New York's Metropolitan Opera has announced a round of layoffs, pay cuts and programme reductions as it grapples with financial strain. The organisation cited problems left over from the Covid pandemic, which drastically affected performing arts shows across the US and internationally.
The cuts include salary reductions of between 4% and 15% for 35 executives earning more than $150,000, including general manager Peter Gelb, who earned approximately $1.4m in 2024. Music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who earned $2.05m in the most recently disclosed fiscal year, is also affected.
The measures also include 22 layoffs among the company's 284 administrative staff and further reductions in programming. Next season will be cut from 18 productions to 17, with the Met postponing a planned staging of Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina, a 19th-century Russian opera. This marks the fewest shows in over 60 years.
A spokesperson confirmed the cuts, stating they would reduce expenses by $15m for the remaining six months of the fiscal year and by another $25m the following year. The move follows a tentative agreement struck last September with Saudi Arabia, valued at about $200m, for the company to perform each winter for five years at the Royal Diriyah Opera House. Gelb said the cuts were prompted partly by delays and uncertainty surrounding the Saudi agreement.
Other measures floated by Gelb include the possible sale of the theatre’s naming rights, as well as a potential sale of its two Marc Chagall murals, valued at a combined $55m, though any sale would require the works to remain in place. The opera company may also look towards renting out its auditorium to pop artists on nights when it is not running its own programmes.
