In the past 137 years, the Metropolitan Opera has been through rather a lot. This year can now be included in the history books as its most challenging yet, in light of the decision to cancel of the fall season as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak. This marks the longest hiatus in the company’s history, with no clear end point in sight.
The nation’s largest performing arts organisation is being observed by all others in the sector. The decision to cancel all events for the foreseeable bodes as poorly for the Met as it does the sector as a whole.
Peter Gelb, the general manager of the company, has said that: “It’s transparently obvious that social distancing and grand opera cannot go together,” he continued. “It’s not just the audience; it’s the health of the company. You cannot put a symphony orchestra inside a pit, and performers and a chorus in intimate proximity on the stage of the Met.”
Gelb added that it would be impractical and financially unsound to perform to an audience of 500 in their 3,800-seat auditorium. “How do you get them in?” he asked. “How do you get them out?”
Finances are atop the list of Gelb’s priorities – members of the chorus have not been paid since March. “The Met’s financial position was somewhat fragile before the pandemic,” he notes. “This has increased the economic risks significantly. On the other hand, it has become a rallying cry to the Met, and to its supporters, of the urgent need to address it and come up with solutions. Because nobody wants the Met to fail.”
“The future of the Met is going to be very different,” he concludes.
