你想買下紐約大都會(huì)歌劇院的冠名權(quán)嗎
A bigger glass lobby stretching into Lincoln Center’splaza. Operas on Sunday. And perhaps, following the lead of its neighboring theaters recentlyrenamed for David Geffen and David H. Koch, slapping another wealthy donor’s name on thestoried Metropolitan Opera House.
修建一個(gè)延伸至林肯中心(Lincoln Center)廣場(chǎng)的更大的玻璃大堂。周日也安排歌劇演出。也許會(huì)效仿周圍的劇院——它們最近分別以戴維·格芬(David Geffen)和戴維·H·科克(David H. Koch)命名——把另一位富有捐款人的名字刻在歷史悠久的大都會(huì)歌劇院(Metropolitan Opera House)的墻上。
These ideas, disclosed by Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager, in an interview as heprepared to begin his 10th season at the helm of the company, suggest a renewed focus ondrawing new audiences and raising desperately needed money for the opera, where attendancehas struggled. If Mr. Gelb’s first decade was notable for technological innovations thatbroadened the Met’s reach outward — his popular “Live in HD simulcasts of operas at cinemasreached 2.6 million people last season — much of what he would like to do in the comingseasons looks inward.
大都會(huì)歌劇院的總經(jīng)理彼得·蓋爾布(Peter Gelb)在采訪中透露了上述想法。他即將開始第十季對(duì)該劇院的掌管。他說(shuō)，他將把重點(diǎn)轉(zhuǎn)向吸引新觀眾，為歌劇院籌集急需的資金。劇院此前的上座率不夠理想。如果說(shuō)蓋爾布在大都會(huì)歌劇院第一個(gè)十年最重要的貢獻(xiàn)是技術(shù)革新，擴(kuò)大歌劇院外部的影響范圍——上一季，他組織了Live in HD活動(dòng)，同時(shí)在多家影院播放歌劇，很受歡迎，有260萬(wàn)觀眾觀看了演出——那么，未來(lái)幾季他主要想做的事有關(guān)于內(nèi)部。
“The last thing that we can do is sit idly by, Mr. Gelb said during the interview in his office. “We have to keep poking the tires and looking at new ways of approaching the art itself in theform of new productions and commissions, and also looking at the physical plant of the Met,and how we perform. We’re looking at everything.
“我們最不該無(wú)所事事，蓋爾布在自己的辦公室接受采訪時(shí)說(shuō)，“我們必須不斷檢查，尋找展示藝術(shù)的新方法，推出新劇目或委托作品，同時(shí)察看大都會(huì)歌劇院的設(shè)施和效益。我們?cè)诓炜匆磺小?/p>
After several years of serious fiscal challenges, the Met’s recent cost-cutting — including fromits artists and its workers, who agreed to their first pay cuts in decades last year after a seriesof bitter labor negotiations — is beginning to bear fruit. The company ended last season with asurplus of $1 million, according to preliminary financial results released on Wednesday; thatwas a marked improvement from the prior season, when it ran a $22 million deficit, its mostserious in decades. And Mr. Gelb said that the Met had raised the first $100 million of a five-year, $600 million fund-raising drive aimed at doubling its endowment, supporting operationsand paying for new capital projects, including the hoped-for renovation and expansion of itslobby.
