Opera Chic

Baltimore Opera Company's Saddest Inventory: The Full Auction

Towson-based auctioneer Alex Cooper will be handling the upcoming bids on Baltimore Opera Company's personal effects liquidation, and has put up a sealed bid auction catalog here.

The Baltimore Opera Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2008 after 58 years of production.

Full productions of operas are being sold (sets, costumes, and props), including a 1995 Aida (starting at $27,000.00 USD), a 2007 Maria Stuarda ($25,000.00 USD), and a 2006 Norma ($35,000.00 USD).

The most expensive set is the 2001 Tosca, starting at $45,000.00 USD, while the least expensive is a 1998 La Boheme at $10,000.00 USD.

Also up for grabs is "Rene Fleming (Hard Shell)". That's a typo, right? *shudders*

How To Liquidate Baltimore Opera

Sarah B., the woman who knows everything about the theater and everything about bankruptcy law, explains the actual process of Chapter VII liquidation for the Baltimore Opera company.

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Baltimore's Bankruptcy

The delightful Sarah B. is not only the woman who knows everything about NYC entertainment but she's also a bankruptcy legal eagle: on her blog (daily required reading at Casa Opera Chic) she posts an in-depth analysis of the Baltimore Opera's bankruptcy case.

Baltimore Opera Announces That It Went Bankrupt; As Anticipated On Opera Chic Almost A Month Ago

Baltimore Opera makes official what Opera Chic wrote almost a month ago and reiterated last week. They're going out of business.

After 58 years and more than 200 productions, the Baltimore Opera Company will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy tomorrow. The remaining two productions of the 2008-2009, Rossini's The Barber of Seville and Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, have been canceled.

So much for the carefully worded statement they had put out earlier, denying "rumors" while admitting to a diminishing cash flow and announcing a "re-positioning project".

The Baltimore Opera Company Goes Chapter 11

Baltimore Opera Company to file for bankruptcy today, after the board rejected a proposal to file for Chapter 7.

Baltimore Opera Goes Down; Opera Chic Stands By Her Nov. 12 Report, Spring 09 Season Not Happening

On Nov. 12, Opera Chic had very bad news to report, that Baltimore Opera was in dire financial straits, nearing bankruptcy: the chorus for Norma was facing the news that the company "is funded through November and that's all they know at this point...".

Two days later they gave the Baltimore Sun's Tim Smith a carefully worded statement, admitting to a diminishing cash flow and announcing a "re-positioning project".

Opera Chic stands by her Nov. 12 report, where she wrote that the spring 2009 season was not going to happen. Opera Chic will be very, very surprised if Barbiere and Porgy actually happen.

Baltimore Opera Company Bites The Dust? Florida Grand Opera, MET, Sweating As Well.

NYCO sweating bullets?

Heavily-subsidized Italian opera houses in panic facing the knife of government cuts?

Bad times in Baltimore as well. After losing longtime general director Michael Harrison, the Baltimore Opera Company seems to have reached a very bad spot financially, nearing bankruptcy: Opera Chic is told that the chorus for Norma is facing the news that the company "is funded through November and that's all they know at this point...".

Florida Grand Opera is also cutting down two of its operas, and then, even the MET is about to excise four from their 2009-10 season as well.