Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Opera Hamilton, winding down operations because of a cash flow crunch, is unable to offer refunds to more than 1,000 subscribers and ticket holders for its cancelled performances of Popera and Bizet's Carmen.
The Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, however, announced Thursday it would honour Opera Hamilton tickets at four of its upcoming performances at Hamilton Place.
"In support of our region's opera fans and patrons who purchased tickets to upcoming Opera Hamilton performances, the HPO will honour any tickets purchased before Jan. 8, 2014 with a ticket of comparable value," said HPO executive director, Carol Kehoe.
Opera Hamilton, which has about 1,100 subscribers, announced Wednesday that it was ceasing operations and cancelling its two remaining shows of the season. In a press release, board co-chair Peter Uffelmann stated, "we simply do not have the financial resources to continue."
Opera Hamilton executive director Stephen Bye said Thursday the company could only offer tax receipts to subscribers and ticket holders for the cancelled performances. Three performances of Popera had been set to open Saturday at the Dofasco Centre for the Arts, while four performances of Carmen's Bizet had been scheduled for April. Individual ticket prices ranged from $65 to $127.
Bye said the company's current accounts payable run to about $140,000, a figure that includes $20,000 still owing to musicians who performed in Opera Hamilton's production of Verdi's Falstaff in October. Three full-time staff members, including Bye, and two part-time employees have not been paid for more than a month.
As well, the company is carrying an accumulated deficit of $600,000, a figure it has whittled down from $1.6 million since 2008.
Bye said Opera Hamilton, like most opera companies, is dependent on grants from governments, corporations and individual donors, with ticket sales typically covering only a third of the cost of a production. The company's corporate sponsors include BMO, RBC, Incite Foundation, Hamilton Community Foundation, Sun Life Financial, Scotiabank, the Ontario Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Hamilton Community Foundation.
Bye said the company has kept production costs relatively low.
"We spend about $300,000 on an opera," he said. "Most other companies of our size would spend $500,000. The Canadian Opera Company would spend more than $1 million."
Bye met with Mayor Bob Bratina Thursday afternoon to see if anything could be done to save the opera season. But no immediate solutions could be found.
Bratina said the city, which has already given Opera Hamilton more than $126,000 in funding this year, was unable to provide the company with any additional emergency funds this year.
"We're at a difficult place in Opera Hamilton's history," said Bratina, adding that he would continue trying to find emergency private sector funding for the opera company. "It's not likely that we're going to see the January performances but we are holding out hope that we can come up with a solution that will allow for the full-fledged operas later on."
The HPO offer to Opera Hamilton ticket holders covers the following performances — Mozart and Beethoven Take 2 (Jan. 18), Luminescence (Feb. 15), Pastorale (April 26), and Sea to Sea (May 31). Opera Hamilton patrons should call the HPO box office (905-526-7756) at least 72 hours prior to their chosen concert date, Monday to Friday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
By Graham Rockingham for www.thespec.com.
Photo: John Fanning as Falstaff. and Lyne Fortin as Alice ©2013 John Overmeyer.
2014-01-10
Hamilton: Hamilton Philharmonic offers special deal to Opera Hamilton ticket holders