Metropolitan Opera, facing sharp losses, furloughs dozens
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Saturday, October 12, 2024


Metropolitan Opera, facing sharp losses, furloughs dozens
A dress rehearsal of Puccini's "Turandot" at the Metropolitan Opera House in Manhattan, Sept. 30, 2019. With the prospects of live audiences in serious question, the Metropolitan Opera company said on May 5, 2020, that it would furlough 41 members of its administrative staff. Hiroyuki Ito/The New York Times.

by Zachary Woolfe



NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- The Metropolitan Opera’s nightly streams of archival performances have attracted robust audiences since the company closed its doors in March because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Met has 15,000 new paid subscribers to its on-demand video service.

And its four-hour At-Home Gala on April 25 was a technically impeccable, warmly received endeavor by the struggling company, which has already lost around $60 million because of the virus and stopped paying its orchestra, chorus and stagehands at the end of March.

Yet despite some positive news — emergency fundraising in the tens of millions; 10,000 new donors; its sizable virtual audience — its financial outlook remains grim. The prospect of large gatherings in New York is still far off and the planned opening of the Met’s season in September is in serious question. On Tuesday, the company — the nation’s largest performing arts organization, with a $308 million annual budget — said it would furlough 41 members of its administrative staff, a step it had previously said would not be necessary.

“We have enjoyed greater success than I would have imagined in terms of keeping the Met connected through these various activities, and raising money through the emergency campaign,” Peter Gelb, the company’s general manager, said in an interview. “On the other hand, the magnitude of the long-term damage — the immediate and long-term effects of the health crisis on the performing arts — seem graver and more challenging than they appeared a month ago.”

In addition to the 41 furloughed staff members, 11 others will be cut to part-time hours, out of an administration of 237 people. Those furloughed will receive two weeks of pay and, like the unionized orchestra, chorus and stagehands, will retain their health benefits. The affected employees are spread across the company’s departments, including artistic affairs, production and marketing.

Gelb said he had told the staff that he did not envision further cuts, at least through the summer. But in the interview he added that the Met’s financial picture was complicated by not knowing when operations might resume, and by the likelihood that recovery would be slow, even after reopening.

“It’s very difficult to budget when you have so many uncertainties of timetable,” he said. “The performing arts are going to be the last business to return. We’re still selling tickets for next season, but obviously the fall is in jeopardy at this point. Hard decisions will need to be made in the coming weeks about the opening. Perhaps by some miraculous situation we can return in the fall.”

When the Met announced in March that it would cancel the remaining eight weeks of its season, Gelb said that he would forgo his salary until operations returned to normal, and that senior management and some staff would see pay cuts. But he added that there were no planned salary cuts for those making less than $125,000 a year, and no plans for layoffs of administrative staff members.

“We need an administrative staff to keep the institution running without performances,” Gelb said then. “The business of the Met has to go on.”

© 2020 The New York Times Company










Today's News

May 7, 2020

Jan David Winitz Examines Antique Rugs from the Caucasus Mountains

After racism claims, Boston museum creates diversity fund

Florian Schneider, co-founder of Germany's iconic Kraftwerk, dead at 73

Over 100 arrests in global crackdown on artefacts trade

Artcurial announces highlights included in its prestigious sale devoted to Old Master & 19th Century Art

The Artist's Room, an ode to seclusion and creativity now online at Ordovas

Mónica Ramírez-Montagut appointed Director of Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University

Hauser & Wirth presents online exhibition Nicolas Party. Canopy

Cathie Pilkington RA elected new Keeper of the Royal Academy

Sperone Westwater opens an online-only exhibition of works by Kim Dingle

Russian arts minister tests positive for coronavirus

Kohn Gallery presents Frieze New York Online Viewing Room 2020

Metropolitan Opera, facing sharp losses, furloughs dozens

'Smuggled' poems by jailed Chinese-Swedish bookseller published

National Football Museum to create first ever fan memory bank during lockdown

Frank Frazetta's painting, Bernie Wrightson original art boost Heritage auction above $9 million

Where dance fans can escape from our 'sci-fi horror' moment

Ewbank's to offer unique 3.2m square Game of Thrones piece commissioned by HBO to promote TV series

Pulitzer and Sam Fox School announces ASAP Fund to support creative workers impacted by COVID-19

Important early film by "the mother of all feminist artists" Mary Kelly donated to Brighton Art Gallery

Moving image art platform makes your screen a destination for art

Vienna Secession streaming online Sophie Thun's Stolberggasse

The Gropius Bau will reopen to visitors on Monday, 11 May 2020

The 1918 pandemic's impact on music? Surprisingly little

10 College Art Museums That Can Really Impress

What documents do you need to file bankruptcy?

The best speakers to listen to music like never before




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Holistic Dentist
Abogado de accidentes

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful