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Some excellent comments from various readers. It’s important that supporters of opera are allowed to voice their opinions and here are just a couple.  More to come as you write in.

Comment:

The demise of the NYCO has been a steadily downward since it cut it’s season and lost the Lincoln Center venue has a home. But what is the economic enviroment that surrounds the arts at all levels today and the current attitude of the political and financial aritocracy that controls the resources to maintain our arts organzations. Symphonies and museums have been cut across the country for the want of a few million dollars while billions are spent daily on wars, and trillions are poured into the Wall Street coffers. The first academic areas that are cut in our public schools are music,art,libraries as school districts have decreasing property taxes after the 2008 Financial meltdown and massive home forclosures and values of homes plunged. Aid has been cut at the Federal and state levels. Corporate donations to the MET and other cultural entites has lost its appeal.
The crisis at the DSO is part of a national phenomenon. Budgets for arts groups and arts education are under relentless attack from governments in the US at all levels, while wealthy individuals and corporations are reducing their financial gifts. Pay cuts have been imposed at symphony orchestras in Phoenix, Houston, Cincinnati, Seattle, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Baltimore, Atlanta, Virginia, North Carolina and Utah, among other cities and states.

Comment:

I grew up at the old City Center Opera and saw things there I had not seen performed in this country for many years after that. What an adventurous company it was. I could afford those tickets and could scarcely afford a family circle ticket at the Met so I went often and saw many future opera stars at NYC Opera. A shame that the “peoples” opera and the Amato Opera Theater both will have been closed down. That basically leaves the Met at prices that I can only afford infrequently. Even the Santa Fe Opera out here in the west is now at Met prices. Thank goodness for HDTV broadcasts as that is about the only way I can see an opera “live” these days. Thank goodness for regional companies like Central City and Des Moines with reasonable prices and good performances and adventuresome repertoire. Of course, while I admire the daring of doing the Anna Nicole opera, I have to wonder if that was the wisest thing to do given their financial problems. I think that was a huge mistake.