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Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things > Archives > 2010 > June > 30 > Entry
Austin Lyric Opera reports lay-offs
Citing a continuing downturn in individual and corporate donations, the Austin Lyric Opera has announced that it has laid off three staff positions.
Kevin Patterson, general director of the opera, said that two full-time and one-half time positions were cut in effort to bring the organization’s budget to $4.3 million as it heads into its new fiscal year, down from $4.5 million this year, a four percent decrease. After the layoffs, the opera will have 22 staff members.
The positions are in development, marketing and in the box office.
“This was an extremely difficult decision to make and we examined every angle to see if there was any way around making any of these cuts, but unfortunately there was not,” Patterson said.
Patterson said the opera board voted to adopt the new $4.3 million budget in May.
“We’ve seen some improvement in contributions from individuals and corporations since (the downturn in 2008), but we haven’t seen a full recovery,” Patterson.
Charitable donations to the arts are down around the nation, a June report by the Giving USA Foundation shows. Philanthropic contributions fell 2.4 percent in 2009. In 2008 giving to the arts dropped 6.4 percent, the report shows.
In Austin, the opera isn’t the only arts institutions that has had to make cuts since the economic tumble of 2008. Last year, the Austin Museum of Art made a ten percent budget cut, eliminating five full-time positions and mandating all staff members to take one-week unpaid furloughs.
Patterson said the eliminated positions will not effect the opera’s artistic or educational programs. “We’re still in a process of tightening the budget, but we don’t want to sacrifice our artistic offerings.”
The opera will continue with its 2010-2011 season as planned, presenting four operas.
Last year, the opera cuts its budget to $4.5 million from $5 million in response to declining donations and ticket sales brought on by the recession. The organization currently carries a $600,000 deficit, Patterson said.
Patterson also noted that tickets sales have not returned to pre-2008 levels.
“It’s very much a buyer’s market right now in Austin in terms of entertainment and there’s just less disposable income in people’s pockets,” he said.
But ticket buyers have responded to the opera’s next production, Michael Nyman’s one-act chamber opera “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for A Hat.” Presented in a small-scale production at St. Martin’s Lutheran Church July 9-11, the three-performance run has already sold out.
Tickets, however, were just $25.
Comments
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By AustinTexan
July 12, 2010 1:27 PM | Link to this
Curiously, the artistic level of this summer’s chamber opera, Nyman’s “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat” was notably higher than some of the recent winter seasons’ disappointing productions! It was too bad the venue was so acoustically unsuitable. St. Martin’s is fine for choral performances (Conspirare) but way too resonant for chamber opera. Why not McCullough or Rollins?
I’m giving ALO one more season, but also planning to see more HGO productions.
By austin2
June 30, 2010 5:28 PM | Link to this
I second austin’s note. The programming has taken a nose-dive over the past several years. My mother canceled her subscription two years ago because it had become embarrassing to go. Prior to that we had really wonderful evenings of opera. Mr. Patterson, you can probably blame some of this on the economy but I’ll bet if you get back to traditional opera you will have an increase in subscriptions.
By Brian
June 30, 2010 5:26 PM | Link to this
My $$$ goes to Mack Brown, NASCAR, and survival supplies. Sorry ‘bout that, opera.
By VideoVic
June 30, 2010 4:44 PM | Link to this
Please add more ‘The Man Who Mistook His Wife for A Hat’ performances!
By austin
June 30, 2010 1:28 PM | Link to this
I’m sorry to learn of the layoffs and wish those affected all the best.
I also wish ALO all the best, despite my decision last month to cancel my long-held season subscription. My cancellation had nothing to do with income or the economy. Rather, the programming has routinely failed to impress.
Mr. Patterson, focus on good programming and ticket sales will rebound. I was embarrassed for everyone to witness the disastrous Carmen, Bat, and Hansel & Gretel productions. Cinderella was great - so long as I kept my eyes shut.
I found myself dreading the next production (how bad will this one be?) instead of eagerly anticipating it.
And the Statesman enables this wayward organization by waiting until closing week-end to print a brief and too-kind reviews by writers who have a very limited knowledge of the art form.
Michael Barnes was a leading advocate for the Long Center. It’s incumbent upon him and the paper to hold the companies that now control property contributed by City taxpayers (to the tune of tens of millions of dollars) to the highest standards.
Austin deserves better opera than what ALO delivers.