STATE OF THE ART
ORCHESTRA/OPERA STRUGGLES
Fall 2002

SF Symphony In The Black Though orchestras across America are reporting financial troubles, the San Francisco Symphony says it posted a small surplus for 2002 - $112,000 on a budget of more than $45 million. Income was almost evenly split between earned income and contributions. San Francisco Chronicle 12/10/02

Berlin's Battling Opera Houses Berlin's three opera houses are scrapping with one another to survive. "Does a city really need three opera houses? Probably not, but Berlin has long taken pride in its embarrassment of operatic riches. If one house closes, the city will end up with the same eminently sensible—and thus eminently predictable—arrangement that applies in New York, Paris, and London. There will be the "big" house, like the Met or Covent Garden, presenting de-luxe productions with international stars; and there will be the "alternative" house, like New York City Opera or English National Opera, staking out slightly more adventurous repertory. With three companies, you never quite know what you're going to get." The New Yorker 12/09/02

ORCHESTRA SHUTDOWNS COME TO THE HOLY LAND: The increased violence and tension in the Middle East may now have killed off a beloved local institution: the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra has announced that it will shut down this weekend as a result of nonpayment of promised funds from the city and the Israel Broadcast Authority. JSO officials also accuse the IBA and municipal authorities of wanting to turn the orchestra into a political pawn. Jerusalem Post 11/5/02

NO SHORTAGE OF CASH IN BOSTON: Chicago may be struggling, St. Louis and Toronto may have had near-death experiences, and Houston may be on the verge of an all-out labor war, but things are just dandy at the Boston Symphony Orchestra. As the BSO prepares to kick off its holiday pops season, it is pulling in the kind of ticket revenue which would be enough to fund some orchestras for a year without a single dollar donated. Never an organization to underestimate its own importance, the BSO's managing director brags, "There are (smaller) orchestras that for the entire 52-week year will have not even $10 million of sales, We do almost half of that in basically three weeks. We are the biggest orchestra operation in the world by a big margin." Boston Herald 12/06/02

SO MUCH FOR 'GREEDY AMERICAN MUSICIANS': The musicians of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra have taken an unprecedented step in an effort to help the organization stay fiscally solvent, offering up $100,000 of matching money to be applied against donations from orchestra subscribers. The musicians originally had planned to donate the money to the PSO outright, but agreed with management that a challenge grant would offer greater opportunity to involve the public. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 12/05/02

HEADED FOR A SHOWDOWN IN HOUSTON: It simply is not possible to be further apart in negotiating stands than the musicians and management of the Houston Symphony are at the moment. Musicians want a five-year-deal, a salary jump to the level of the nation's major orchestras, and more benefits, while management wants to cut 6 or 7 weeks off the season in order to bring costs under control. The scene is familiar to orchestras across the country, but unlike most symphonic negotiations, which take place under closely guarded secrecy, this conflict has exploded into the open. Houston Chronicle 12/03/02

CALGARY CANCELS CHRISTMAS: Something short of a massive, wailing public outcry greeted September's news that the Calgary Philharmonic was suspending operations, and efforts since the shutdown to revive the troubled orchestra have achieved mixed results. Now, the CPO is being forced to cancel four of its five holiday concerts, traditionally some of the ensemble's biggest money-makers of the year. On the plus side, officials expect to unveil a full scale restructuring plan tomorrow. Calgary Herald 12/01/02

LYRIC ALTERING PLANS: Chicago Lyric Opera isn't in a financial emergency like some of America's other big opera companies. But it doesn't want to get their either. So the company has dropped two expensive productions for next season. "With tickets harder to sell, donations more difficult to find and solid institutions like the Chicago Symphony Orchestra reporting sizable deficits, Lyric officials decided they had little choice about changing their plans for 2003-04." Chicago Sun-Times 11/29/02

