Robinson Meyer on why New York City Opera’s $1m Kickstarter campaign was never going to work.
On Saturday night, the New York City Opera performed Anna Nicole, a musical work making its American premiere. In the words of the New York Times, it was about “yes, that Anna Nicole” — the model and reality TV star who died in 2007.
Anna Nicole was the first production of the company’s season, and it received good reviews. It is also, however, likely the opera company’s final production, ever.
The opera company’s closing is a tragedy by itself — the death of an egalitarian institution in profoundly un-egalitarian times. But for those interested in the culture enabled by and built around the Internet, the company’s story also exemplifies the failures of Kickstarter.
Established 70 years ago by Mayor Fiorella La Guardia as “the people’s opera,” the New York City Opera has struggled financially for the last decade. As the Times has reported in a series of stories this month, since 2008, the City Opera has left its longtime home at Lincoln Center, slashed its performance schedule, and borrowed against its endowment. Its endowment, too, now produces less than $200,000 a year, according to the Times. It used to produce millions.
Early in September, City Opera saw an upcoming financial cliff. $20 million was required, it said, for it to be able to fund itself through the year; $7 million was required for the company to survive September. It turned to private donors for much of that amount, but, to raise $1 million, it opened a Kickstarter.
On Saturday night, the New York City Opera performed Anna Nicole, a musical work making its American premiere. In the words of the New York Times, it was about “yes, that Anna Nicole” — the model and reality TV star who died in 2007.
Anna Nicole was the first production of the company’s season, and it received good reviews. It is also, however, likely the opera company’s final production, ever.
The opera company’s closing is a tragedy by itself — the death of an egalitarian institution in profoundly un-egalitarian times. But for those interested in the culture enabled by and built around the Internet, the company’s story also exemplifies the failures of Kickstarter.
Established 70 years ago by Mayor Fiorella La Guardia as “the people’s opera,” the New York City Opera has struggled financially for the last decade. As the Times has reported in a series of stories this month, since 2008, the City Opera has left its longtime home at Lincoln Center, slashed its performance schedule, and borrowed against its endowment. Its endowment, too, now produces less than $200,000 a year, according to the Times. It used to produce millions.
Early in September, City Opera saw an upcoming financial cliff. $20 million was required, it said, for it to be able to fund itself through the year; $7 million was required for the company to survive September. It turned to private donors for much of that amount, but, to raise $1 million, it opened a Kickstarter.