Report: Met Plans Budget Cuts

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Classic Arts News Report: Met Plans Budget Cuts The Metropolitan Opera is planning to cut its budget for the current season in order to ward off a deficit, the Associated Press reports.

By Ben Mattison

December 16, 2005

A memo from general manager Joseph Volpe, which was obtained by the AP, told department heads to cut their expenses by 5 percent. In the memo, Volpe said that the company expects to sell about 76 percent of tickets this year, and that the company is currently projecting a $4.3 million deficit.

According to the AP, Met audiences often reached 90 percent of capacity in the 1990s.

The company declined to comment on the memo.

The news agency also reports that the Met has made three hires as Volpe's tenure comes to an end. Coralie Toevs, a former New York Philharmonic fundraiser, has become director of development; Thomas Michel, who comes from the Public Theater, has been named director of marketing; and Elena Park, an executive at the public radio station WNYC, has been named director of communications.

Peter Gelb, the former president of Sony Classical, will replace Volpe in August.

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