ALBERTA ORCHESTRAS STRUGGLE TO OVERCOME DEBT: The financially-troubled Edmonton Symphony whacks down its deficit by a third with a gift from a longtime supporter. Meanwhile the Calgary Philharmonic, which suspended operations last month after failing under a $1.2 million debt, says it will announce next week its plans to reactivate. The Globe & Mail (Canada) 11/28/02

TORONTO SYMPHONY RECOVERS: While other orchestras around North America post bad financial news, the Toronto Symphony has some good to report. Last year, the Toronto Symphony declared itself "on the precipice of complete collapse" after posting a $7 million deficit and seeing its subscription sales drop alarmingly. The orchestra's then-executive director quit. This year's been another story - the orchestra has reduced its deficit to $5 million and fundraising for the season was up 50 percent. National Post 11/23/02

SEATTLE BAILS OUT OPERA HOUSE: The Seattle City Council has begrudgingly approved a loan of $27 million to finish construction of the Seattle Opera House. Fundraising for the $130 million project has fallen off, with expected contributions from county and state governments failing to come through. "We didn't plan on making that loan. It sets a bad example for future partnerships that might also keep coming back for more and more money." Seattle Post-Intelligencer 11/26/02

OPERA'S NEWLY BROAD APPEAL: "Opera as a subject for film peaked during the silent era, when movies were accustomed to non-stop music and a kind of melodramatic posturing that's still taken as normal on many opera stages. But there's no current shortage of film directors willing to do opera in its usual habitat, or even to write and stage new works." And we're not talking about filmed versions of La Boheme, either, but new operas written by real composers in collaboration with the directors. Maybe there's hope for the mass appeal of the high arts yet. The Globe & Mail (Toronto) 11/20/02

THEY MAY BE BROKE, BUT THEY'RE GOOD: The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra might be struggling under mountains of debt (the orchestra's executive director recently threatened that that bankruptcy would be a possibility if local donors didn't step up the level of their fiscal generosity) and wondering how to replace outgoing music director Mariss Jansons, but out-of-town reviews of a recent East Coast tour seem to suggest that, artistically, the PSO has never seen better times. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 11/20/02

LOOKING FOR A SAVIOR: The English National Opera, leaderless, £3 million in debt and about to be ousted from its home because of a costly renovation, is looking for someone to save it. Could that savior be Graham Vick, one of "Britain's few real world-class opera stars and a man not afraid of working with a large heap of manure?" The Guardian (UK) 11/19/02

SF OPERA CUTS DOWN SEASON TO SAVE MONEY: San Francisco Opera is facing an almost $8 million budget shortfall. So the company is cancelling one production next season and substituting a cheaper production for another. "In place of a planned production of Rimsky-Korsakov's Le Coq d'Or (The Golden Cockerel), the company will mount a revival of Mozart's Magic Flute. A production of Weber's Der Freischutz has been canceled outright." San Francisco Chronicle 11/15/02

ORCHESTRAS DYING? LET'S CHECK THE EVIDENCE: There are altogether too many columns decrying the death of classical music, writes Justin Davidson. But "the American Symphony Orchestra League's numbers show that U.S. orchestras gave more concerts and sold more tickets in the 2000-2001 season than ever before. Revenue from ticket sales - $775 million across the country - had climbed by 37 percent in five years. A few months later, the World Trade Center tumbled, and so did ticket sales, but only temporarily. At the New York Philharmonic, which might be expected to have suffered disproportionately from post-Sept. 11 doldrums, the box office remains steady." Newsday 11/10/02

MUSIC'S DECLINING HOLD ON HIGH CULTURE: Why has interest (and funding) for new music faded away in Britain? "Given the genuinely diversifying society of this country, it seems improbable that the surviving directors and institutions of our post-war high culture will ever regain quite the centrality and influence they once exercised. The support that composers can expect from that quarter, therefore, will doubtless remain restricted." The Independent (UK) 11/01/02

