NY's Metropolitan Opera reports 2009 fiscal woes

[June 17, 2010]  NEW YORK (AP) -- New York's Metropolitan Opera has survived a brutal fiscal year.

According to 2009 tax returns filed this week the company lost tens of millions of dollars on Wall Street while expenses kept climbing. The Met finished the year with its net worth down to $236 million from $380 million a year earlier.

General Manager Peter Gelb tells The Associated Press the costs of running the world's biggest opera house have always been greater than its earned revenues. But he says the Met is now attracting larger audiences with new productions and high-definition live broadcasts in movie theaters.

The tax filings appear to show a drop in donor support, but a spokesman says they'll rise 5 percent this season.

[Associated Press]

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