Following the announcement of the Metropolitan Opera’s 2023-24 season, the company disclosed that a major new production was cut due to budgetary concerns.

General Manager Peter Gelb told the AP said that “Rolando Villazón’s staging of Bellini’s ‘Sonnambula’ was cut and will be presented in the future.” OperaWire was later informed that the production would be headed to the Met in 2025.

He also confirmed that Michael Mayer’s production of Verdi’s “Aida,” pushed back from the canceled 2020-21 season, will now presented during the 2024-25 season.

Gelb also noted that the new season would only feature 18 operas, the lowest number of operas performed since 1980-81. The current season has only seen a 63% average attendance which is up from the 60% season attendance in the year following the 1 1/2-season shutdown caused by the pandemic.

The 2023-24 Met season opens on Sept. 26 with “Dead Man Walking.”