經(jīng)過(guò)幾年嚴(yán)重的財(cái)務(wù)危機(jī)后，大都會(huì)歌劇院近期節(jié)省開支的舉措初見(jiàn)成效。去年，經(jīng)過(guò)一系列痛苦的勞資談判，藝術(shù)家和工作人員幾十年來(lái)首次同意降低工資。據(jù)周三(9月9日)公布的初步財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告，上一季該劇院獲得了100萬(wàn)美元的盈余。與之前一季相比，這是極大的進(jìn)步。之前一季，它虧損了2200萬(wàn)美元，是幾十年來(lái)虧損最嚴(yán)重的一季。蓋爾布說(shuō)，大都會(huì)歌劇院籌集到了第一個(gè)一億美元的捐款。這是目標(biāo)為六億美元的五年籌款計(jì)劃的第一步，意在使資助額翻倍，以支持運(yùn)營(yíng)，支付新的資金項(xiàng)目，包括期望中的對(duì)大堂的整修和擴(kuò)展。
But there was worrisome news on the attendance front: The Met said it had earned only 69percent of its potential box-office revenue last season, down from 73.2 percent the previousseason. That is one reason Mr. Gelb said he would like to add at least some performances onSundays, initially on a trial basis. Met officials believe it would be the first time they havepresented fully staged operas on Sundays. Other major opera houses and Broadway theatershold Sunday performances, and Mr. Gelb said that the Met had seen its Friday and Saturdayproductions outsell weeknights in recent years as audience habits have changed.
但是在上座率方面有一些令人擔(dān)憂的消息：大都會(huì)歌劇院稱，上一季，它僅獲得潛在票房收入的69%，比之前一季的73.2%有所下降。所以，蓋爾布說(shuō)他想在周日先試驗(yàn)性地增加一些演出。大都會(huì)歌劇院的官員們說(shuō)，這將是他們首次在周日推出完整的歌劇。其他主要的歌劇院和百老匯的劇院都在周日安排演出。蓋爾布說(shuō)，大都會(huì)歌劇院發(fā)現(xiàn)，近些年，周五和周六的演出比平常的演出更賣座，因?yàn)橛^眾的習(xí)慣改變了。
“If you’re going to experience a three-hour, three-and-a-half-hour opera and want to havedinner, you need time, Mr. Gelb said. “A Sunday performance would be something that wouldmake a lot of sense.
“如果你想觀看一場(chǎng)三小時(shí)或三個(gè)半小時(shí)的歌劇，還想用個(gè)晚餐，你需要時(shí)間，蓋爾布說(shuō)，“周日安排演出會(huì)是十分合理的做法。
Significant hurdles remain for many of Mr. Gelb’s plans. Adding Sunday performances wouldrequire the agreement of the Met’s work force and its powerful unions, whose relationships withMr. Gelb were badly strained during last year’s labor talks, and whose members already workpunishing schedules during the opera season. Expanding the Met’s lobby into the LincolnCenter plaza would require successful fund-raising as well as the approval of the center’sadministration and, possibly, the city. And traditionalists may shudder at the idea of a newname for the opera house, known for more than a century as the Metropolitan Opera — aninternationally recognized classic along the lines of the Teatro alla Scala, the Royal Opera Houseor, closer to home, Yankee Stadium.
蓋爾布的很多計(jì)劃都面臨著巨大的障礙。周日增加演出必須獲得歌劇院工作人員和強(qiáng)大的工會(huì)的同意。在去年的勞資談判中，他們和蓋爾布的關(guān)系變得非常緊張。此外，工作人員的在演出季的日程已經(jīng)非常艱苦。把大都會(huì)歌劇院的大堂延伸至林肯中心廣場(chǎng)需要成功籌款，并獲得林肯中心管理層甚至紐約市政府的同意。保守主義者可能不敢給歌劇院重新命名。大都會(huì)歌劇院這個(gè)名字已經(jīng)存在一個(gè)多世紀(jì)了，是國(guó)際知名的經(jīng)典劇院，與斯卡拉歌劇院(Teatro alla Scala)、英國(guó)皇家歌劇院(Royal Opera House)或紐約本地的洋基體育場(chǎng)(YankeeStadium)齊名。
Mr. Gelb said that the Met needs to do these things, and more, to ensure that it can continueto thrive. One of his ideas — inspired in part by last season’s new production of “Pagliacci,which featured a troupe of traveling vaudevillians — is to create an opera truck to bring small-scale, staged performances with a small orchestra to communities around New York. He hasbeen working on the project, tentatively called “MET2GO, with the Dutch director Lotte deBeer, who has an organization, Operafront, which does similar work in the Netherlands. Mr.Gelb, who is working to raise money for the project, hopes to have a traveling version of Verdi’s“La Traviata ready by June 2023 or 2023.
