FY19 Annual Report View Report
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Annual Report 2018–19 3 Introduction 5 Metropolitan Opera Board of Directors 6 Season Repertory and Events 14 Artist Roster 16 The Financial Results 20 Our Patrons On the cover: Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes a bow after his first official performance as Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director PHOTO: JONATHAN TICHLER / MET OPERA 2 Introduction The 2018–19 season was a historic one for the Metropolitan Opera. Not only did the company present more than 200 exiting performances, but we also welcomed Yannick Nézet-Séguin as the Met’s new Jeanette Lerman- Neubauer Music Director. Maestro Nézet-Séguin is only the third conductor to hold the title of Music Director since the company’s founding in 1883. I am also happy to report that the 2018–19 season marked the fifth year running in which the company’s finances were balanced or very nearly so, as we recorded a very small deficit of less than 1% of expenses. The season opened with the premiere of a new staging of Saint-Saëns’s epic Samson et Dalila and also included three other new productions, as well as three exhilarating full cycles of Wagner’s Ring and a full slate of 18 revivals. The Live in HD series of cinema transmissions brought opera to audiences around the world for the 13th season, with ten broadcasts reaching more than two million people. Combined earned revenue for the Met (box office, media, and presentations) totaled $121 million. As in past seasons, total paid attendance for the season in the opera house was 75%. The new productions in the 2018–19 season were the work of three distinguished directors, two having had previous successes at the Met and one making his company debut. After winning a Tony Award in 2014 for his direction of the Broadway hit A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, Darko Tresnjak brought his theatrical vision to the Met for the first time with the opulent Opening Night staging of Samson et Dalila. Another Tony Award– winner, Michael Mayer returned to the Met to direct both the North American premiere of American composer Nico Muhly’s Marnie and a new staging of Verdi’s La Traviata, the latter marking Nézet-Séguin’s first official performances as Music Director. And with eight prior Met productions to his credit, Sir David McVicar helped ring in the new year with a new staging of Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur. Several of the world’s most celebrated conductors took the podium for the new productions, including Mark Elder, Nicola Luisotti, Robert Spano, and Gianandrea Noseda. Maestro Nézet-Séguin also led revivals of two 20th-century French masterpieces, Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande and Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites. As always, the Met welcomed the world’s best singers, with new productions alone featuring such stars as Roberto Alagna, Piotr Beczała, Diana Damrau, Iestyn Davies, Juan Diego Flórez, Elina Garanča, Denyce Graves, Anita Hartig, Quinn Kelsey, Isabel Leonard, Christopher Maltman, Anna Netrebko, and Anita Rachvelishvili. Revivals, including performances of the Ring, featured Ildar Abdrazakov, Jamie Barton, Angel Blue, Stephanie Blythe, Joseph Calleja, Javier Camarena, Joyce DiDonato, Yusif Eyvazov, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Christine Goerke, Greer Grimsley, Günther Groissböck, Jonas Kaufmann, Tomasz Konieczny, Aleksandra Kurzak, Željko Lučić, Ambrogio Maestri, Peter Mattei, Eric Owens, Ailyn Pérez, Matthew Polenzani, Sondra Radvanovsky, Andreas Schager, Golda Schultz, Nadine Sierra, Stuart Skelton, Stefan Vinke, Michael Volle, Eva-Maria Westbroek, Pretty Yende, and Sonya Yoncheva. Through the Live in HD series, the Met transmitted performances to 2,309 movie theaters in 72 countries around the world, with total attendance of 2.2 million. The series was once again supported by its founding sponsor, the Neubauer Family Foundation, and its digital sponsor, Bloomberg Philanthropies. This season also marked the first season that Rolex supported the series. The HD Live in Schools program enabled thousands of students in 48 school districts across 38 states to experience live opera performances free of charge. Performances were also shared through Metropolitan Opera Radio on Sirius XM, which presented 71 performances; on the Met’s website, which streamed 33 performances; and over the Toll Brothers–Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network, which broadcast 23 live Saturday performances. The Opening Night performance was presented live to On the cover: Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes a bow after his first official performance audiences in Times Square for the 13th consecutive year. as Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director PHOTO: JONATHAN TICHLER / MET OPERA 3 A number of new members joined the Board and a few Directors changed categories during the 2018–19 season. Dr. Frayda B. Lindemann