The People’s Opera needs your help to produce a thrilling 2013-2014 season!
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The People’s Opera needs your help to produce a thrilling 2013-2014 season!
About this project
It is with much regret that we announce the end of our fundraising campaign on Kickstarter and the cancellation of the 2013-2014 Season. New York City Opera did not achieve the goal of its emergency appeal, and the board and management will begin the necessary financial and operational steps to wind down the Company including initiating the Chapter 11 process.
For seventy years, since Mayor Fiorello La Guardia established it as “The People’s Opera,” New York City Opera has introduced generation after generation of young singers who are stars in the making, brought the public exciting new works and compelling, fresh interpretations of classics, acted as a champion for American composers and performers, and ensured that every New Yorker can experience the live art of opera.
We thank you for your continued support over the years and for making New York City Opera truly “The People’s Opera.”
Plácido Domingo, who launched his career at NYC Opera, tells the Associated Press:
"My early performances with New York City Opera were what really kicked off my international career, and I look back on those days with enormous pride. The company has done incredible work for so many decades, and it has played an essential role in New York's cultural scene for millions of opera lovers. It would be an absolute tragedy for that legacy to come to an end."
It’s not too late to make a difference! We've raised $1.5 million so far outside of Kickstarter, but we still need your help. Every pledge on Kickstarter tells the world that you support the future of NYC Opera!
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New York City Opera demonstrated how essential it is to the New York arts scene once again with its vibrant and bold production of Anna Nicole, which opened this week.
In The New York Times, Anthony Tommasini wrote that “Anna Nicole shows what we will be missing if City Opera folds,” adding that “New York City Opera is again presenting a production that should not be missed.”
Richard Thomas, Anna Nicole’s librettist, reinforced the significance of this production when quoted in Businessweek: “That is why we need City Opera. We need an opera company that is not risk-averse."
New York City Opera is looking for support to produce its 2013–2014 Season.
For 70 years, The People’s Opera – New York City Opera – has focused on producing unique works, showcasing emerging young artists, and educating the next generation of performing arts lovers.
Throughout its history as The People's Opera, NYC Opera has made opera accessible and affordable. And now NYC Opera needs help to produce its upcoming season.
NYC Opera has recently announced an urgent fundraising appeal – the Company needs to raise $7 million by the end of September; without these necessary funds it will have to suspend the balance of its 2013–2014 season after the production of the first opera of the season, Anna Nicole.
We are coming to the Kickstarter community to raise $1 million of that total to help us produce our 2013–2014 season.
We need the help of the people to save The People's Opera: audiences, artists, students, and everyone who cares about a world filled with exciting and innovative art. We are asking everyone to come together, to stand by The People’s Opera, and help us produce our 2013–2014 season!
Our goal is to continue to push the boundaries of adventurous and thought-provoking opera in the 2013–2014 season and beyond. Donate at any level today and help ensure the future of opera in New York!
The New York City Opera 2013–2014 Season
Take a look at what we have in store for the season ahead if we achieve our fundraising goal.
Note: Thanks to the generosity of our close supporters, we have secured sufficient funds to produced Anna Nicole and it will run from September 17 through 28. Come see the show!
Composed by Mark-Anthony Turnage / Libretto by Richard Thomas Conducted by Steven Sloane / Directed by Richard Jones
The season opens with the U.S. Premiere of Anna Nicole, a colossal co-production with BAM that launches the 2013 Next Wave Festival. The opera is based on the flamboyant life and tragic death of Anna Nicole Smith. The opera mixes comedy and tragedy and boldly confronts issues of modern celebrity, greed and exploitation. Turnage's dynamic score draws on jazz, blues, musical theater and traditional operatic structures; Richard Thomas (co-creator, Jerry Springer: the Opera) provides the razor-sharp and darkly humorous libretto.
Composed by Johann Christian Bach / Libretto by Pietro Metastasio Conducted by Gary Thor Wedow / Directed by Michael Counts
Presenting a very rare, perhaps first-ever staging of a Johann Christian Bach opera in America, New York City Opera returns to El Museo del Barrio. The story of Endimione centers on the characters of Diana and Nice. Through the mischief of Amore (Cupid), both fall madly in love with Endimione, a local shepherd. Pastoral mayhem ensues. J.C. Bach's ravishing score makes crystal clear his enormous influence on Mozart.
Composed by Béla Bartók / Libretto by Béla Balázs
Conducted by Jayce Ogren / Directred by Daniel Kramer
Béla Bartók's only opera, the one-act masterpiece Bluebeard's Castle is a mysterious encounter between two characters, Duke Bluebeard and his new wife, Judith. In the castle, Judith not only discovers great riches, but also bloodstained weapons, lakes of tears and, finally, the bodies of former wives. In his NYC Opera debut, director Daniel Kramer presents a vision that is brutally dark and full of shocking surprises. Performed with smoldering intensity by a 73-piece orchestra under the baton of NYC Opera's new Music Director, Jayce Ogren; dare yourself to watch Bartók's only opera within the depths of St. Ann's intimate warehouse, temporarily on loan to Duke Bluebeard and his special guests.
