NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — The Metropolitan Opera is considering the sale of naming rights for the storied Metropolitan Opera House as the company looks for ways to solidify their financial prospects.
In an interview with theNew York Times, The Met's general manager Peter Gelb said that the Met needs to be creative to ensure a strong financial future.
“The last thing that we can do is sit idly by,” Mr. Gelb told the Times. “We have to keep poking the tires and looking at new ways of approaching the art itself in the form of new productions and commissions, and also looking at the physical plant of the Met, and how we perform. We’re looking at everything.”
Gelb declined to speculate on what naming rights of the building might cost but suggested that it could be tied into planned renovations at the opera house.
“We’re looking for a significant gift — a major gift that could somehow be associated with this front-of-house renovation and perhaps even the naming of the building,” Gelb said.
Gelb also suggested that they were considering developing a touring opera company. Inspired by last season's production of "Pagliacci" which featured a troupe of traveling performers, the scheme would see the Met fielding an opera truck to stage small scale performances, replete with a small orchestra, to communities around New York. For the project, tentatively titled "MET2GO," the Met has partnered with Dutch director Lotte de Beer, who has an organization, Operafront, which does similar work in the Netherlands. Gelb is currently raising money for the project and hopes to stage a traveling version of Verdi's "La Pagliacci," The New York Times said. – Staff Writers
