Met Opera Donations Hit A Record
The Metropolitan Opera is rightly trumpeting the fact that for the most recent fiscal year it raised a record amount of contributions: $182 million, which is 50 percent more than it raised the year before. Bravo! It also has a balanced budget currently. Bravo again! At the same time, significant financial problems remain. The Met is carrying $41 million in debt. Ticket sales declined last year. The endowment remains damaged by the recession. Board members have been writing bigger checks lately to cover shortfalls, but the days when a Rockefeller or Astor type of tycoon could banish problems with the stroke of a pen are over.