is now President and CEO of the Metropolitan Opera, and Tod Johnson is now Vice President of the Board. C. Graham Berwind, III, and Kenneth R. Feinberg were elected Managing Directors; C. Thomas Kunz and Sharon Wee were elected Members of the Association; and Maxwell J. Murphy was elected a Young Associate Director. Noreen Buckfire and Frances Marzio, previously Advisory Directors, are now Managing Directors. Dr. Steve Prystowsky, previously a Member of the Association, is now an Advisory Director. Bryan M. Fabiano and Michael J. Woods, previously Young Associate Directors, are now Members of the Association. The Board members and I have enjoyed working closely with General Manager Peter Gelb, Maestro Nézet- Séguin, and all the members of the Met company, whom I thank for their work and dedication. I look forward to more successful seasons ahead. Ann Ziff chairman metropolitan opera board of directors 4 Metropolitan Opera Board of Directors Ann Ziff MANAGING DIRECTORS HONORARY DIRECTORS MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION YOUNG ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS CHAIRMAN Mrs. Veronica Atkins Bruce Crawford Mahmoud M. Abdallah Amanda S. Brainerd Mercedes T. Bass Edgar Foster Daniels Dr. Joan Taub Ades Jordan A. D. Fudge Dr. Frayda B. Lindemann Frank A. Bennack, Jr. Emily Fisher Landau Agnieszka R. Balaban Robert M. Iommazzo PRESIDENT AND CHIEF C. Graham Berwind, III Mrs. Walter J. Laughery, Jr. R. Joseph Barnett So-Chung Shinn Lee EXECUTIVE OFFICER Susan S. Braddock Mrs. Alexander M. Laughlin Jane Beasley Pedro Magalhães Noreen Buckfire Paul M. Montrone Eleanor N. Caulkins Julie Warner McAskin Mercedes T. Bass Alexa Bator Chae Howard Solomon Dr. Patrizia A. Cavazzoni Maxwell J. Murphy VICE CHAIR Nabil N. Chartouni Betsy Cohn Evelyn M. M. Popp William C. Morris CHAIR OF THE EXECUTIVE Betsy Cohen ADVISORY DIRECTORS Robert J. Cubitto Chad J. Shampine COMMITTEE Leonard S. Coleman, Jr. M. Beverly Bartner Robert G. Edge Itai Shoffman Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Judith-Ann Corrente Ellen S. Berelson Beatrice Esteve Siddhartha Shukla SECRETARY Rena De Sisto Stephen Berger Bryan M. Fabiano Kevin M. Tagami Betsy Cohen Elizabeth M. Eveillard Stanley M. Bergman Sanford H. Fisher Eric S. Wei TREASURER Kenneth R. Feinberg Ms. Angela Chao Heather H. Georges Satoko Yahata Tod Johnson Marina Kellen French Daniel C. Cochran Rosalind Glaser VICE PRESIDENT Beth A. Grosshans Carol E. Domina G. Morris Gurley Ekkehart Hassels-Weiler Gordon P. Getty Barbara Guss Christine F. Hunter Rolf Heitmeyer Richard Gilbert Mrs. Randolph H. Guthrie HONORARY CHAIR Marlene Hess Nancy A. Green O. Delton Harrison, Jr. James W. Kinnear H. M. Agnes Hsu-Tang, Ph.D. H. Alexandra Kauka Hamill Erik Hartmann HONORARY CHAIR Christine F. Hunter Howard W. Hunter Ronnie S. Hawkins Paul M. Montrone Frederick Iseman Linda E. Johnson Matthew G. Hurd PRESIDENT EMERITUS David Henry Jacobs Dr. Herbert G. Kloiber Vikas Kapoor Tod Johnson Dr. David G. Knott Mrs. Martin S. Kimmel James W. Kinnear Theodore A. Kurz Klaus Kleinfeld EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Bruce Kovner Dominique Laffont Meyer G. Koplow Mercedes T. Bass Camille D. LaBarre Marguerite L. Lee C. Thomas Kunz Frank A. Bennack, Jr. Harry T. Lee Helen Y. Little Sandra Ourusoff Massey Betsy Cohen Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Andrew J. Martin-Weber John L. McGraw Judith-Ann Corrente Dr. Frayda B. Lindemann Dafna Meitar-Nechmad Mrs. Peter H. Nicholas Elizabeth M. Eveillard Frances Marzio Richard J. Miller, Jr. Thomas J. Reid Ekkehart Hassels-Weiler Kathryn A. Miller Linda Mirels Cynthia D. Sculco Christine F. Hunter William R. Miller Franci Neely Paul J. Sekhri Tod Johnson William C. Morris Marta Nottebohm Mrs. William F. Sondericker Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Sana H. Sabbagh Ellen F. Oelsner Jackson Tai Dr. Frayda B. Lindemann Marc I. Stern Katharina Otto-Bernstein Barry Tucker William C. Morris Hon. David A. Straz, Jr. Miss Leontyne Price George L. Van Amson Robert L. Turner Ambassador Nicholas F. Dr. Steve Prystowsky Sharon Wee Ann Ziff Taubman Donna Kesselman Michael J. Woods Douglas Dockery Thomas Raggio, M.D. Robert I. Toll Mark H. Rosenberg Robert L. Turner Winthrop Rutherfurd, Jr. Ann Ziff Jacqui Smith Daisy M. Soros Kimberly V. Strauss John J. Veronis Arete S. Warren 5 Season Repertory and Events 6 Season Repertory NEW PRODUCTIONS Camille Saint-Saëns SAMSON ET DALILA Francesco Cilea CONDUCTOR Mark Elder ADRIANA LECOUVREUR PRODUCTION Darko Tresnjak* SET DESIGNER Alexander Dodge* CONDUCTOR Gianandrea Noseda COSTUME DESIGNER Linda Cho* PRODUCTION Sir David McVicar LIGHTING DESIGNER Donald Holder SET DESIGNER Charles Edwards CHOREOGRAPHER Austin McCormick COSTUME DESIGNER Brigitte Reiffenstuel LIGHTING DESIGNER Adam Silvermann Production a gift of the Gramma Fisher Foundation, Marshalltown, Iowa, and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang, PhD. and Oscar Tang CHOREOGRAPHER Andrew George Additional funding from The