蓋爾布說(shuō)，大都會(huì)歌劇院需要做這些事以及更多的事情，來(lái)確保它能繼續(xù)繁榮。他的另一個(gè)想法是創(chuàng)立歌劇卡車，在紐約的各個(gè)社區(qū)巡回演出僅需小管弦樂(lè)隊(duì)的小規(guī)模劇目。這個(gè)想法部分來(lái)自上一季的新劇《丑角》(Pagliacci)，它講述的是一個(gè)巡演雜耍劇團(tuán)的故事。另外，他在與荷蘭導(dǎo)演洛特·德·比爾(Lotte de Beer)策劃一個(gè)暫時(shí)稱為MET2GO的項(xiàng)目。比爾在荷蘭有個(gè)名叫Operafront的組織，從事類似的活動(dòng)。蓋爾布正在給這個(gè)項(xiàng)目籌款，他希望在2023年6月或2023年之前推出威爾第(Verdi)《茶花女》(La Traviata)的巡演版。
“The Met can never be accessible enough, he said.
“大都會(huì)歌劇院應(yīng)該盡可能地讓觀眾容易接近，他說(shuō)。
Toward that end, he said, he wanted to make the Met more welcoming by expanding andrenovating its cramped lobby — which the building’s architect, Wallace K. Harrison, was forcedto scale back to save money half a century ago. “What was left was this very tight fit betweenthe front doors of the Met and the entranceway, so in a period of 30 to 45 minutes before aperformance you have this mob scene of people trying to get into the opera house, Mr. Gelbsaid. “Which is good — at least people are trying to get in.
最后，他說(shuō)，他想通過(guò)擴(kuò)展和整修狹小的大堂來(lái)讓歌劇院更受歡迎。半個(gè)世紀(jì)前，為了節(jié)省成本，這幢建筑的設(shè)計(jì)師華萊士·K·哈里森(Wallace K. Harrison)不得不按比例縮小了大堂。“結(jié)果，大都會(huì)歌劇院的前門和入口之間變得非常狹小，在演出開始前的30至45分鐘時(shí)間里，你會(huì)看到這里擠滿了想進(jìn)入歌劇院的人，蓋爾布說(shuō)，“這也是好事——至少人們想進(jìn)去。
The Met has engaged Levien & Company, a project management firm that has worked onother successful theater renovations in the city, to study how it might be able to build a lowglass enclosure running the width of the Met and extending 30 or 40 feet into the LincolnCenter plaza. That addition would add several thousand square feet of space that would allowthe Met to redesign its box-office area, gift shop and art gallery and to possibly add a cafe.
Levien & Company項(xiàng)目管理公司曾成功完成紐約市的一些劇院整修項(xiàng)目。大都會(huì)歌劇院正在跟這家公司商量如何修建一個(gè)與歌劇院等寬、長(zhǎng)三四十英尺的矮玻璃幕墻，延伸至林肯中心廣場(chǎng)。這樣就能增加幾千平方英尺的空間，可以重新設(shè)計(jì)售票處、禮品店和畫廊，甚至還可能加個(gè)咖啡廳。
Jed Bernstein, the president of Lincoln Center, said that it would be premature to discuss theproject. But, he said, “In general, I believe that things that are good for the Met are good forLincoln Center.
林肯中心的總裁杰德·伯恩斯坦(Jed Bernstein)說(shuō)，現(xiàn)在討論這個(gè)項(xiàng)目有點(diǎn)早。不過(guò)他說(shuō)，“總的來(lái)說(shuō)，我認(rèn)為，對(duì)大都會(huì)歌劇院有益的事肯定也有益于林肯中心。
“Conceptually, is it a good idea for the Met to try to come up with creative and interesting newways to engage with their audience? he asked. “Absolutely. Would we want to support themin that? Absolutely.
