Saudis Back Out of Metropolitan Opera’s $200 Million Blood-Money Bailout
The same left-wing elites who experienced spasms of outrage for the better part of a year after the Saudi government was blamed for the murder of The Washington Post In 2018, Jamal Khashoggi now has no problem accepting $200 million from these same Saudis when it means bailing out their precious Metropolitan Opera House.
Well, now the bailout is dead, and everyone is pretty upset and looking to blame the Bad Orange Man.
According to the far left New York Times, Last year, the 142-year-old Met went to the Saudis for a bailout. In exchange for a $200 million endowment payable over eight years, the Met would host a winter resident for three weeks at the Royal Diriyah Opera House, just outside Riyadh.
Met Director General Peter Gelb rationalized his business dealings with these human rights violators and Khashoggi murderers thus:
Under Mr. Gelb’s leadership, the Met has been a staunch defender of political freedom and human rights by supporting Ukraine after the Russian invasion, cutting ties with Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater and with artists who had supported Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, including the star soprano Anna Netrebko.
Mr. Gelb said his support for cultural exchanges with Saudi Arabia was different… “Every democratic government I know is engaged in business with Saudi Arabia,” Mr. Gelb said.
He added this beauty: “I must prioritize the survival of the Met institution. »
Yeah, let’s not fall to the sword of our principles here. What’s a little blood money if it allows your arrogant opera to survive?
The Democrats certainly understood this well.
We learned today that the Saudis backed out of the deal, citing economic disruption caused by Orange Bad Man’s war with Iran and subsequent issues over the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Yes, it’s Trump’s fault.
Hey, maybe Trump will bail out the Met. All you have to do is rename the place the Trumpopolitan Opera House.
The Met is in serious financial difficulty. Since the ridiculous pandemic shutdowns, what amounted to $150 million in annual revenue from ticket sales and live event broadcasts in theaters across the country has collapsed to just $100 million. Even so, that $150 million was only half of the Met’s annual operating budget. The remaining $150 million came from contributions.
How on earth can it cost $300 million a year to put on operas? Where is all this money going?
To fill this gap, in addition to selling its soul to the Saudis, the Met had to dip into its endowments. What represented an allocation of $340 million in 2022 will only represent $216 million in 2026.
Already, the Met only offers 17 operas per year, compared to 25 a few years ago.
The Met is considered an essential American institution… And yet, the cheapest ticket for this Saturday’s production of Bohemia Costs $259 for the balcony, so…
It is in reality only an institution for certain Americans.
