By: Eleni Mihadas, Features Reporter

The Metropolitan Opera made an announcement recently and it will cancel the entire 2020-2021 season. This was a shock to many in the performing arts community. 

The Metropolitan Opera happens to be the nation’s biggest performing arts organization. They are known throughout the world.  

In June 2020, the Met thought it would only cancel its Fall season and be able to resume on December 31st.  However, under the circumstances with the seriousness of this pandemic, this decision had to be changed. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) requires specific guidelines that must be followed. In order to put on an opera which includes hundreds of performers, stage crews, and other staff, social distancing practices would have been impossible to enforce. 

This decision comes as another disappointment for many supporters and an economic hardship for New York City.  

If the Opera House will be able to open safely next year. a new work by Terence Blanchard would be performed, the first opera composed by an African American at the Met. 

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