Met Opera $31M in black in 2019-20 as pandemic starts

The Metropolitan Opera showed a tax return revealing it is $31 million in the black during the fiscal year that ended last July 31, but the company said the figure included mostly pledges for future years

The Metropolitan Opera showed a tax return revealing it is $31 million in the black during the fiscal year that ended last July 31, but the company said the figure included mostly pledges for future years. The company’s tax return, released Thursday, showed revenue fell by $13 million for the season that included the initial months of the pandemic and salaries dropped by $41 million. The Met said it operated at a balance budget in 2019-20. Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin earned $915,571, up from $392,152 in the fiscal year ending July 31, 2019, when he conducted two productions in his first season, succeeding James Levine as the Met’s music director. Met general manager Peter Gelb earned $1.46 million in the latest fiscal year, down slightly from $1.49 million.