New York's Metropolitan Opera on Wednesday announced painful cancellation of its entire 2020-2021 season due to the coronavirus pandemic. This is a major loss for New York's arts and culture industry, a money maker and cornerstone of the life for the city that's seen its live arts institutions including the Broadway theater district -- go dark.The pandemic is still going strong leaving behind Metropolitan Opera to suffer that marks one of the most serious situations in its 137-year history. The shows will not start before September 2021. The inability to perform is taking a tremendous toll on our company, said the Met's general manager, Peter Gelb, in a statement. Our future relies on making strong artistic strides, while collectively reducing our costs until the audience has fully returned. COVID-19 forced the 3,800-seat opera house to close in mid-March this year. The company later dismissed 1,000 full-time employees without pay.