San Diego

The news that San Diego Opera is closing its doors has come as a horrible shock to everyone in opera. The New York City Opera’s demise was predicted for so many months that although it was sad when it happened, it was not exactly a surprise. The news from Southern California came as a bolt out of the blue even to those most knowledgable in opera.

First of all there is enormous sympathy and empathy for the huge number of employees suddenly out of work. San Diego Opera for years has had an active shop where a lot of productions for other opera companies, as well as their own, have been built. Add those artisans to the normal complement of a large company’s staff and one has a huge number of people who thought they were working for a stable company suddenly out of a job. When Opera Pacific, which was located a few miles north of Long Beach, in Orange County collapsed, again it had been long predicted. Another failure in the same geographic area is astonishing.

I know nothing about the real causes of the collapse; reasons given are not unique to any of us in opera today. Since the Recession began, we have all dropped subscribers, belts have had to be tightened, and a lot of operas that we wanted to present have been cancelled. At Seattle Opera I have had to withdraw ten operas that I wanted very much to present because they were simply too expensive. At Seattle Opera we all took either freezes or reduction in pay and our unions were more than generous. But we are coming out of the worst times now and can look ahead to what we believe will be much more normal sales and donations.

I make no judgment on what happened in San Diego; it causes me, however, to speak positively about one particular company that I think works in a far more difficult environment than any I can imagine: the Michigan Opera. With the whole city of Detroit in terrible financial trouble, with a local economy that is one of the most awful in the United States, General Director David DiChiera has somehow, some way kept functioning and has presented five performances of each of four operas in each of the last five difficult seasons. I cannot imagine from my position in a city that was hard hit but has been basically resilient how hard that has been. I know that several times he has been facing bankruptcy without the infusion of sudden cash. He has always pulled the magician’s trick of bringing in the money and has recently handed a great portion of the company to the talented and well respected Wayne Brown, who for some years has been the Music and Opera Director at the NEA.

With the sadness of what has happened in New York and San Diego, plus several smaller companies, everyone who loves opera can look to what has happened in Detroit as proof of the strength and viability of opera in America. Ever since 1600 opera has been totally impractical. we have far too many elements, too many expenses, too many people working, and we cannot exist on our ticket sales. We really do depend of the kindness of strangers. Yet we keep going and thriving because we give something important to our audiences that causes them to keep us alive. They are our strength, and it is our job always never to disappoint them and to be grateful for their largesse.