“When the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States, many small businesses turned to the federal government hoping to get relief through the Paycheck Protection Program,” writes Amuy Moreno in Saturday’s (4/25) KING-TV (Seattle). “This week, the Seattle Opera found out their application was approved. The Opera has been forced to cancel performances and at the end of March, they were forced to furlough employees and cut pay. They were supposed to take the stage in early May with the opera La Boheme… ‘Every opera house, every theater in the U.S. and internationally has canceled all performances, no matter where you look,’ General Director Christina Scheppelmann said. Those cancellations meant cutting pay and laying off people involved in the production. About 180 jobs were impacted including the orchestra, chorus, stagehands, the crew, and others who work behind the scenes.… This week … the Seattle Opera received a $2.4 million forgivable loan through the PPP program. The money will go to pay those employees [for eight weeks]…. For the time being, the Opera is using creative ways to keep their craft alive including broadcasting through radio, putting videos and information on social media, and looking to do smaller shows when the restrictions change.”
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