The Metropolitan Opera gave its music director, James Levine, a 39-percent pay increase last year, raising his compensation to $2.1-million, reports Bloomberg.

Mr. Levine’s wages and benefits for the year ending in July 2011 exceeded that of the general manager, Peter Gelb, whose compensation rose by 4 percent to $1.4 million, according to the organization’s tax return.

Peter Clark, a spokesman for the opera, said the conductor’s hefty boost was “related to the increasing success of our media program,” including the Met’s series of performances simulcast in movie theaters worldwide, and the figure incorporated “amounts attributable to prior years.”

Thanks to a surge in contributions and revenue, the Met had a $41-million surplus in its $321-million budget in 2010-11, reversing the previous season’s $25-million shortfall.