• by Ray Schultz , August 15, 2023

Opera News, the monthly magazine published by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, will become a section in the UK’s Opera magazine as part of a general phasing out of the Guild’s operations, starting in December 2023. 

The Guild, a separate not-for-profit organization, will lay off 20 people, its entire staff. These employees will receive severance packages, and it is hoped that several will become Met employees, the Guild says. 

In addition, the Met will integrate the Guild’s dress-rehearsal program that serves students into its own programming. 

Other Guild activities, including its annual fall luncheon and its spring Opera News Awards, will be discontinued. 

The Guild blames the changes on economic headwinds. 

As for the magazine, Rebecca Paller has been named as Opera magazine’s U.S. editor. 

On her LinkedIn page, Paller is identified as a freelance arts writer at the Paley Center for Media.

“We are mindful of the rich editorial history of Opera News and are delighted to perpetuate it in a special U.S.-focused section within our pages, which will also keep all our readers worldwide better informed about the Met’s HD and radio broadcasts,” says John Allison, Editor and Publisher of Opera magazine.

Allison adds, “With our first such issue in December, we will be increasing our print run to accommodate all the Guild members and current Opera News subscribers in the United States.”

For its part, the Met is “proud to keep alive the Guild’s outstanding legacy with the continuation of Opera News and our student dress-rehearsal program,” says Peter Gelb, the Met’s Maria Manetti Shrem General Manager.