Reports of the San Diego Opera’s death may have been premature.
With a petition signed by 18,000 people to keep the five-decade group alive and new questions about how its board decided to shut down, the local opera company might stage a comeback, news accounts suggest.
KPBS and its iNewsource partner reported Monday that the board and opera staff “did not have the full picture of expenses, liabilities, or the results of a legal investigation that was prompted by a claim alleging a hostile work environment.”
Opera directors were to meet Monday to decide on how to proceed.
iNewsource reported:
A group of board members say they hope to convince a majority of the directors to “hit the pause button,” and rethink the decision to disband the company. In a letter, they have requested more than two dozens documents. …
KPBS spoke with or reached out to more than 20 people in an attempt to probe the reasons behind the opera’s sudden announcement to cease operations. Most didn’t want to be quoted by name because they worry about retaliation and future job prospects. Some hope there’s still a chance to “right the ship” and “save face.”
But Karen Cohn, the opera’s board president, defended the closure, writing in U-T San Diego:
“The San Diego Opera Board’s decision to shutter San Diego Opera after the 2014 season was the result of years of deliberation as we watched an inexorable trend sweeping toward us. Very simply, dwindling financial support indicated an irrefutable decline in appetite for grand opera in San Diego.”
KPBS said a lawyer representing the opera company denied a Public Records Act request “seeking copies of key operational documents, such as the investigation’s report, internal board documents, and employee compensation packages and expense reports.”