EDMONTON MULLS MERGER: The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, which spent much of last season embroiled in controversy over management's dismissal of a popular conductor, is considering merging with the Edmonton Opera Company to save money. The merger would be a fairly easy logistical move, since ESO musicians already function as the pit orchestra for the EOC, and the two organizations even share office space. CBC 11/05/02

OPERA HITS THE HEARTLAND: You know the new American opera boom is getting serious when Wichita, Kansas has its own full-season opera company. Wichita Grand Opera, a newly formed organization complete with a full orchestra and a schedule full of star appearances, is making headlines in a state known more for tornados than toreadors. And while the WGO is far from being the Met Opera, its organizers seem to have a strong grasp on what type of programs will be most effective at drawing locals in, and selling them on the idea that serious opera can be real entertainment. Kansas City Star 11/06/02

OPERA AUSTRALIA MAY CUT MELBOURNE SEASON: Opera Australia may cut its Melbourne season because of poor ticket sales. "Speculation about the future of Opera Australia's Melbourne program follows general manager Adrian Collette's announcement that returns are too poor to justify the company's present range of activities. By contrast, ticket sales in Sydney are strong and the season is profitable. The Age (Melbourne) 11/05/02

ROYAL TURNAROUND: After years of turmoil, Covent Garden's Royal Opera is finally "a happier and healthier place. The critics are full of praise, and the tabloids have let up on their needling. The solution, oddly simple on the face of it, was to hire a powerful artistic personality around whom the company's energies could coalesce. The new music director, Antonio Pappano, is one of the best all-around conductors of opera now working; unless the byzantine management structure makes a victim of him, he ought to have a long and happy reign." The New Yorker 11/04/02

TORONTO AND MONTREAL LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES: Canada's two largest orchestras are looking for music directors. But "these are challenging times for Canadian orchestras. Last year, the TSO almost folded for lack of cash, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra locked out its players and the musicians of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra took a voluntary pay cut. In Alberta, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra is in the throes of bankruptcy, and a musical schism in Edmonton has left that city with two competing orchestras. Yet the inauspicious events that rendered the Toronto and Montreal Symphonies leaderless now offer both orchestras exciting opportunities for renewal - or enough rope to hang themselves with." The Globe & Mail (Canada) 11/02/02

NEW DEAL OPERA: Opera is drawing big crowds in America, new operas are finding performances and innovation seems to be in the air. "Is America about to put its own, contemporary stamp on opera, that centuries-old import from Europe? Maybe. While it may be too much to call this burst of activity a trend toward 'Americanizing' opera, it's certainly a sign of life, and that's enough to get opera enthusiasts cheering." Christian Science Monitor 11/01/02

COULD BE WORSE: Only a few months ago, the very existence of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra was threatened, and most observers said the group's massive deficits and incompetent management had put the SLSO in a hole that would remove it from the ranks of the top U.S. orchestras. Since then, the organization has rallied, raising millions from the corporate community and from private donors, and moving towards acquiring a sizable challenge grant with impressive speed. This week, the news got even better, as the SLSO announced that its deficit last season wound up being $2 million less than projected. Saint Louis Business Journal 10/30/02

DOING THINGS THE CALGARY WAY: To most Canadians, Calgary, Alberta, is the Cowboy City, a remote Western outpost boasting plenty of corporate bigwigs and independent-minded entrepreneurs, but little in the way of such traditional urban accessories as culture, art, or music. That view of the city appeared to be supported by last month's collapse of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, which closed up shop (at least temporarily) with nary a peep to be heard from the moneyed classes. One local columnist even suggested that the CPO deserved to die because his CD of the Berlin Philharmonic sounded better. But the CPO may yet have life, thanks to some distinctly Calgarian efforts from a local real estate magnate, and speculation has begun about what other work will be required to reinvigorate the ensemble. Calgary Herald 10/31/02

DETROIT SEES RED: Add the Detroit Symphony to the list of American orchestras posting deficits. The $500,000 shortfall on a budget of $28 million is smaller than other major orchestras, but it's the second year in a row the DSO has failed to balance its books. Detroit Free Press 10/29/02

