It was announced just days ago that the San Diego Opera is closing its doors, effective the end of their current season.
This follows a trend of companies closing their doors over the past six years, including venerable companies like Baltimore Opera and New York City Opera.
However, San Diego Opera was not a company that was seemingly in financial distress; they had balanced the budget for 28 straight years even through tough economic times. However, as they planned ahead for next season, they realised with dwindling audiences, and a donor base that was 'exhausted', the management felt it couldn't present 4 operas without running a deficit.
A gift given ten years ago of ten million dollars from a donor had finally run out as they had tapped one million a year to balance the budget.
This company was one of the top ten in the USA, known for its quality and stability.
Yes, opera is arguably the most expensive art form as it combines stage, voice and orchestra. But companies in the USA are generally privately funded these days, and during hard financial times are very susceptible to financial crisis.
SDOpera however, had a fifteen million dollar budget per year. The company had 117 employees, (some seasonal), and recently spent 2.6million USD on a production of Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera.
The General Manager, Ian Campbell, drew a paycheck of 500,000 USD per year. For the company and board of directors to not make substantial cuts in these troubled financial times and burn through their 10 million dollar endowment is simply irresponsible.
Cuts should have been made, beginning with the salary of the General Manager. A regional company, however stable, should not be spending 2.6 million USD on a production.
In this case, it seems as if the company management and board killed the goose that laid the golden egg and in doing so, will effect not only the opera company and its employees, but the stage hands, orchestra members, and artists that will no longer be able to make a living.
No comments:
Post a Comment