ocean515
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- Jan 26, 2013
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And on that note, the local opera just weathered a bit of a "scandal".
Times are hard for opera, it doesn't captivate as many people now, so attendance is down. San Diego has a top rate opera, but was going to be in the red next year. The board, which pulls down six figures, voted to end it. Because they would get their salaries for two years if the funds were available, and if they spent the money on the shortfall it wouldn't be there for them.
The company learned of this in the newspaper, after the fact.
A major "save the opera" campaign was started by the union and the company itself and enough was raised to keep the company going, on the condition the directors be replaced.
So in this case, personal gain of a couple of directors was considered more important than the jobs of the entire company and opera afficionados as well.
It takes all kinds I guess. The exception certainly does not prove the rule. However, if opera is not a commercially viable endeavor in San Diego, I'm not sure what should be expected. Unless some benefactor can step in and underwrite the loss, it's a sign of the times. Vaudeville suffered the same fate.