Baltimore Opera to Liquidate

[Hans]

As it turns out, Baltimore Opera's performances of Norma with Hasmik Papian in the title role and Ruth Ann Swenson as Adalgisa were its last. From the Washington Post:

Three months after seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and canceling the remainder of the 2008-09 season, the board of trustees of the Baltimore Opera Company voted yesterday to pursue Chapter 7 liquidation and dissolve the 58-year-old organization. The company will sell off its assets, including a warehouse, scenery, costumes and technical equipment, and distribute the proceeds among creditors.

"We had some promises of money, but there just wasn't enough out there," said General Manager M. Kevin Wixted. "To raise money for a season of opera was out of the question. We could have struggled on month-to-month, but we'd never get ahead."

Really terrible news.

[dirac]

Very sad news, and I'm sure we haven't heard the last of this kind of thing. Thank you for posting, Hans.

[cubanmiamiboy]

...hate, hate, HATE those news...

[cantdance]

Oh no. This is probably why I have not seen another student in class the past few months. She was a Baltimore opera singer. I lent her my dvd of the Russian ballet opera Sadko becuase it combined both things she loves.

[richard53dog]

This is really sad news. Baltimore Opera was Rosa Ponselle's baby, she cared for it for many years and used it as a showcase for some singers that she worked with. Beverly Sills talks of working with Ponselle prior to singing Manon(?) with the company. Later Ponselle worked with James Morris and he too sang some early roles in Baltimore and spoke gratefully of the opportunity that Ponselle and the Baltimore Opera gave him.

I only hope that we see a little more stability in this troubled economy. Sure many , many people are affected by it, myself included, but it seems a little like salt in the wounds to see so many smaller arts institutions failing.

Lets hope for a turnaround and some new sponsors with vision to resurrect and create some new organizations where vacuums have been created

[dirac]

An article from The Baltimore Sun.

"We talked about a gala and concert to raise money in the spring and talked about putting on a performance in the fall," Wixted said. "But an awful lot of effort would not have realized much money."

In the end, a majority of the board agreed that it made little sense to "struggle on month-to-month" and "never get ahead," as Wixted put it.

The $1.2 million debt that led to Baltimore Opera's demise was not by itself overwhelming, but with cash flow severely reduced last fall, that debt might as well have been 10 times as large. Routine daily operations became as much a challenge as putting on a new production of Aida.