Sigh: Sad News from San Francisco Opera

As I've been half-expecting and mostly dreading, here's the press release from San Francisco Opera cancelling the June season (Verdi, Ernani; Handel, Partenope; Bates, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs):

2020 SUMMER SEASON CANCELED

DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Opera is ON Launched to Inspire Connection and Community

During Time of Social Distancing

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (April 14, 2020) — San Francisco Opera Tad and Dianne Taube General Director Matthew Shilvock announced today that the Company’s 2020 Summer Season, scheduled to take place June 7–July 3 at the War Memorial Opera House, has been canceled. Ongoing developments in the global effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including orders by the City of San Francisco to shelter in place through at least May 3, as well as other state and federal travel restrictions and safety measures, prohibit the Company’s ability to prepare, build, rehearse and perform this summer.

“Today I am announcing the heartbreaking decision to cancel our 2020 Summer Season due to the current pandemic. The safety and health of our audiences, artists and employees must come first, and it is imperative that we continue to do our part in the critical effort to contain COVID-19,” said Shilvock. “I am profoundly grateful to all who have invested so deeply of themselves in planning and preparing for our summer season, and I grieve that so much creative energy will sadly not find expression on our stage this summer. This Company has faced many challenges in its nearly 100 years—our very theater was built from the determination of San Franciscans to bring music back after the devastation of the 1906 earthquake. We have survived the Great Depression, a World War, the Loma Prieta earthquake, the dot-com bust, September 11 and the 2008 recession. I know San Francisco Opera will emerge from this doing what we do best: bringing works of soaring beauty to life and sharing them with our extraordinary community.”

The decision to cancel the summer season was made in close consultation with San Francisco Opera Board Chairman John Gunn, San Francisco Opera Association President Keith Geeslin and the Company’s board of directors, who held a special meeting on April 10 to review and approve the action. The board has met regularly with management since the initial shelter-in-place order was issued by San Francisco Mayor London Breed on March 16 and remains deeply committed to the present and future success of the Company.

San Francisco Opera estimates financial losses of $8 million due to the cancellation of the summer season. The Company will continue to pay full compensation and benefits for employees through the current May 3 shelter-in-place period. “We are in conversation with all eight of our union partners to determine how we can best support our employees during this unprecedented situation,” Shilvock stated. “At this time, we are focused on mitigating the devastating impact that cancellations could have on the lives of the artists, musicians, crew members and staff who are the heart of this Company, while also maintaining a strong organization when we return to the stage. I am very grateful to all of our unions for their partnership in working through this very difficult time.”

“Arts and culture have the unique ability to provide solace, healing, connection and joy—things we need now more than ever. While we are devastated to cancel the summer season, we remain deeply committed to sharing the cathartic power of opera through our new digital initiativeOpera is ON,” Shilvock continued. “The entire Company joins me in expressing profound appreciation to all of the essential and front-line workers who are saving lives, ensuring the safety of our cities and keeping our communities running. We wish everyone health, safety and an optimistic hope for the future as, together, we navigate this crisis.”

The 2020 Summer Season was scheduled to include 18 performances of three operas: Verdi’s Ernani conducted by Caroline H. Hume Music Director Designate Eun Sun Kim, Handel’s Partenope with multiple artists making American debuts and the Bay Area premiere of Mason Bates and Mark Campbell’s The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. Ancillary activities relating to the mainstage presentations are also canceled, including Bay Area Opera Previews, pre-opera talks and Pride Night at the Opera.

Summer Season ticketholders may contact the San Francisco Opera Box Office to contribute the value of their tickets as a tax-deductible donation, exchange for a currently scheduled future mainstage performance, place the ticket value on account for future mainstage purchases or obtain a full refund. Donations are particularly helpful to San Francisco Opera during this difficult time. The Company extends its gratitude to all its patrons for their understanding and ongoing support. San Francisco Opera’s Box Office windows located at 301 Van Ness Avenue remain closed in accordance with the current shelter-in-place order through at least May 3, but the Box Office team is available to assist patrons by phone at (415) 864-3330, Monday 10 am–5 pm and Tuesday–Saturday 10 am–6 pm. Ticket holders may also visit sfopera.com/summer to select their preferred ticketed option.

While the War Memorial Opera House, Diane B. Wilsey Center for Opera and Burlingame Scene Shop have remained closed to San Francisco Opera operations since March 17, Company employees continue to work remotely wherever possible. The San Francisco Opera Chorus is continuing their preparations for the upcoming year through online rehearsals with Chorus Director Ian Robertson, and the resident artists, the Adler Fellows, have been in regular coachings with Music Director Designate Eun Sun Kim through video conferencing.

OPERA IS ON

In order to remain connected with the San Francisco Opera community and provide comfort, beauty and joy during the COVID-19 crisis, the Company has launched Opera is ON (sfopera.com/opera-is-on). This online initiative features new and archival content for the public to explore and engage with opera during the shelter in place. While features will be added in the days and weeks ahead, current Opera is ON highlights include:

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I am concerned about this:

The Company will continue to pay full compensation and benefits for employees through the current May 3 shelter-in-place period. 

The company should pay them for the planned summer season, as well. See below about wealthy donors and board members for the why.

Why I'm not surprised: Rehearsals would have to start by mid-May at the latest for Ernani's June 7 opening; a similar time, maybe a couple of days later, for Partenope on June 12; and late May for Steve Jobs on June 20. Maybe the rehearsal start date for Steve Jobs could be further delayed, give that the conductor, production, and most of the cast were all in the Santa Fe Opera premiere in 2017.

Considering that Bay Area shelter-in-place orders are currently through May 4, with no clues as to whether they might be lifted in time to start rehearsals, well...prudence dictates the cancellations, as economically devastating as that is and as disappointing as it is to everyone planning to attend the opera in June.

I had some hopes that the company would opt to postpone everything by a month, since San Francisco Ballet doesn't use the Opera House during the summer, and the company would only risk running into its own fall season.

Previously, the company published a blog post and Backstage with Matthew email by Matthew Shilvock, Weathering the Crisis, anticipating this possibility:

The decision to cancel the summer season would be an incredibly devastating one with losses initially predicted in the $9–10M range, and so it is a decision we will make only if we absolutely have to. I commit to staying in touch with you as we determine what is happening with the summer season. If you have tickets to the summer operas, please know that it is very important to us that we give you as much flexibility as possible. Should we have to cancel the summer season, we will offer you the options of exchanging into the 2020–21 Season, donating your tickets back to the Opera, or receiving a refund.

Let me urge you to donate back your tickets if you can afford to.  I understand that many SFO ticket holders are now unemployed or otherwise under financial stress, and if that's your situation, request a refund. SFO has many very wealthy donors and board members, and this would be an appropriate time for one or more of them to step up and help out in proportion to their wealth, rather than the company having to rely on more average-income subscribers.

Elsewhere in the press:

• Joshua Kosman, Chron, whose story has two informative quotations from Matthew Shilvock: “We can’t get into our wig shop or costume shop. There’s a mandatory 14-day quarantine period for people arriving here, which means we can’t get artists here and into rehearsal. In the end, between health issues and logistics, we really had no choice.” Also: “I truly hope we’ll be back in the hall for our scheduled opening, but it’s too early to know what form that will take. If we can’t get into the scene shop in June, then we may have to rethink our production of ‘Fidelio’ — but it wouldn’t necessarily mean we won’t do ‘Fidelio’ at all.”
• Janos Gereben, SFCV