Will Kevin Patterson save Indianapolis Opera?

Cut costs. Hire staff. Lower ticket prices. Host a free concert. Renovate and rent out the Basile Opera Center. Leave Clowes Hall in favor of smaller venues — for now, at least. Convince people young and old that opera is essential, that it must not die.

There are many ideas rattling around in Kevin Patterson's head when it comes to his task at hand: Save Indianapolis Opera.

An arts leader also known for his business acumen, Patterson has been tapped to help re-examine nearly every aspect of Indianapolis Opera — programming, pricing, venue, membership structure, marketing and overall artistic vision — as part of the organization's attempt at revival.

Patterson has been hired as the organization's new general director, serving both executive and artistic roles, Indianapolis Opera announced Monday. The opera has not had an artistic director since James Caraher resigned in April 2014 nor an executive director since John Pickett resigned in May 2013.

Indianapolis Opera has been struggling since 2012, when its net assets plummeted to $75,299 compared with the previous year's $613,010, according to tax returns. In 2014, it was forced to cancel its production of Benjamin Britten's "Albert Herring," which was set to run April 25 through May 4. Patterson said the opera had around 620 ticket subscribers during the 2013 to 2014 season.

Indianapolis Opera held two major fundraisers last year — Lobsterpalooza and the Ruby Anniversary gala celebrating its 40th anniversary — and was able to pay off all its debt, with some cash left over, Indianapolis Opera President Arnie Hanish said.

Like most opera companies in the nation, Indianapolis Opera productions are not profitable — ticket revenue is oftentimes less than than half of the cost of putting on a show. The opera's plummeting assets came from decreases to both revenue and fundraising since the recession of 2008.

"It's a very expensive medium to produce," Hanish said. "Generally speaking, 60 percent of the budget has to be fundraised, sometimes even more than that."

By next month, Patterson plans to announce a new vision for the opera, along with programming for 2015 and 2016. He's still working with the opera's board to figure out what that vision is specifically, but he said the city should expect a rebirth of sorts: a new Indianapolis Opera for modern times.

An Indiana native, Patterson studied at Indiana University Bloomington's Jacobs School of Music and holds a master's of business administration from Indiana Wesleyan University. He was formerly the executive director of the Anchorage Opera, which was deep in debt when he arrived in 2012. By lowering prices and scaling down productions, the opera was able to stabilize its finances, Patterson said.

At Anchorage, Patterson cut the membership price by more than half but made up the difference in revenue with a boost in subscribers. He shuffled some of the cheapest seats in the house to the front rows so the house appeared fuller. In an effort to draw new audiences, he introduced smaller scale chamber productions to complement the bigger, more expensive mainstay productions.

"You could argue this is a sort of golden age for opera," he said. "We're no longer relying on the war horses to get us through. We're becoming creative producers again. We're putting new experiences on stage and asking audiences to experience opera in new ways."

Indianapolis Opera, like many operas across the nation in the past decades, spent the better part of last year asking itself the question: Is opera still sustainable in this city?

Last fall, consultants — funded by a $150,000 Lilly Endowment Grant, supported by the Arts Council of Indianapolis — assessed the future of opera in Indianapolis.

Hanish said the reports don't spell doom for Indianapolis Opera.

"There seems to be support for opera in the community," he said. "We do have a very strong patron base that is dedicated to opera. It's not a large base. It'll never be like the symphony or the Indiana Repertory Theatre. That's just not the nature of opera."

Patterson believes the opera's leadership had grown "complacent" over the past years, but he said the current board is energized and ready for new ideas. He believes Indianapolis Opera has the potential to reinvent itself and work out a model it can sustain.

He's still settling into his new office in the second floor of the Basile Opera Center — Patterson's first day was Feb. 1 — but his wall is already covered with ideas for the upcoming season.

Patterson sees himself as both artist and CEO, drawing inspiration from Gioachino Rossini and Steve Jobs alike. A successful business shouldn't focus on what it makes, he said, but rather why it exists and how it aims to achieve that vision.

"What does Apple believe?" Patterson said. "Apple's vision was to make technology something fashionable, led by creative people and accessible to everyone. That's how they were successful. They focused on the why."

So, for the Indianapolis Opera, Patterson has written three statements on the wall, which will serve as his guiding why's in the coming months and years:

"The human voice is the greatest form of expression."

"The stage is a world forum for engagement and communication."

"We tell stories that define and shape our humanity."

Carol Baker, who served as interim general manager of Indianapolis Opera since Pickett's resignation, said she sees Patterson as a breath of fresh air for Indianapolis.

"His energy is infectious," she said. "I think he's going to make waves not just in the opera but in the city's overall arts scene."

Call Wei-Huan Chen at (317) 444-6249. Follow him on Twitter at@weihuanchen .