Voices rising to make the case for saving New York City Opera
There is a growing chorus of dismay and anger over the dire situation at New York City Opera. That company has one of the most distinguished track records in the business, all the more remarkable given that it lived in the shadow of the better-funded, higher-profile Met.
Like many an arts group, NYCO has had its troubles raising money and selling tickets.
But a lot of the recent troubles there seem self-inflicted, which makes the matter all the more lamentable.
The current plan calls for moving NCYO away from Lincoln Center to points as yet unknown, to perform repertoire as yet unannounced at a budget as yet undetermined, managed by an administration that was just drastically reduced.
There's something terribly wrong with this picture.
I heartily recommend that you read two eloquent pleas that appeared Tuesday.
One is in ...
the form of an op-ed in New York Times written by the wonderful conductor Julius Rudel, who spent decades at NYCO and contributed greatly to its artistic legacy.
The other is an open letter to Mayor Bloomberg written by music critic George Loomis and posted on musicalamerica.com.
SUN STAFF PHOTO OF JULIUS RUDEL
Comments
Interestingly, I was thinking at a "Washington Opera - type solution", which George Loomis is advocating for the NY City Opera (i.e. absorbtion into Lincoln Center; makes sense to me) for the Philadelphia Orchestra with the Kimmel Center. As much as I hate losing the City Opera, the Philadelphia Orchestra is a unreplaceable treasure.
Posted by: Don Ciccio | June 9, 2011 11:57 AM