Around the Music Festival

Metropolitan Opera President Peter Gelb revealed in an interview with The New York Times that changes to the partnership agreement signed with Saudi Arabia last summer may be necessary, forcing the opera house to restructure.

Under the agreement, the opera house was to receive over $100 million in funding over five years and stage three weeks of touring performances each winter at the Royal Opera House in Diriyah, near the capital Riyadh.

According to the report, the plan involves dismissing 22 managers and reducing the salaries of 35 executives earning over $150,000 annually by 4 to 15 percent. In addition to Gelb, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the music director who received $2.05 million in compensation for the 2024 fiscal year, will also see his pay cut. These personnel cost reductions are expected to save $15 million this fiscal year and $25 million next fiscal year.

Additionally, the 2026/2027 season’s program has been reduced from 18 to 17 productions, with the cancellation of the planned new production of Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina, directed by Simon McBurney and conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen.

Additionally, the theater is selling its naming rights. It is also considering selling two Chagall murals displayed on either side of the entrance. These masterpieces, valued at a total of $55 million by auction giant Sotheby’s, were commissioned by the theater in the 1960s. The sale is contingent upon the murals remaining in the theater.

President Gelb extended his term until 2030 last September and announced the introduction of funding from Saudi Arabia during the contract renewal.

He explained that this would stabilize the theater’s financial situation until 2032. However, due to Saudi Arabia’s economic circumstances, there is now a risk that the five-year contract could be altered, prompting the decision to proceed with this restructuring.

PHOTO：Municipal Art Society of New York　/　Billie Grace Ward