“從理論上講，大都會(huì)歌劇院努力尋找有創(chuàng)意、有趣的新方法，來(lái)吸引觀眾，這難道不是好事嗎?他問(wèn)道，“絕對(duì)是好事。我們?cè)敢庵С炙鼏?絕對(duì)愿意。
“Does it make sense to do a specific thing, like do a glass extension to the Met? I don’t know,because we haven’t seen any idea of really what that would mean, or what that would look like,or any of those things.
“至于某個(gè)具體的項(xiàng)目是否合理——比如給大都會(huì)歌劇院加個(gè)玻璃幕墻——那就我不太確定，因?yàn)槲覀儾淮_切知道那意味著什么，也不知道它看起來(lái)會(huì)是什么樣子，什么都不知道。
Capital projects are often more attractive to potential donors than equally needed campaignsto, say, increase endowments. The Met’s endowment fell dangerously low in recent years asthe company withdrew money to help pay for its high annual operating costs. Those costs arenow falling.
對(duì)潛在捐款人來(lái)說(shuō)，資金項(xiàng)目往往比同樣急需的籌款活動(dòng)更吸引人。近些年，大都會(huì)歌劇院的捐款額大幅下降，因?yàn)樗貌糠志杩顏?lái)支付高昂的運(yùn)營(yíng)成本。目前運(yùn)營(yíng)成本正在下降。
All told, the Met spent $310 million last season, down from $316 million the season before and$327 million two seasons ago. This year its budget calls for it to spend less than $300 millionfor the first time since 2010. Its endowment was valued at $266 million at the end of July,according to Mr. Gelb, but that figure does not include $19 million in pledged donations. TheMet, which was drawing more than 8 percent of its endowment annually a few years back, hasbeen steadily reducing that amount, from 6.5 percent in 2023 to 6 percent last season and thisseason; it plans to phase down to 5 percent by 2023.
總的來(lái)說(shuō)，上一季，大都會(huì)歌劇院的運(yùn)營(yíng)成本為3.1億美元，與之前一季的3.16億美元和上上季的3.27億美元相比有所下降。今年，按照預(yù)算，成本必須控制在三億美元以下，這是2010年以來(lái)首次設(shè)定這么低的預(yù)算。據(jù)蓋爾布說(shuō)，至7月底，它獲得的捐款額為2.66億美元，不過(guò)這個(gè)數(shù)字不包括1900萬(wàn)美元的抵押捐款。幾年前，大都會(huì)歌劇院每年提取的額度超過(guò)捐款總額的8%，目前正在逐步減少這個(gè)比例，從2023年的6.5%降至上一季和這一季的6%;它計(jì)劃到2023年逐步降至5%。
Mr. Gelb said that as the fund-raising campaign proceeded, the Met would consider offeringnaming rights to the theater as a whole if a large enough donation were made. “We’re lookingfor a significant gift — a major gift that could somehow be associated with this front-of-houserenovation and perhaps even the naming of the building, he said.
蓋爾布說(shuō)，隨著籌款活動(dòng)的進(jìn)行，如果出現(xiàn)巨額捐款，大都會(huì)歌劇院將考慮給予整座劇院的冠名權(quán)。“我們?cè)趯ふ乙环葜匾Y物，一份足以支付前門整修的巨額捐款，捐款人可能獲得這幢大樓的冠名權(quán)，他說(shuō)。
Asked how large a gift would be required, he demurred. But he noted that the Met is larger andbetter known than its next-door neighbors — which were renamed for Mr. Koch and Mr. Geffenafter they each donated $100 million.
