Met Opera Faces Layoffs and Cuts Amid Deepening Financial Crisis

Over the past five years, the Metropolitan Opera has drained money from its endowment, entered a still-tentative $200 million deal with Saudi Arabia and cut back its performance schedule as it struggled to bring stability to an institution hammered by the coronavirus pandemic. But in the latest sign of the persistent financial challenges facing the largest performing arts organization in the country, the Met announced on Tuesday that it would lay off workers, cut the salaries of its top-paid executives and postpone a new production from its coming season. Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager, said in an interview that he was forced to take these steps because of concerns about the deal with Saudi Arabia, under which the Saudis agreed to subsidize the Met in exchange for the company performing at the Royal Diriyah Opera House near Riyadh three weeks each winter. Although Gelb said he remained confident that the deal would come through, his decision to impose the cuts now — midway through the Met’s fiscal year — suggested concern about the future of the Saudi arrangement. When the deal was announced in September, it had seemed like a lifeline for the company, which has an annual budget of $330 million, reflecting the Met’s history of big expenditures on elaborate stage sets and top-tier singers. “I understand the Saudis have had to recalibrate their budgets because of their own economic concerns,” Gelb said. “I’ve been assured that it’s going to go forward. But we have been waiting for some time.” Gelb said the Met was contemplating even more changes in an effort to overhaul its finances. The company, he said, is considering selling the naming rights to its theater, following the lead of two other buildings in the complex: David Geffen Hall, home of the New York Philharmonic, and the David H. Koch Theater, home to New York City Ballet. The Met has retained CAA Sports, the sports branding arm of Creative Artists Agency, to suggest possible affiliations with corporations that might want their names affixed to the house. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.