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Metropolitan Opera risks its celebrated Chagalls
Published: 04 March, 2009, 13:28
"The Triumph of Music" by Marc Chagall, NYC Lincoln Center Metropolitan Opera House (copyright Carol E Goodman, all rights reserved)
TAGS: Art
In an attempt to cope with financial difficulties, the Metropolitan Opera in New York has put up its famous Marc Chagall murals from the lobby as collateral on a loan.
According to the Met’s general manager Peter Gelb, the opera house is using the two murals to collaterise its loan from JPMorgan Chase. He would not reveal the value and purpose of the loan or the art works’ estimated value.
Gelb stressed that they “have no intention of giving up the Chagalls”, thus downplaying earlier media speculation.
“The Triumph of Music” and “The Sources of Music,” were commissioned in the 1960s for the Met's lobby at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. The giant murals, measuring 30 feet by 36 feet, are beloved New York treasures.
Several years ago the opera house sold backdrops to “The Magic Flute” designed by Chagall. Although the price was not made public back then, experts estimate it was around US$1 million.
With the Met’s US$ 300 million endowment shrinking by a third, it is facing extreme budgetary deficits next season. It has already cut senior staff members' salaries by 10 per cent and cancelled some of its most expensive productions.
The opera house management plans to ask singers across the board to donate a portion of their fees next season. Some prominent artists have already agreed to do so, said Peter Gelb, though he did not give their names.
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