當(dāng)被問(wèn)及捐款額要達(dá)到多少時(shí)，他沒(méi)有回答。不過(guò)他指出，大都會(huì)歌劇院比它的鄰居們更大、更出名。它的兩位鄰居在分別得到科克和格芬的一億美元捐款后，以兩位捐款人命名。
A bigger glass lobby stretching into Lincoln Center’splaza. Operas on Sunday. And perhaps, following the lead of its neighboring theaters recentlyrenamed for David Geffen and David H. Koch, slapping another wealthy donor’s name on thestoried Metropolitan Opera House.
修建一個(gè)延伸至林肯中心(Lincoln Center)廣場(chǎng)的更大的玻璃大堂。周日也安排歌劇演出。也許會(huì)效仿周圍的劇院——它們最近分別以戴維·格芬(David Geffen)和戴維·H·科克(David H. Koch)命名——把另一位富有捐款人的名字刻在歷史悠久的大都會(huì)歌劇院(Metropolitan Opera House)的墻上。
These ideas, disclosed by Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager, in an interview as heprepared to begin his 10th season at the helm of the company, suggest a renewed focus ondrawing new audiences and raising desperately needed money for the opera, where attendancehas struggled. If Mr. Gelb’s first decade was notable for technological innovations thatbroadened the Met’s reach outward — his popular “Live in HD simulcasts of operas at cinemasreached 2.6 million people last season — much of what he would like to do in the comingseasons looks inward.
大都會(huì)歌劇院的總經(jīng)理彼得·蓋爾布(Peter Gelb)在采訪中透露了上述想法。他即將開始第十季對(duì)該劇院的掌管。他說(shuō)，他將把重點(diǎn)轉(zhuǎn)向吸引新觀眾，為歌劇院籌集急需的資金。劇院此前的上座率不夠理想。如果說(shuō)蓋爾布在大都會(huì)歌劇院第一個(gè)十年最重要的貢獻(xiàn)是技術(shù)革新，擴(kuò)大歌劇院外部的影響范圍——上一季，他組織了Live in HD活動(dòng)，同時(shí)在多家影院播放歌劇，很受歡迎，有260萬(wàn)觀眾觀看了演出——那么，未來(lái)幾季他主要想做的事有關(guān)于內(nèi)部。
“The last thing that we can do is sit idly by, Mr. Gelb said during the interview in his office. “We have to keep poking the tires and looking at new ways of approaching the art itself in theform of new productions and commissions, and also looking at the physical plant of the Met,and how we perform. We’re looking at everything.
“我們最不該無(wú)所事事，蓋爾布在自己的辦公室接受采訪時(shí)說(shuō)，“我們必須不斷檢查，尋找展示藝術(shù)的新方法，推出新劇目或委托作品，同時(shí)察看大都會(huì)歌劇院的設(shè)施和效益。我們?cè)诓炜匆磺小?/p>
After several years of serious fiscal challenges, the Met’s recent cost-cutting — including fromits artists and its workers, who agreed to their first pay cuts in decades last year after a seriesof bitter labor negotiations — is beginning to bear fruit. The company ended last season with asurplus of $1 million, according to preliminary financial results released on Wednesday; thatwas a marked improvement from the prior season, when it ran a $22 million deficit, its mostserious in decades. And Mr. Gelb said that the Met had raised the first $100 million of a five-year, $600 million fund-raising drive aimed at doubling its endowment, supporting operationsand paying for new capital projects, including the hoped-for renovation and expansion of itslobby.
