Met Opera Cuts Jobs, Slashes Pay, and Delays New Production Amid Saudi Funding Uncertainty

The Metropolitan Opera announced layoffs of 22 administrative staff and 35 executives earning over $150,000, with 4–15% pay cuts for top earners, and will delay Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina for the 2026–27 season while reducing next year’s slate to 17 productions. The moves stem from concerns about the Saudi funding arrangement that would subsidize the company’s planned performances in Diriyah; officials also floated selling the theater’s two Chagall murals (valued at about $55 million) and possibly selling naming rights, though murals would stay in the building. Gelb and Nézet-Séguin will take temporary pay reductions, with a plan to restore salaries in 2027. The situation follows ongoing controversy over the Saudi deal and its implications for the Met’s finances.