“After years of constant financial difficulties, the board of Opera Hamilton has announced that it is ceasing operations,” writes Leonard Turnevicius in Thursday’s (1/9) Hamilton Spectator (Ontario, Canada). “In a press release, Peter Uffelmann, Opera Hamilton board co-chair and treasurer stated that ‘we simply do not have the financial resources to continue…. The board had no choice but to cancel the rest of the season and cease operations.’ Mayor Bob Bratina called the news ‘really regrettable’ and said it was ‘a great cultural asset’ for a city the size of Hamilton.… In January 2008, Opera Ontario’s seventy-nine creditors received a Notice of Intention to Make a Proposal from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy stating that the company had filed for protection from creditors. By the next season, they had come through on the other side as Opera Hamilton, Inc. … but Opera Hamilton still has a large accumulated deficit.… The 32 orchestral musicians are still owed $20,000. When asked how Opera Hamilton was going to resolve this issue, [company co-chair Dennis] Darby said, ‘At this point, we don’t know.’ … It’s unclear what will happen to those who hold tickets to the company’s now-cancelled productions.”
Posted January 10, 2014
