like eating sweet or sour chicken. Oh grrrlg what is this . sour chicken. Its good, right . I think i like and better. 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