Giuliani, an opera lover, has frequently appeared at Met events, and he and Volpe are friends, according to the Times.

Volpe also told the Times that the Metropolitan Opera Guild, which honored the outgoing general director at its annual luncheon on April 20, had originally planned to mark the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth at the event. "My response to them was, 'As soon as [Mozart] appears, I'll follow him," Volpe said. After Volpe made his disappointment clear, Guild president Susan S. Braddock changed the focus of the event.

In another glimpse inside Volpe's final months at the Met, the Times reports that Volpe complained to his successor, Peter Gelb, after Gelb said in an interview that the Met had been "coasting" in recent years.

"I said, 'Peter that is a negative statement, and I'm asking you not to do that again,'" Volpe told the paper. "'You talk about your seasons and the future. However, it's not right to comment on what I've done.'" Gelb apologized, according to Volpe.

Volpe's memoir of his time at the Met, The Toughest Show on Earth, will be released by Knopf tomorrow. On May 20, the Met will host a star-studded gala concert bidding him farewell.