The Metropolitan Opera has been making headlines lately — for all the wrong reasons. It’s not that the country’s oldest continuously operating opera company is seeing revived relevance and eager engagement. Quite the contrary. The storied institution announced in the fall a deal with Saudi Arabia, said to be worth $200 million, to perform three weeks a year as the winter resident company at a $1.4 billion opera house opening in 2028. It was a much-needed lifeline given that the Met has