The Met Facing Bleak Future Under Gelb?

Dear raeders, I have recently found out that the Met is facing just as much of a loss with its funding as many other institutions and companies are across our great nation. Peter Gelb, the company's General Manager, has been quoted by the New York Times as saying:

"The economic crisis has had an effect on all cultural institutions, and the Met is no exception. It's affected our endowment, it's affected our cash flow, it's affected our revenue streams. What we don't want is for it to affect our artistic productivity."

Hopefully it will not lessen the standards of opera being produced there, but sacrifices must inevitably be made somewhere. As of the time of the article on the subject, Gelb was attempting to discuss with the Met's principal singers the possibility of taking a cut in performance fees. Let us hope they follow the examples of singers during the Great Depression who cut their fees drastically. If one is interested they can read more on the situation here at Opera News