THE PROBLEM WITH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS: Symphony orchestras across America are struggling with money (or rather, a lack of it). "What's the problem with classical music? As it turns out, all unhappy symphony orchestras are unhappy in their own way, but the answer is surprisingly consistent. "It really is 'the economy, stupid.' It's affecting all those revenue sources - especially corporate, foundation, government and individual donations - that are crucial to an orchestra's bottom line." Los Angeles Times 10/29/02

THE MODERN ORCHESTRA MODEL: With orchestras collapsing and gasping for breath all across the continent, the San Francisco Symphony is firmly in the black, artistically sound, and universally acknowledged to be one of the most musically daring ensembles in the world. Is it the ultra-trendy city? The dynamic and flashy music director? Don't fool yourself: the SFS is where it is due to prescient long-range planning, an unswerving commitment to its audience, and a top-notch management team which foresaw the economic collapse five years before it happened, and had a 'Plan B' ready to roll. Dallas Morning News 10/27/02

NEW HOPE IN COWBOY CITY: Hold that funeral procession! The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra may yet have life, after a prominent real estate company announced plans to help the ensemble sell 700 'voucher packages' to its corporate clients at $500 apiece. The company's CEO is confident the plan will work, and hopes that other Calgary business heavyweights will follow suit with similar innovative programs, saying "My salesmen can lease and sell office buildings and shopping centres, so we think we can sell symphony tickets, too. The old form of fundraising -- walking around and looking for money -- doesn't work anymore." Calgary Herald 10/26/02

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ORCHESTRA BOOM? Only five years ago, many North American orchestras were convinced that the future was bright. New concert halls abounded, and ticket sales were up continent-wide. These days, though, it is a rare orchestra which isn't struggling in the grip of crippling deficits, and many smaller orchestras are finding themselves on the precipice. Case in point: the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. Edmonton Journal 10/24/02

IS NEW MUSIC FINALLY POPULAR? Ever since the modernist and serialist movements of the mid-20th century, conventional wisdom has held that the concertgoing public cannot abide new music, and that any effort to program modern works must be counterbalanced with a healthy dose of 'safe' classics. But with the rise of accessible (and yet unquestionably serious) composers like John Corigliano, how can anyone still claim that new music is unpopular? Philadelphia Inquirer 10/27/02

CHICAGO SYMPHONY DEFICIT: The Chicago Symphony reports a $6.1 million deficit for last season. The orchestra notes "challenging economic conditions,'' and says that "even record-breaking contributions to the annual fund could not close the 'widening imbalance' between operating revenues and expenses." Chicago Sun-Times 10/23/02

NJ SYMPHONY RUNS DEFICIT: The New Jersey Symphony ran up a deficit of $1.1 million last season. Alarmingly, the figure is about 7 percent of the orchestra's total budget. "The economy has basically moved orchestras from experiencing small surpluses to experiencing small deficits. I anticipate it's a short-term phenomenon." Newark Star-Ledger 10/18/02

OPERA IN L.A. - MISSED OPPORTUNITIES? A few years ago opera was a hot ticket in Los Angeles, particularly among the under-30 crowd. Now? "Did opera turn out to be another pop-cult fad, or did the L.A. company blow the opportunity to capture this most sought-after demographic?" Los Angeles Times 10/17/02

CALGARY PHIL DEMANDS LEADER'S HEAD: The Calgary Philharmonic, which suspended operations last week after a financial crisis, has asked for the resignation of its president. The orchestra's future is in doubt. "The CPO's recent aggressive marketing campaign to secure 2,000 new subscriber households by the end of October has only managed to gain about 800 new patrons." Calgary Herald 10/19/02

• JUST SHUT IT DOWN: "The fact is that big orchestras are done for. Gonzo. They're an anachronism, an all-but-dead corpse kept on life support by tax dollars and an ever dwindling group of philanthropists and ticket buyers." Just shut them down. Calgary Herald 10/18/02

