Met Intermission - US Opera

Opera lovers in more than 60 countries have a chance to catch performances at the Metropolitan Opera via live broadcast, either on the radio or in HD performances at movie theaters. Who could do such gigantic things, if not the 131-year-old opera house, which offers space for almost 4,000 patrons and which has always had by far the largest budget among all American opera houses? However, the power house in the cosmopolitan city of New York came near a collapse last summer. Negotiations over new contracts with musicians and other Met employees dragged on for months, and in August, the opera house was on the verge of lockouts, a delay or even cancellations of the season, and a financial disaster. Yet, the critical situation at the Met was just the tip of an iceberg. Other opera houses in the United States are also fighting for survival. And still, the opera scene in the United States is alive, as Georg Hirsch reports.

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