經(jīng)過(guò)幾年嚴(yán)重的財(cái)務(wù)危機(jī)后，大都會(huì)歌劇院近期節(jié)省開支的舉措初見(jiàn)成效。去年，經(jīng)過(guò)一系列痛苦的勞資談判，藝術(shù)家和工作人員幾十年來(lái)首次同意降低工資。據(jù)周三(9月9日)公布的初步財(cái)務(wù)報(bào)告，上一季該劇院獲得了100萬(wàn)美元的盈余。與之前一季相比，這是極大的進(jìn)步。之前一季，它虧損了2200萬(wàn)美元，是幾十年來(lái)虧損最嚴(yán)重的一季。蓋爾布說(shuō)，大都會(huì)歌劇院籌集到了第一個(gè)一億美元的捐款。這是目標(biāo)為六億美元的五年籌款計(jì)劃的第一步，意在使資助額翻倍，以支持運(yùn)營(yíng)，支付新的資金項(xiàng)目，包括期望中的對(duì)大堂的整修和擴(kuò)展。
But there was worrisome news on the attendance front: The Met said it had earned only 69percent of its potential box-office revenue last season, down from 73.2 percent the previousseason. That is one reason Mr. Gelb said he would like to add at least some performances onSundays, initially on a trial basis. Met officials believe it would be the first time they havepresented fully staged operas on Sundays. Other major opera houses and Broadway theatershold Sunday performances, and Mr. Gelb said that the Met had seen its Friday and Saturdayproductions outsell weeknights in recent years as audience habits have changed.
但是在上座率方面有一些令人擔(dān)憂的消息：大都會(huì)歌劇院稱，上一季，它僅獲得潛在票房收入的69%，比之前一季的73.2%有所下降。所以，蓋爾布說(shuō)他想在周日先試驗(yàn)性地增加一些演出。大都會(huì)歌劇院的官員們說(shuō)，這將是他們首次在周日推出完整的歌劇。其他主要的歌劇院和百老匯的劇院都在周日安排演出。蓋爾布說(shuō)，大都會(huì)歌劇院發(fā)現(xiàn)，近些年，周五和周六的演出比平常的演出更賣座，因?yàn)橛^眾的習(xí)慣改變了。
“If you’re going to experience a three-hour, three-and-a-half-hour opera and want to havedinner, you need time, Mr. Gelb said. “A Sunday performance would be something that wouldmake a lot of sense.
“如果你想觀看一場(chǎng)三小時(shí)或三個(gè)半小時(shí)的歌劇，還想用個(gè)晚餐，你需要時(shí)間，蓋爾布說(shuō)，“周日安排演出會(huì)是十分合理的做法。
Significant hurdles remain for many of Mr. Gelb’s plans. Adding Sunday performances wouldrequire the agreement of the Met’s work force and its powerful unions, whose relationships withMr. Gelb were badly strained during last year’s labor talks, and whose members already workpunishing schedules during the opera season. Expanding the Met’s lobby into the LincolnCenter plaza would require successful fund-raising as well as the approval of the center’sadministration and, possibly, the city. And traditionalists may shudder at the idea of a newname for the opera house, known for more than a century as the Metropolitan Opera — aninternationally recognized classic along the lines of the Teatro alla Scala, the Royal Opera Houseor, closer to home, Yankee Stadium.
蓋爾布的很多計(jì)劃都面臨著巨大的障礙。周日增加演出必須獲得歌劇院工作人員和強(qiáng)大的工會(huì)的同意。在去年的勞資談判中，他們和蓋爾布的關(guān)系變得非常緊張。此外，工作人員的在演出季的日程已經(jīng)非常艱苦。把大都會(huì)歌劇院的大堂延伸至林肯中心廣場(chǎng)需要成功籌款，并獲得林肯中心管理層甚至紐約市政府的同意。保守主義者可能不敢給歌劇院重新命名。大都會(huì)歌劇院這個(gè)名字已經(jīng)存在一個(gè)多世紀(jì)了，是國(guó)際知名的經(jīng)典劇院，與斯卡拉歌劇院(Teatro alla Scala)、英國(guó)皇家歌劇院(Royal Opera House)或紐約本地的洋基體育場(chǎng)(YankeeStadium)齊名。
Mr. Gelb said that the Met needs to do these things, and more, to ensure that it can continueto thrive. One of his ideas — inspired in part by last season’s new production of “Pagliacci,which featured a troupe of traveling vaudevillians — is to create an opera truck to bring small-scale, staged performances with a small orchestra to communities around New York. He hasbeen working on the project, tentatively called “MET2GO, with the Dutch director Lotte deBeer, who has an organization, Operafront, which does similar work in the Netherlands. Mr.Gelb, who is working to raise money for the project, hopes to have a traveling version of Verdi’s“La Traviata ready by June 2023 or 2023.
