“A never-on-Sunday tradition is coming to an end: The Metropolitan Opera will begin performing Sunday matinees next year for the first time,” writes Michael Cooper in Friday’s (9/14) New York Times. “The unions representing the Met’s orchestra, chorus and several other groups finished ratifying a new contract this week that will pave the way to a change, as the company, facing a worrisome decline in attendance, has realized that audiences find it increasingly difficult to squeeze in lengthy operas on weeknights…. Sunday matinees will become a regular part of the Met’s offerings in the 2019-20 season. The following year, the Met will … take a midwinter break in February … and add performances in the late spring…. The Met’s current Saturday matinees regularly outsell weeknight performances by 15 to 20 percent…. Mondays will be the new dark day at the Met on weeks with Sunday matinees…. The Met offered wage increases that will generally amount to eight percent over the course of the three-year contract, as well as improved pension benefits, though workers will have to contribute to their health plans.”
Posted September 18, 2018
