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<\/a>As it happened, the Requiem, became the requiem for the 49-year-old opera company. The previous day\u2019s announcement that SDO will cease operations after its April 13 performance of Jules Massenet\u2019s \u201cDon Quixote\u201d took many by surprise.<\/p>\n
Soloists for \u201cRequiem\u201d were Moldovan soprano Krassimira Stoyanova, American mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, Polish tenor Piotr Beczala (three artists heard in SDO\u2019s stunning production of Verdi\u2019s \u201cA Masked Ball,\u201d which closed Sunday, March 16) and Italian bass Ferruccio Furlanetto, who sings the title role in \u201cDon Quixote.\u201d Italian conductor Massimo Zanetti, who made his company debut with \u201cA Masked Ball,\u201d conducted the wondrously sung Requiem, which featured the San Diego Master Chorale and the San Diego Opera Chorus (chorus masters Dr. Gary McKercher and Charles Prestinari, respectively). San Diego Symphony filled the forestage. Exquisite moments included Stoyanova and Blythe\u2019s \u201cAgnus Dei,\u201d which emanated from an unexpected, celestial place in each. Beczala ardently displayed his burnished voice in the 1874 work. Furlanetto, a frequent artist at SDO, sang gloriously and passionately, consistently elevating the quality of the performance.<\/p>\n
As for ceasing operations, it\u2019s a pity San Diego Opera\u2019s lifespan falls short of celebrating its 50 years as a cornerstone of cultural arts in San Diego and beacon of excellence for the entire Southern California region. Prior to its inaugural production of \u201cLa boh\u00e8me\u201d at the Civic Theatre in 1965, San Diego opera lovers had to content themselves with touring San Francisco Opera productions at the California Theatre and radio broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera.<\/p>\n
Rumors, placement of blame and considerable schadenfreude abound now, especially in social media. \u201cCoulda, shoulda\u201d and \u201cif only they woulda\u201d are typed uppercase by the snipers, sniggerers and those who failed or never even tried.<\/p>\n
Beginning in 2009, when SDO General and Artistic Director CEO Ian Campbell had already cut one complete opera and one performance of each of the remaining four, this writer\u2019s annual Performances Magazine interviews with him took on an increasingly dire tone. In subsequent years, additional cuts were made to programming, staff and education. Due to the economy, decreased support (governmental and personal) and decreasing attendance (subscriptions fell by nearly 7,000 between 2010 and 2014, and in the same period, total ticket sales dropped dramatically from 41,353 to an anticipated 31,500 this season), Campbell said in published features that unless things changed the opera company would close.<\/p>\n
Rather than build up tremendous deficits and then declare bankruptcy, as opera companies elsewhere have, Campbell and the opera board decided to close the company now, while the ability to pay creditors is still possible.<\/p>\n
The quality of the product has never been compromised. Campbell used \u201cA Masked Ball\u201d as a case in point.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it was a brilliant production in every way, and it sold only 74 percent of capacity, even after rave reviews in every medium,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Campbell cites the loss of several million dollars in foundation money in \u201909 and \u201910, money that was never replaced.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe budget in 2007 was $17.4 million,\u201d he said. \u201cThis year\u2019s will likely end at under $15 million. For the same period other donations declined and so did ticket sales. Eventually it\u2019s make or break time. We knew this three years ago and made the sounds publically.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking down the track, with these declines, we believe we would not have enough money to end 2015 if we started it,\u201d Campbell continued. \u201cThen we\u2019d go bankrupt and we\u2019d owe patrons ticket money. That\u2019s immoral. We\u2019re trying to close with dignity and pay the obligations we have.<\/p>\n
\u201cSan Diegans have invested millions through ticket purchases and contributions. I salute every one of them because they believed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Money already collected for future subscriptions is in escrow and will be refunded. Pensions are held by staff members in individual 403B retirement plans to which both they and the opera contributed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have the money to go forward,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cYou read in the newspaper \u2018They have $16 million in assets.\u2019 Of course we do. The asset is the money you owe us two years down the track that you\u2019ve pledged. We don\u2019t have the cash. It\u2019s an asset. We have the scenic studio. We have this furniture. We have the computers. It\u2019s not workable cash in many cases. People don\u2019t understand what those terms mean.\u201d<\/p>\n
The majority of the staff will leave April 14 with a skeleton staff remaining to file reports, return orchestra scores and hopefully sell the scenic studio. Then an assignee will come in. He will own all the physical assets and negotiates their disposal.<\/p>\n
The worldwide opera world on both sides of the Atlantic is shaken. Here are quotes from a few players on this side of the pond:<\/p>\n
Opera director and Old Globe Artistic Director Emeritus Jack O\u2019Brien<\/i>, who was slated to direct Jake Heggie\u2019s \u201cGreat Scott\u201d in a future season: \u201cThe increasingly dire situation of the arts and arts support in our country grows to endemic proportions. The loss of the San Diego Opera is incalculable and as such, brings to a close one of the great, enduring, and most valuable sources of civic pride in the country. We’re all in mourning!\u201d<\/p>\n
Long Beach Opera Artistic\/General Director Andreas Mitisek:<\/i> \u201cHow sad to hear that the oldest company in Southern California will be closing. What does that say about us, our communities, and our investment in the arts?\u201d<\/p>\n
David Gockley, San Francisco Opera (reported by Janos Gereben in San Francisco Classical Voice):<\/i> San Diego \u201cwas one of the best-run companies in the country for decades \u2014 it sends shudders through me and my staff that this happens to a good company, not a New York City Opera.\u201d<\/p>\n
Opera News Editor F. Paul Driscoll:<\/i> \u201cThe closure of San Diego Opera represents a great loss \u2014 not only to the people of San Diego and the people of Southern California, but to opera lovers and opera professionals throughout the United States. San Diego Opera was an important company with a distinguished history that was a vital part of the American opera scene. It will be sorely missed.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to U-T San Diego, ten other once-thriving operas have closed their curtains in the past six years in North America, including: Baltimore Opera in 2008; Opera Pacifica, Orange County, also in 2008; Connecticut\u00a0Opera in 2009; Cleveland (Oh.)\u00a0Opera\u00a0and\u00a0Spokane\u00a0(Wash.) Opera\u00a0in 2010; Opera\u00a0Boston\u00a0and\u00a0Lyric\u00a0Opera\u00a0of\u00a0San\u00a0Diego\u00a0in 2011; San\u00a0Antonio\u00a0Opera\u00a0in 2012;\u00a0New York City Opera in 2013; and Opera\u00a0Hamilton, Canada\u00a0in 2014.<\/p>\n