CHANGE AT THE TOP: Many of the world's top orchestras are introducing new music directors. "All this giddy change is partly coincidence; music directors come, and they go. But a new century also generates a new zeitgeist, and that surely motivates managements, some of which have gently or not-so-gently eased out aging, long-standing conductors. And these are turbulent times for classical music institutions." The question is - what does all this change mean? Los Angeles Times 10/20/02

CAN THE ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA SURVIVE? "The case for keeping an English national opera has been weakened by a decade of weak administration and mounting debt. The deficit, I'm reliably informed, has topped £3 million. There is no cash in the kitty for new productions and the box-office is slow. These are bleak days at the Coliseum. Even the neon roof-sign is perpetually on the blink. So why keep ENO going? Because it's the only place this side of Paris where you can see professional opera for a fair price." La Scena Musicale 10/16/02

ANOTHER ORCHESTRA GOES OUT OF BUSINESS: The troubled Calgary Philharmonic has suspended operations and filed a brief with a bankruptcy court, cancelling all concerts for at least the next 45 days and laying off 65 musicians and as many as 20 staff. Calgary's arts scene, never exactly a bustling one, is expected to suffer fallout from the CPO's slow and very public collapse over the last year or two, and many in the CPO organization seem surprised and disgusted that the city's wealthy residents didn't seem to do a lot to help when the chips were down. Calgary Herald 10/16/02

SAVE OUR SHEET MUSIC: "Unimpressed with the San Jose Symphony's efforts to save its music library, the musicians have taken fundraising into their own hands. The musicians have raised more than $20,000 to preserve the sheet music, which is valued at about $125,000. The library consists of more than 1,000 marked-on scores that could be lost when the symphony declares bankruptcy in coming weeks." The SJS ceased operations earlier this year, but a new orchestra being started by the city's ballet troupe might be able to make use of such an extensive library. San Jose Mercury News 10/14/02

KNOWING WHAT'S IMPORTANT: As deficits mount and cost-cutting measures spring up at orchestras across North America, one of the hardest expenses to justify is the international tour. Short-sighted board members often question whether touring is an investment with no return, and the orchestra's regular patrons hardly notice whether their band tours or not. Besides that, touring is horribly expensive. Yet some orchestras seem to retain an unshakable commitment to it, and one example you might not expect is Baltimore. In the wake of 9/11, as other orchestras were cancelling international travel in a panic, Baltimore went to Europe without hesitation. Now, the BSO has just wrapped up a sucessful Japan tour, and continues to make inroads on the international scene. Baltimore Sun 10/13/02

AUSTIN OPERA FIRES DIRECTOR: Last week Austin Lyric Opera fired its general director Joseph McClain. "Budget deficits and advocacy of new operas had created friction between McClain and factions on the board for at least two years. The dismissal was predicated on recent projections that the company would face more deficits for the next three years." Austin American-Statesman 10/10/0

WHAT, US, WORRY? "In a difficult financial environment for symphony orchestras, the Florida Orchestra has bucked a trend. In the fiscal year that closed at the end of June, the orchestra reported a surplus of $480,000 in a cash budget of $7.8-million at its annual meeting Tuesday. The Florida Orchestra didn't have the weakened ticket sales that many other orchestras did after the terrorist attacks of last Sept. 11," and a pre-9/11 round of budget cutting may have helped the orchestra stay above the red line. St. Petersburg Times 10/09/02

OPERA WARS: British arts policy tries to promote opera in parts of the country where there isn't much. So regional companies get big subsidies. But bad facilities and lame programming choices undercut efforts. And knockoff foreign touring companies are an even bigger threat. "Audiences, depressingly, seem content to hear foreigners singing familiar tunes loudly, with scenery and costumes left over from the silent-film era." The Telegraph (UK) 10/09/02