蓋爾布說(shuō)，大都會(huì)歌劇院需要做這些事以及更多的事情，來(lái)確保它能繼續(xù)繁榮。他的另一個(gè)想法是創(chuàng)立歌劇卡車，在紐約的各個(gè)社區(qū)巡回演出僅需小管弦樂(lè)隊(duì)的小規(guī)模劇目。這個(gè)想法部分來(lái)自上一季的新劇《丑角》(Pagliacci)，它講述的是一個(gè)巡演雜耍劇團(tuán)的故事。另外，他在與荷蘭導(dǎo)演洛特·德·比爾(Lotte de Beer)策劃一個(gè)暫時(shí)稱為MET2GO的項(xiàng)目。比爾在荷蘭有個(gè)名叫Operafront的組織，從事類似的活動(dòng)。蓋爾布正在給這個(gè)項(xiàng)目籌款，他希望在2023年6月或2023年之前推出威爾第(Verdi)《茶花女》(La Traviata)的巡演版。
“The Met can never be accessible enough, he said.
“大都會(huì)歌劇院應(yīng)該盡可能地讓觀眾容易接近，他說(shuō)。
Toward that end, he said, he wanted to make the Met more welcoming by expanding andrenovating its cramped lobby — which the building’s architect, Wallace K. Harrison, was forcedto scale back to save money half a century ago. “What was left was this very tight fit betweenthe front doors of the Met and the entranceway, so in a period of 30 to 45 minutes before aperformance you have this mob scene of people trying to get into the opera house, Mr. Gelbsaid. “Which is good — at least people are trying to get in.
最后，他說(shuō)，他想通過(guò)擴(kuò)展和整修狹小的大堂來(lái)讓歌劇院更受歡迎。半個(gè)世紀(jì)前，為了節(jié)省成本，這幢建筑的設(shè)計(jì)師華萊士·K·哈里森(Wallace K. Harrison)不得不按比例縮小了大堂。“結(jié)果，大都會(huì)歌劇院的前門和入口之間變得非常狹小，在演出開始前的30至45分鐘時(shí)間里，你會(huì)看到這里擠滿了想進(jìn)入歌劇院的人，蓋爾布說(shuō)，“這也是好事——至少人們想進(jìn)去。
The Met has engaged Levien & Company, a project management firm that has worked onother successful theater renovations in the city, to study how it might be able to build a lowglass enclosure running the width of the Met and extending 30 or 40 feet into the LincolnCenter plaza. That addition would add several thousand square feet of space that would allowthe Met to redesign its box-office area, gift shop and art gallery and to possibly add a cafe.
Levien & Company項(xiàng)目管理公司曾成功完成紐約市的一些劇院整修項(xiàng)目。大都會(huì)歌劇院正在跟這家公司商量如何修建一個(gè)與歌劇院等寬、長(zhǎng)三四十英尺的矮玻璃幕墻，延伸至林肯中心廣場(chǎng)。這樣就能增加幾千平方英尺的空間，可以重新設(shè)計(jì)售票處、禮品店和畫廊，甚至還可能加個(gè)咖啡廳。
Jed Bernstein, the president of Lincoln Center, said that it would be premature to discuss theproject. But, he said, “In general, I believe that things that are good for the Met are good forLincoln Center.
林肯中心的總裁杰德·伯恩斯坦(Jed Bernstein)說(shuō)，現(xiàn)在討論這個(gè)項(xiàng)目有點(diǎn)早。不過(guò)他說(shuō)，“總的來(lái)說(shuō)，我認(rèn)為，對(duì)大都會(huì)歌劇院有益的事肯定也有益于林肯中心。
“Conceptually, is it a good idea for the Met to try to come up with creative and interesting newways to engage with their audience? he asked. “Absolutely. Would we want to support themin that? Absolutely.
