NEW YORK (AP) – Needing to trim its $300 million budget, the Metropolitan Opera canceled next year’s production of Verdi’s “La Forza del Destino,” which was to have been the debut of provocative Spanish director Calixto Bieito.
Met General Manager Peter Gelb said the decision was made several months ago and will save about $1 million. He wanted to make the announcement ahead of the release of next season’s schedule.
“It’s obviously something that I’m not happy to be doing,” he said Friday. While the budget is balanced, he said it “needs to come down given the state of earned revenue.”
Gelb said it would not have been workable to attempt to raise more money for this specific production. “There’s a limited number of people who give us large donations,” he said. “We have to have credibility with our donors that we’re taking responsible actions.”
The production, first seen at the English National Opera in November 2015, was to have been the company debut of Bieito, whose work is known for its liberal nudity and unusual settings, such as having men sitting on toilets reading newspapers in the opening of a 2000 staging of Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Machera (A Masked Ball)” in Barcelona, Spain.