Metropolitan Opera's money crunch- Page 2

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 9/5/25 at 2:01pm

Huss417 said: "BorisTomashevsky said: "“Significant portions of the set were rebuilt”≠ “The set was rebuilt”"

Typical MAGA. You never can admit when you are wrong."

I will admit that SOME of the set was rebuilt. But not the entire set. “The set” implies the entire set.

[Huss417]

Posted: 9/5/25 at 2:08pm

BorisTomashevsky said: "Huss417 said: "BorisTomashevsky said: "“Significant portions of the set were rebuilt”≠ “The set was rebuilt”"

Typical MAGA. You never can admit when you are wrong."

I will admit that SOME of the set was rebuilt. But not the entire set. “The set” implies the entire set."

This is the last comment from me as I don't want to see you derail  another thread. 

You said the set hasn't been touched in 20 years. And now you want to go into the whole thing about semantics. 
If that makes you feel like you are still correct you do you Boo...................

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 9/5/25 at 2:15pm

Semantics means “meaning”. Meaning is important. It’s why “your side” can’t agree on anything and has such flimsy arguments, because no one can agree on what anything means, and there are no boundaries or definitions or parameters to the universe. 

[Birdie Boy]

Posted: 9/5/25 at 2:58pm

When you said it hasn’t been touched in 20 years, that was wrong. You went on and said it still has dust since the countdown to the year 2000 and the shops haven’t seen a fresh coat of paint since they were first painted. That was all wrong. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 9/5/25 at 9:35pm

When City Opera added musical revivals to its seasons, it was the 1980s: Broadway revivals were rarer than they are now, places like Encores didn't exist, and the locals-to-tourists ratio of NYC theatergoing was different.

I also think a lot of musical theatre rightsholders would NOT want their works being placed into the Met repertoire nowadays and repeated every few years (which would prevent commercial producers from doing a Broadway mounting). Unless it was a reeeaally niche title that was unlikely to ever get a Bway revival (and in that case, it might struggle to sell at the Met).

I'd be all for the Met commissioning new works that blur the lines between opera and musical theatre, and I am all for musical theatre composers writing operas. Opera purists might feel otherwise.

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 9/5/25 at 9:41pm

Birdie Boy said: "When you said it hasn’t been touched in 20 years, that was wrong. You went on and said it still has dust since the countdown to the year 2000 and the shops haven’t seen a fresh coat of paint since they were first painted. That was all wrong."

I was talking about the act 2 set. If only acts 1, 3, and 4 have been worked on (as stated in the article), and act 2 is the one with streets and shops, and if it’s the only one I’ve seen up close with dust and peeling paint… then I’m still right. 

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 9/5/25 at 9:51pm

When I said the sets hadn’t been touched in 20 years, I of course was referring to the pieces that are cobalt blue; they repainted everything else but they didn’t touch those pieces and you’re the moron if you didn’t understand that. 

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 9/5/25 at 10:11pm

Please. A person is allowed to see an unmaintained set piece and reasonably assume that no maintenance has been done on the set. 

[Birdie Boy]

Posted: 9/5/25 at 10:14pm

Adam Guettel to me is the perfect composer who blurs the lines between musical theater and opera.  Light in the piazza actually has been done in opera houses, I think Renee Fleming played it.  The hours also blurred the lines beautifully.  Andrew Lloyd webbers Aspects of love could easily be done at the opera, it’s gorgeous 

[MezzA101]

Posted: 9/21/25 at 3:51pm

Fears Amid Cheers for the Metropolitan Opera

The company, now on the cusp of its new season, recently announced a lucrative agreement with the Saudi Music Commission—but much more will be needed if it is to rescue itself from its dire economic position

 

https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/music/fears-amid-cheers-for-the-metropolitan-opera-959ddf34?st=3QX1EL&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink.

[The Bandstand]

Posted: 9/22/25 at 1:11pm

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/arts/music/kavalier-clay-met-opera-review.html
 

mixed review from the nyt on their first production of the season, directed by Bart Sher.  It got mixed positive reviews overall. 

[MezzA101]

Posted: 1/21/26 at 8:30am

Despite Drastic Financial Steps, Met Opera Turns to Layoffs and Cuts

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/20/arts/music/met-opera-budget-cuts.html?unlocked_article_code=1.GFA.Medv.kve7QP6oPirw&smid=nytcore-android-share

[Wick3]

Posted: 1/21/26 at 9:08am

"The 35 executives who make more than $150,000 a year will see graduated cuts in their pay of 4 percent to 15 percent, depending on their salaries. Among those affected is Gelb, who last year made nearly $1.4 million. Also included is Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the music director, who was paid about $2.05 million, both as the music director and for performances he conducted, for the fiscal year that ended in 2024, the latest year that disclosure forms are available."

I feel for the Met employees who make less than $150k and are being laid off.  As for Gelb or Nezet-Seguin? They'll be fine.

[Islander_fan]

Posted: 1/21/26 at 9:26am

I had initially read about all this in an article in the NY Times. 
 

One thing Gelb mentioned is that they are considering was to turn the Met into a concert venue in the offseason. This is during the gap between ABTs season ending and when the Met reopens for the next season. The article mentioned that The Last Ship starring Sting was an example he gave 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/21/26 at 9:50am

It makes total sense to rent it out for concerts or other events, especially if the Met produces fewer productions. They don’t need to be precious about the hall, and hopefully they can bring in an aggressive booker. At 3800 seats it’s an ideal intermediate size between the Beacon and Radio City.