Latest Word: San Diego Opera Closure Reconsidered

Janos Gereben on April 1, 2014

On Tuesday, several reports said the San Diego Opera board of directors voted to reconsider their previous virtually unanimous decision to close the company at the end of the current season.

According to UT San Diego News:

Following a nearly five-hour emergency meeting, the San Diego Opera’s board of directors voted Monday to reset the clock on the opera’s looming liquidation.

Rather than close shop and begin selling assets on April 14, the day after its fourth and final production of Don Quixote closes at the Civic Theatre, the opera is giving itself two additional weeks to re-evaluate its financial condition, consider additional options and possibly find a way to go forward for at least another season.

The board voted 35 to 4 to wait until April 29 to take any definitive actions regarding the company’s future in a meeting that included an appearance by Opera America president and CEO Marc Scorca, whose organization represents American opera companies.

"I wanted to convey that other opera companies have faced even more dire circumstances and re-trenched, re-tooled and re-energized — artistically and administratively — with notable success," said Scorca after the meeting. "The only way to continue San Diego Opera's important legacy is to envision the future of the company with creativity and determination."

Neither board president Karen Cohn nor General and Artistic Director and CEO Ian Campbell were available for comment.