Uncle Normy has a plan to save New York City Opera:
Second, more is less. The more productions you put on, the better your chances of reducing deficits by attracting a bigger audience and a larger sponsor base. Instead, Steel has planned one gala and 31 performances on a budget of some $30 million. That means every performance costs around $1 million. (Last season, ENO staged 130 performances on a $46 million spend).
Third, the show isn’t over until the large bailiff sings. Dragged to within sight of the bankruptcy courts, ENO averted closure by means of artistic triumph.
In short, be more like ENO.
The Wall Street Journal, on the other hand, seems to have marginally more faith in George Steel:
Given the extreme limitations under which City Opera is now operating, the choices Mr. Steel made in creating this tiny, last-minute season demonstrate a positive strategic spin: a mix of the familiar and the unusual, and a showcase for some of City Opera's historical strengths and accomplishments such as pioneering new works and building a market for Handel. It's a more sensible course than Mr. Mortier's wholesale reinvention. Still, going forward -- if it can -- City Opera will once again have to establish its market niche and find the resources to make that vision sustainable.