Dear George:
The untimely and tragic death of Goeran Gentele came as a shock to me personally and to countless fellow Americans.
His tenure at the Metropolitan Opera Association revealed an able man who had a clear perception of his enormous responsibilities to maintain the Metropolitan Opera's prestigious role as a great international opera house, and one who possessed the vision to set new patterns for opera programming in the near future.
Mrs. Gentele and her daughter are in our thoughts and prayers at this difficult time, and Mrs. Nixon and I hope that you will convey to them our deepest sympathy as well as our heartfelt wishes for their recovery.
Sincerely,
RICHARD NIXON
[Mr. George S. Moore, Chairman of the Board, Metropolitan Opera Association, Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, New York 10023]
Note: Mr. Gentele, 54, died in an automobile accident on July 18, 1972, while vacationing on the Italian island of Sardinia in the Mediterranean. His daughters, Anne and Beatrice, were killed, and Mrs. Gentele and her daughter Janette were injured in the accident.
Mr. Gentele was director of the Royal Opera House in Stockholm, Sweden, from 1963 through 1971. His appointment as general manager of the Metropolitan Opera for the 1972-73 season was announced in 1970, but he officially assumed the position July 1972.
The text of the letter was made available to the press.
Richard Nixon, Letter About the Death of the Metropolitan Opera's General-Manager, Goeran Gentele Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/254655