Another opera company ceases to be

[volcanohunter]

Opera Lyra Ottawa has announced that it is shutting down effective immediately. As far as I know, its season has never been particularly extensive, but mounting even 2-3 productions per season has proven to be too expensive.

Our core problem is that revenues have not grown to cover the costs of presenting high quality opera on the stage of the National Arts Centre. There are challenges in all revenue areas, including: major shortfalls in commercial sponsorships, modest shortfalls in private philanthropy, reductions in funding from the federal and provincial governments and, recently, weaker ticket sales.

The decline in paying audiences for Opera Lyra (a trend that is reportedly affecting other performing arts in Ottawa-Gatineau) is a key difficulty. Opera is an expensive musical genre. It combines orchestral music, vocal performance, and dramatic staging with sets, lighting and costumes. Other opera companies in North America have also had recent financial problems and several closures, notably in San Diego, New York and Hamilton, Ontario.

https://operalyra.ca

Ottawa has not had a ballet company of its own for some time. The National Arts Centre imports a few visitors each season. I have a feeling that importing opera would be too costly.

[pherank]

The San Diego Opera has gone through tumultuous times, but is still operational (and putting on decent productions). All of these companies are fighting to stay alive in changing times.

[dirac]

Thanks for posting this, volcanohunter. A letter to the editor by a former manager of the company:

When I arrived in Ottawa, I was thrilled to be working with one of the best orchestras in North America and performing in an exceptional opera hall.

What I had not anticipated were the high costs associated with those two institutions, and the difficulty in securing optimum performance dates.