Published: December 17, 2009 12:00 am      

Glimmerglass Opera balances 2010 budget

Staff Report

Glimmerglass Opera has reduced its 2010 operating expenses by nearly 20 percent in order to balance the company’s budget, according to a statement released Monday.

The company’s board of trustees recently approved a $5.6 million budget, which is about $1 million less than in recent years.

The 2010 Festival will be presented as planned, with four fully-staged productions running July 9 through Aug. 24 at the Alice Busch Opera Theater in Springfield.

``The revised budget returns the company to its previously successful level for operations,’’ said Michael MacLeod, Glimmerglass Opera general and artistic director.

``These organizational adjustments make it possible for Glimmerglass Opera to continue presenting imaginative productions for years to come. We are making adjustments for the long-term health of the company,’’ he continued.

The reductions touch all areas of operation and include the elimination of seven of the company’s 29 full-time, year-round staff positions.

``The staff cuts were the very last to be included, and the decision was made after all other options were considered,’’ MacLeod said. While individual contributions are on the rise, the company said recent cuts in state funding and reduced income from special events and ticket sales have contributed to lower-than-estimated income. According to the statement, the company generally realizes about 35 percent of its income from ticket sales.

The opera has instituted a new, lower price ticket structure for the 2010 festival season to attract new audience members who might not have been able to afford the previous ticket prices, according to the Opera’s website.

In 2009, ticket prices started at $58.

Next season, a ticket costs as little as $26, and an opera-goer can attend all four productions for as little as $72.

Other major streams of revenue coming from individual contributions, grants, co-productions and production rentals. Additionally, the consistent coproduction relationship Glimmerglass Opera once shared with New York City Opera ended in 2006, around the time Paul Kellogg retired from artistic leadership of both companies.

For more information on Glimmerglass Opera and its 2010 Festival, visit www.glimmerglass.org or call the Glimmerglass Opera Box Office at (607) 547- 2255.