Tag Archives: George Steel

All New York City Opera tickets for shows at BAM are $25 to celebrate settlement

20120120-181251.jpgGreat news: Not only has City Opera averted a strike, it’s found some angels to allow it to offer all tickets for its operas at the Brooklyn Academy of Music for just $25.

George Steel, the general manager and artistic director made the announcement in an email blast late Friday afternoon:

I am also delighted to report that as a gift to the City of New York, The Reed Foundation and The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation have bought the remaining seats for all performances at BAM, allowing us to offer these seats at a special price of $25 to celebrate our new beginning. I invite you to purchase tickets today to take advantage of this incredibly generous and thoughtful gift.

That means you can see Rufus Wainwright’s Prima Donna and Giuseppe Verdi’s  La Traviata for a song. Go here to get your tickets now.

While the three-year deal struck by the struggling opera company with its singers and instrumentalists keeps things going, it’s not a happy ending it means less money for an already hard-hit group of musicians. But without the deal, it appeared NYCO would have vanished forever.

Buying time at New York City Opera

City Opera revives the Mark Lamos production of Chabrier's comic opera L'Etoile.

City Opera revives the Mark Lamos production of Chabrier's comic opera L'Etoile.

I know, I know. New York City Opera announced its comeback season long ago — on April Fools Day.

But Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone? didn’t exist at that time — although the name and the idea had been kicking around for a year. So please forgive me for jumping into the pool a bit late.

I was reminded that WYMMWIG? hadn’t weighed in on the NYCO when the subscription notice arrived in my mailbox yesterday. I had been looking forward to its return after a year without City Opera — the only opera company to which I’ve ever subscribed.

It was a big envelope. Black and white logo, very frugal. That seemed good. And the envelope seemed thin. A sign, it seemed, of a sensible frugality in these trying economic times. Continue reading