“從理論上講，大都會(huì)歌劇院努力尋找有創(chuàng)意、有趣的新方法，來(lái)吸引觀眾，這難道不是好事嗎?他問(wèn)道，“絕對(duì)是好事。我們?cè)敢庵С炙鼏?絕對(duì)愿意。
“Does it make sense to do a specific thing, like do a glass extension to the Met? I don’t know,because we haven’t seen any idea of really what that would mean, or what that would look like,or any of those things.
“至于某個(gè)具體的項(xiàng)目是否合理——比如給大都會(huì)歌劇院加個(gè)玻璃幕墻——那就我不太確定，因?yàn)槲覀儾淮_切知道那意味著什么，也不知道它看起來(lái)會(huì)是什么樣子，什么都不知道。
Capital projects are often more attractive to potential donors than equally needed campaignsto, say, increase endowments. The Met’s endowment fell dangerously low in recent years asthe company withdrew money to help pay for its high annual operating costs. Those costs arenow falling.
對(duì)潛在捐款人來(lái)說(shuō)，資金項(xiàng)目往往比同樣急需的籌款活動(dòng)更吸引人。近些年，大都會(huì)歌劇院的捐款額大幅下降，因?yàn)樗貌糠志杩顏?lái)支付高昂的運(yùn)營(yíng)成本。目前運(yùn)營(yíng)成本正在下降。
All told, the Met spent $310 million last season, down from $316 million the season before and$327 million two seasons ago. This year its budget calls for it to spend less than $300 millionfor the first time since 2010. Its endowment was valued at $266 million at the end of July,according to Mr. Gelb, but that figure does not include $19 million in pledged donations. TheMet, which was drawing more than 8 percent of its endowment annually a few years back, hasbeen steadily reducing that amount, from 6.5 percent in 2023 to 6 percent last season and thisseason; it plans to phase down to 5 percent by 2023.
總的來(lái)說(shuō)，上一季，大都會(huì)歌劇院的運(yùn)營(yíng)成本為3.1億美元，與之前一季的3.16億美元和上上季的3.27億美元相比有所下降。今年，按照預(yù)算，成本必須控制在三億美元以下，這是2010年以來(lái)首次設(shè)定這么低的預(yù)算。據(jù)蓋爾布說(shuō)，至7月底，它獲得的捐款額為2.66億美元，不過(guò)這個(gè)數(shù)字不包括1900萬(wàn)美元的抵押捐款。幾年前，大都會(huì)歌劇院每年提取的額度超過(guò)捐款總額的8%，目前正在逐步減少這個(gè)比例，從2023年的6.5%降至上一季和這一季的6%;它計(jì)劃到2023年逐步降至5%。
Mr. Gelb said that as the fund-raising campaign proceeded, the Met would consider offeringnaming rights to the theater as a whole if a large enough donation were made. “We’re lookingfor a significant gift — a major gift that could somehow be associated with this front-of-houserenovation and perhaps even the naming of the building, he said.
蓋爾布說(shuō)，隨著籌款活動(dòng)的進(jìn)行，如果出現(xiàn)巨額捐款，大都會(huì)歌劇院將考慮給予整座劇院的冠名權(quán)。“我們?cè)趯ふ乙环葜匾Y物，一份足以支付前門整修的巨額捐款，捐款人可能獲得這幢大樓的冠名權(quán)，他說(shuō)。
Asked how large a gift would be required, he demurred. But he noted that the Met is larger andbetter known than its next-door neighbors — which were renamed for Mr. Koch and Mr. Geffenafter they each donated $100 million.
當(dāng)被問(wèn)及捐款額要達(dá)到多少時(shí)，他沒(méi)有回答。不過(guò)他指出，大都會(huì)歌劇院比它的鄰居們更大、更出名。它的兩位鄰居在分別得到科克和格芬的一億美元捐款后，以兩位捐款人命名。
