Opera houses face two daunting uncertainties: Reopen dates and funding from wealthy donors

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The Metropolitan Opera’s opening night is typically one of the hottest tickets in New York’s autumn cultural season. And the opera world was buzzing about the new production of Verdi’s Aida starring soprano Anna Netrebko to kick off the 2020–21 season when it was announced back in February.

But as the COVID-19 pandemic wears on, and uncertainty deepens as to when the performing arts can return to New York’s stages, only a fraction of the tickets for the Met’s season