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart / Libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte Conducted by Jayce Ogren / Directed by Christopher Alden
New York City Opera presents the final chapter in the landmark Mozart/Da Ponte cycle – The Marriage of Figaro. Following the success of 2009's Don Giovanni and 2012's Cosi fan tutti, critically acclaimed director Christopher Alden completes his daring trilogy at NYC Opera's original home, New York City Center.
Alden takes a darker look at one of Mozart's most popular operas, which takes a witty and subversive look at love and sex at the crossroads of revolution – all in a single day. NYC opera favorites Keri Alkema and Rod Gilfry lead the young, vibrant cast.
NYC OPERA'S MISSION
Since NYC Opera was founded by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia in 1943 as The People's Opera, NYC Opera has stayed true to its original promise: introducing young singers to New York audiences; giving the public exciting new works and compelling, fresh interpretations of classics; acting as a champion for American composers and performers; and ensuring that opera can be part of every New Yorker's life.
NYC Opera's repertoire spans five centuries, from Baroque operas to commissioned works by today's most important composers. To date, the company has given 29 world premieres and 62 U.S. and/or New York premieres. NYC Opera is celebrated for its marriage of first-rate acting and singing in stagings that bring new insights and new life to the repertoire.
EDUCATION
The Company is also building tomorrow's audiences by conducting an in-school education program that serves thousands of public school students each year throughout the New York metropolitan area. Drawing upon the company's contemporary approach to opera, NYC Opera Education provides students with a three-dimensional introduction to the art form, transporting them from the page to the stage and then taking them behind the scenes. As a pioneer in the field for over 40 years, NYC Opera knows firsthand the immediate and long-term benefits students reap when they are engaged in high quality arts experiences.
Learn More about NYC Opera Here:
Press:
New York Times on Powder Her Face
New York Times on NYC Opera's 2012-2013 Season
THE REWARDS
Bumper Sticker
Show the world you stand by New York City Opera by slapping this fabulous bumper sticker on your car, bike, or the nearest taxi!
Tote Bag
This gorgeous bag has NYC Opera's logo printed on a 100% canvas tote. We predict you won't be caught without it!
Commemorative Buttons, Postcards and Posters
The four designs created for each opera of the 2013–2014 season will be used to create striking Buttons, Postcards and Posters.
Replica of NYC Opera 1943 Inaugural Season Poster
Thrift Shop Event
An invitation to a special evening, at an exceptional NYC shop.
Gala Evenings
Support the opera with a never-to-be-forgotten evening of opera and festivities!
New York City Opera is a registered 501(c)(3). All gifts are tax deductible within the limits of the law.
Risks and challenges
As with any season, there are always potential challenges when it comes to producing live performing arts. For example, there's the possibility for production delays, or unexpected setbacks related to individual artists that are often difficult to plan around.
Once we have funding in place, we also face the challenge of building an audience base and ensuring that we are engaging the widest possible group of arts lovers.
Learn about accountability on KickstarterFAQ
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Kickstarter offers a great platform for the people to come together to voice their support for NYC Opera. The grassroots power of crowd sourcing seems to us to be a perfect match for NYC Opera, "The People’s Opera."
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If we reach our goal, your Kickstarter contribution will help fund three productions in our 2013-14 season: J.C. Bach's Endimione, Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle, and Mozart's Marriage of Figaro. You can learn more about these works in our season here: http://www.nycopera.com/seasontickets/1314season.aspx
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No. The $1 million we are raising through Kickstarter will be combined with $6 million we are raising from other sources.
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It can cost anywhere between $1.5 million to $4 million. A sold-out run of four shows will only generate between $250,000 to $750,000 in ticket sales. NYC Opera has always been dedicated to keeping prices low and affordable for all, which means we need to subsidize every ticket heavily with contributions.
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Yes. Our Kickstarter project is part of a larger fundraising campaign to raise $7 million by September 30th to ensure we have adequate funding for the season. Kickstarter is a vital part of these efforts, but we will need to raise a substantial amount aside from that to avoid suspending the season.
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We will only take the proceeds pledged through Kickstarter if we also raise the rest of the money needed to stage our season.
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While we have secured funding for our run of Anna Nicole at BAM this month, we need to have the capital for the balance of our season.
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After the $7 million required to stage our current season, we are planning to raise the funds for our next season as soon as possible, so that we can plan for the future with confidence.
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Share our Kickstarter with all your friends. Helping us spread the word will help ensure our success. You can also become a Member of NYC Opera by visiting nycopera.com/supportus or by calling 212.870.5626
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Yes. You can click here http://www.nycopera.com/seasontickets/pressreleases.aspx or email marketing@nycopera.com
Support this project
Funding period
- (22 days)