Appointed general manager and artistic director Gerard Mortier has departed his position at City Opera, ultimately taking with him the two works which he commissioned as part of his proposed programming, Variety reports. The paper states that Mortier, who was to officially begin his duties in 2009, left City Opera due to budgetary constraints that would have hindered his intended programming that included Charles Wuorinen's opera based on the short story and subsequent Academy Award-winning film "Brokeback Mountain," as well as The Perfect American, the Philip Glass opera about the life of Walt Disney.

Mortier hopes that the productions, both of which were to premiere at City Opera in the 2012-2013 season, will find homes elsewhere.

Appointed in 2007, Mortier is currently director of the Opéra National de Paris. He has served as the director of the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie/Brussels Opera, the Salzburg Festival and the Ruhr Triennale.