Gérard Mortier, the acclaimed general director of the Paris Opera, has been snapped up by the Teatro Real opera in Madrid.

Early this month, Mortier cancelled plans to take over as general manager and artistic director of the New York City Opera, saying the company hadn't raised enough money to pay for the kind of season he wanted to stage.

Mortier had demanded a $60-million US budget for his first season in New York.

The Belgian-born director is known for his flambuoyant and sometimes controversial productions, including a recent Paris production of The Magic Flute in which actors wore neon-lit jumpsuits.

He made his start at La Monnaie in Brussels and was director at the Salzburg Festival in the 1990s, scandalizing traditional opera patrons with updated and sometimes political productions.

Teatro Real has struggled for years to be considered on the same level as other great European opera houses.

The hiring of Mortier, announced Wednesday, is considered a coup.

Mortier, 65, will replace both artistic director Antonio Moral and musical director Jesus Lopez Cobos, whose contracts expire in 2010.

He will work with the Teatro Real's permanent team of orchestra directors, taking up his new post in January 2010.

With files from the Associated Press