‘Gilded Age’ Star Morgan Spector Reveals Hilarious Personal Opera War with the Met at NYC HBO Event

The Gilded Age Season 2 is centered on the Opera Wars, the historic pissing contest between rich ladies in the 1880s that inadvertently gave rise to New York City’s cultural mecca, the Metropolitan Opera House. To honor the show’s ties to that iconic institution, HBO and the Met co-hosted a special event on November 30 celebrating both The Gilded Age and the opening night of Wagner’s Tannhäuser. Opera fans were treated to an exclusive Q&A panel with Gilded Age stars Carrie Coon, Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Morgan Spector, Louisa Jacobson, and Denée Benton before the opera started — and Decider was there.

Throughout the panel, hosted by C. Graham Berwind III, Vice President of the Metropolitan Opera, attendees were treated to many nerdy Gilded Age tidbits — Carrie Coon confessed to getting Cheeto dust on her bodice during night shoots, while Louisa Jacobson revealed she got the costume department to loosen her corset a good three inches between Seasons 1 and 2 so she could breathe — but the juiciest moment hit closer to home for both Morgan Spector and the Met.

About halfway into the panel, Berwind pointed out that Spector’s mother-in-law was the late, great mezzo and soprano Maria Ewing. Berwind’s innocuous question about Spector’s memories of Ewing revealed that The Gilded Age star has his own Opera War with the Met: he wants Ewing’s picture back on the iconic concert hall’s wall.

Again, the exchange started pleasantly enough. Berwind pointed out Spector’s “special connection to the Met,” since he’s married to actress, writer, and director Rebecca Hall, the daughter of Maria Ewing and fellow theater luminary Sir Peter Hall.

“[Ewing] had a very significant career at this opera house. What was she like? Did she ever share any memories of her time here?” Berwind asked.

“I don’t know if I can think of any specific memories of Maria here. I know my wife Rebecca used to, when Maria was performing here, she used to run up and down the stairs and be looked after by the costume department,” Spector said, eliciting adoring sighs from the audience. “So this is very much, it’s a very nostalgic place. It feels like home.”

“Oh, I do have a bone to pick, though,” Spector said, shifting his tone from nostalgic to teasing, immediately prompting laughter. “Because Maria’s picture used to be on the wall over there and you guys took it off!”

“I came here with her granddaughter to be like, ‘Oh, check it out…Oh, I guess that’s not true anymore. I was making that up. Sorry.'” 

Spector then looked at Berwind and said, “Maybe think about it.” 

After the crowd’s applause and laughter died down, Berwind feigned total innocence, looked around and said, “Will whoever took Maria’s picture down?”

Then he said more sincerely, “Morgan, I’ll follow up on that for you.”

It remains to be seen if the Metropolitan Opera will in fact put Maria Ewing’s portrait back on its walls, but if Morgan Spector has any of the pull that his Gilded Age character George Russell has, we anticipate the change to be made tout suite.

The next episode of The Gilded Age premieres this Sunday, December 3 on HBO and Max.