ORANGE COUNTY DELAYS CONCERT HALL: The Orange County Performing Arts Center is pushing back the opening of its new $200 million concert hall by a year. But it's not because fundraising has dried up, says the center's management. "About $100 million has been raised or pledged since the campaign began nearly three years ago. But, amid a plummeting stock market and other economic woes, only $3.5 million in new donations has been announced in the last 12 months." No, the reason is acoustical: "Because of its complex acoustical engineering, they said, the 2,000-seat hall requires a break-in time of three to six months to 'tune' it for peak sonic performance, and pushing to keep to the original schedule would have risked getting off to a bad start. 'A lot of cities have looked at the Philadelphia experience and are making sure they have plenty of time for the tuning period'." Los Angeles Times 10/08/02

TOUGH SELL IN SOUTH FLORIDA: For 30 years orchestras have struggled in Miami trying to carve out an existence. And still, even with an ambitious new performing arts center rising, it's a tough sell. "The Miami Philharmonic did some interesting things and remarkable playing in its time. But South Florida wasn't ready to support an orchestra then - and I'm sorry to say I'm still not sure it's ready to do it today. Besides that, the economy isn't very good right now.'' Miami Herald 10/06/02

HOUSTON SYMPHONY WANTS TO REDUCE PAY: Musicians of the Houston Symphony say they are being offered a dramatic pay cut that would reduce their base salary to $63,000 from $74,100. Reports have been circulating in the music community about proposed drastic cutbacks in pay that could lead to a strike. According to an administrator at one Houston arts organization, the offer includes several weeks of unpaid vacation and reduction of health benefits for dependents." The orchestra recorded a $1.6 million deficit last season. Houston Chronicle 10/04/02

NEW SAN JOSE ORCHESTRA: With the defunct San Jose Symphony not likely to be revived any time soon, the the Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley has announced it's staring its own orchestra and planning a season. The new orchestra will perform 7 concerts and expand the ballet's orchestra of 45 players to 70 to 75. Many of those musicians also played in the San Jose Symphony. San Jose Mercury News 10/05/02

CLEVELAND ORCH CUTS CHAMBER SERIES: Back when the epidemic of orchestra deficits began sweeping North America, many observers assumed that the crisis would be tough on the small and medium-sized orchestras, but would barely cause a ripple among the biggest and richest ensembles. It didn't work out that way, and now, nearly every major American and Canadian orchestra is slashing and burning through the budget, looking for cost-saving measures. The latest victim is the Cleveland Orchestra's chamber music series, which will be suspended as part of a cost-cutting package which also includes a staff wage freeze and pay cuts for the new music director and executive director. The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) 10/04/02

THE CHECK'S IN THE MAIL (NOT): When the Washington Chamber Symphony ceased operations earlier this year, many of the folks in charge seemed to vanish into the ether. Months later, subscribers want to know where their ticket refunds are, and the WCS's creditors are wondering when they'll be paid as well. Meantime, the people who seem to have run the orchestra into the ground may be too busy pointing fingers at each other to figure out just how the defunct organization can pay off its debts. Washington Post 10/04/02

CRUNCH TIME IN CALGARY: The musicians of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra have offered to take a 12.3% pay cut to keep the orchestra solvent for the rest of the season. It would be the second time in two years that the musicians have taken a large pay cut, but even that may not be enough to save the CPO. Massive deficits and a lack of enowment funds have the orchestra on the verge of folding operations. CFCN-TV (Calgary) 10/02/02

SF OPERA IN THE RED: Blaming a downturn in the economy and lower attendance since 9/11, San Francisco Opera announced a $7.7 million deficit for last season on its annual operating budget of approximately $60 million. It was the company's biggest financial shortfall in a decade. The company warns that "in the long term, the economic picture might compel the company to raise ticket prices and possibly even curtail some of General Girector Pamela Rosenberg's more ambitious - and costly - artistic plans." San Francisco Chronicle 10/02/02