New York’s famous Metropolitan Opera has cancelled its entire upcoming season on Wednesday saying that it would remain closed until September 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to its website, the 3,800-seat opera house normally stages more than 200 performances each season and welcomes nearly 800,000 visitors.

A statement from the Metropolitan Opera read, “We regret to inform you that the Metropolitan Opera has made the extremely difficult decision to cancel the entirety of the 2020–21 season, based on the advice of health officials who advise the Met and Lincoln Center.”  

As the coronavirus poses unique challenges for live entertainment venues, Operators of the Met decided they could not resume performances while the virus posed a risk.