In Saturday’s (5/21) New York Times, Daniel J. Wakin reports, “Just two years after a $107 million renovation at its Lincoln Center home, the troubled New York City Opera plans to move out and perform in various places around New York, officials of the company said on Friday. City Opera disclosed its plans as it announced that it had settled on a slimmed-down budget for five operas and three concerts, starting in October, after speculation that financial woes would force it to halt performances. … Apparently the board, which met in a daylong session on Thursday and continued discussions on Friday morning, saw moving as the only way to keep the company breathing. Abandoning the David H. Koch Theater will save $4.5 million in yearly costs, company officials said. ‘We love Lincoln Center,’ said George Steel, City Opera’s general manager and artistic director. ‘It’s a wonderful place. But the reality is that the fixed costs of living here are simply too high. That’s why we are looking at leaving.’ … But many questions remained. Mr. Steel declined to identify what operas the company would perform or where. He also refused to give the amount of the budget, although he said it would be ‘significantly smaller’ than this year’s budget of $22 million.”
Posted May 23, 2011
