Metropolitan Opera to lay off staff, cut executive pay and trim season

The Metropolitan Opera announced on Tuesday that it will lay off workers, cut the salaries of top-paid executives and reduce its programming, marking a new round of retrenchment at the largest performing arts organization in the country. Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager, said he was forced to take the steps in part because of concerns about a still-tentative $200 million deal with Saudi Arabia.

The company has drawn $120 million from its $217.5 million endowment since 2022 and operates on an annual budget of about $330 million, the Met has said; the announced measures are expected to save $15 million this fiscal year and $25 million the next. The cuts include postponing a new production of Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina, reducing the next season to 17 productions from 18, and eliminating 22 administrative posts out of 284.

Thirty-five executives who make more than $150,000 will face graduated pay cuts of 4 percent to 15 percent; Gelb said the reductions are temporary and that full pay would be restored by August 2027 or sooner if the Met’s finances improve. Disclosure forms cited Gelb’s pay last year at nearly $1.4 million and Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s pay at about $2.05 million for the fiscal year that ended in 2024.

Gelb said the company is also considering selling naming rights to its theater, leasing the house to pop artists, and possibly selling two Chagall murals that Sotheby’s values at $55 million, while retaining their placement.

Key Topics

Culture, Metropolitan Opera, Peter Gelb, Saudi Arabia, Chagall Murals, Endowment