Fat lady not singing yet for San Diego Opera

By PAM KRAGEN - Staff Writer | Wednesday, December 3, 2008 11:09 AM PST ∞

For decades, the art cognoscenti have forecast the death of opera, but the 400-year-old art form has stubbornly carried on, even experiencing a revival in recent years with "La Boheme" on Broadway and live Met simulcasts at the multiplex.

But the collapse of international financial markets (and the fortunes of opera's biggest donors) over the past few months have dealt a catastrophic blow to opera companies around the world. Many have trimmed their seasons and reduced staff, while one ---- Orange County's Opera Pacific ---- has closed its doors, possibly for good.

San Diego Opera, which opens its 44th season next month, is not immune to the crisis. Company general director Ian Campbell said he's been forced to rethink everything about the way the company does business.

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How bad is it?

The company has postponed one of its 2011 productions and is looking at reducing both the number of operas it produces each year and the number of total performances. But Campbell has also balanced the books for the past 23 seasons and he says the death of opera ---- at least in San Diego ---- won't happen on his watch.

How bad is it in the opera world? Here's a sampling of recent headlines:

* The Metropolitan Opera in New York has canceled its highly anticipated revival of John Corigliano's "The Ghosts of Versailles," sending its principal singers (Angela Gheorghiu and Thomas Hampson) instead to a cheaper production of Verdi's "La Traviata." Met general manager Peter Gelb told the Associated Press: "In looking at ways to economize, that was an unfortunate sacrifice," and added that some other season productions may be replaced with cheaper revivals.

* New York City Opera, which canceled its 2008 season at Lincoln Center because of renovations at the theater, announced that its incoming general manager, Gerard Mortier, has broken his contract because the company could raise only half of his promised $60 million budget.

* Santa Ana's Opera Pacific has canceled the rest of its 2008-09 season, including a new production of "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Salome" starring Deborah Voigt. In a statement, company president Robert C. Jones blamed the cancellation on a decline in donations. The company has made a "substantial" staff reduction and its offices and rehearsal space are on the market, but have yet to sell. ""The building has not yet sold, and therefore we have lost the race with time," Jones said.

* Washington National Opera announced this month it will indefinitely postpone its plans to produce all four operas in Wagner's "Ring" cycle because of the downturn in the economy. In a statement, artistic director Placido Domingo blamed the current "financial climate" for the postponement. San Francisco Opera had partnered with WNO for the 2011 season, and now its plans are in jeopardy.

* San Francisco Opera has canceled next season's "Peter Grimes" and has said the economy will result in "fewer and less elaborate productions."

* LA Opera has canceled its "Turandot" production for 2010.

* Michael Harrison, head of Baltimore Opera for 20 years, has stepped down as general director. The company is struggling with cash-flow problems and lower ticket sales and has announced some layoffs and plans to reduce costs for its current season.

* Michigan Opera Theatre canceled its current season production of "Pagliacci" as well as a performance of another opera this year. The company said it may also reduce the size of its 2010 season.

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Ripples building

While the stock market decline proved to be the tipping point for many opera companies, the ripples leading to the recent wave of cuts have been building for years.

"I hate the expression 'the perfect storm,' but let's say this is a very huge squall," Campbell said. "This hasn't been experienced in the American arts since the 1930s."

The problems began with the terrorist attacks in 2001, which permanently changed American ticket-buying patterns. Uncertainty about the future led consumers to shift from long-term subscription purchases to last-minute single-ticket sales ---- which forced companies to spend more on advertising and marketing, Campbell said.

The graying of the opera audience added to the problem, with many older subscribers (who grew up watching opera stars on "The Ed Sullivan Show") dying off and not enough young people replacing them.

And the stock market slide ---- which first began its roller-coaster ride three years ago ---- began taking a toll on donations and ticket sales. Art forms are heavily dependent on donors, and opera ---- the most expensive of all ---- was hurt the most.

"Fifty percent of our money, at least, is contributed money," said Campbell, whose 2009 budget is $17.3 million. "Our survival is contingent on the generosity of many people who don't have as much to give anymore because their assets have been depleted."

Campbell said longtime donors have told him that they're reducing their gifts to San Diego Opera because the stock market has reduced their wealth by 30 percent to 40 percent. Other donors have told him their children are out of work and need to be supported. Meanwhile, the task of finding new donors has been near-impossible.

"I was talking to a major business leader yesterday and he told me, 'My assets are down 42 percent but my obligations have not changed.' These generous people with a higher net worth have made commitments of $5 million a year to cancer research or $1 million for five years to UCSD. So their outgoings have not changed, but their income has," Campbell said.

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Rebuilding in S.D.

With donations down, most opera companies have dipped into their endowments to pay the bills and the cracks began to show when the cash reserves ran dry and not enough new money was coming in to generate any investment income. Campbell said San Diego Opera's endowment and production reserve fund have been hit to the tune of $2 million, but he says the company is not "in crisis."

"When the tide goes out this far, you do see the sand and the shells, and we need as much help as anybody to ensure that any changes we make don't change the character of the institution," he said.

To respond to the situation, Campbell said he and his board have "rebuilt the company from the ground up."

"Let's assume we just landed here from Mars, and we think there should be an opera company," he said. "How many operas can the market support? What kind of operas? What kind of seat sales can we expect? What is our donor base? What kind of marketing should we do? What kind of education program should we have? And where do we get an orchestra?"

Some changes have already been announced. The previously announced 2011 West Coast premiere of Jake Heggie's "Moby Dick" opera has been postponed by a year. The company's travel budget has been reduced, and the company has refused to renegotiate contracts signed with singers a few years ago (no matter how hot those singers may have become in the meantime).

Other long-term changes may include reducing the size of the company's five-opera season and the eventual elimination of Wednesday-night performances, which have always been slow sellers. Campbell said the company won't make any decisions until the season gets under way with the Puccini classic "Tosca" on Jan. 24. (The season continues with Massenet's "Don Quixote" Feb. 14-22; Verdi's "Rigoletto," March 28-April 8; Britten's "Peter Grimes," April 18-26; and Puccini's "Madama Butterfly," May 9 through 20.)

"What we're all facing is a big review of who we are, what we are and why we do it," he said. "Out of that, around the country, we will emerge for a while with fewer performances and fewer productions."

What won't change, Campbell promises, is artistic quality.

"If you lower the artistic standards, that's like putting water in the beer," he said. "First the regulars in the pub know it, and then others see the regulars going away and they know there's something wrong."

Campbell said he sees the current economic situation as a five-year problem, because even if the stock market stabilized tomorrow, it would take years for investors to recover from losing a third of their assets.

Campbell's smart money management over the years has kept San Diego Opera in better shape than many American opera companies, but it has also led some donors to mistakenly think the company doesn't need any help.

"We need the continued loyalty of ticket buyers and donors, and we need new donors who can help us to remain as stable as possible," he said. "The best thing anybody can do, if they can't donate, is to buy tickets. They will get bang for their buck, and it's an investment in the company. Everybody has a role they can play."