Dear listeners,
Thanks to all of you who tuned in for my and Megan’s Substack live chat with Phil Chan, who accompanied me to La Traviata at the New York Metropolitan Opera this week, and who has fascinating ideas about how to save opera — updating it to make it more relevant to modern audiences, drawing in younger attendees, and ultimately making it more financially sustainable at a time when opera organizations like the Met are under severe financial stress.
If you weren’t able to join us live for the conversation, a replay is available here for paying subscribers. And here are some relevant links:
The New York Times on financial difficulties at the Met, which spent down more than 20% of its endowment last year to finance ongoing operations.
And the Times on similar financial difficulties for for-profit Broadway producers, who keep losing money on musicals and are increasingly turning to less-expensive plays.
WGBH on Phil’s 2023 reimagining of Madama Butterfly for the Boston Lyric Opera.
We hope you enjoyed the conversation and we look forward to being back in your ears next week.
Best,
Josh
