Despite shortened season, San Diego Opera on track to finish the year in the black

While many of San Diego’s larger performing arts organizations are facing multi-million dollar deficits in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, San Diego Opera is on track to close its fiscal year on June 30 with a million-dollar surplus.

The 55-year-old opera company was forced to cancel the final three productions of its 2019-20 season this spring. But General Director David Bennett told board members in a virtual annual meeting on Zoom Monday afternoon that sharply reduced spending and a flood of donor support in recent months have contributed to a projected budget surplus of $1.035 million.

According to a preliminary results announced Monday, ticket sales revenues for the shortened 2019-20 season totaled $1.62 million, less than half the $3.3 million that company officials had projected for the season last summer. But contributions, in the form of donations and grants, totaled $5.66 million, 18 percent higher than originally projected.

Bennett said bequests to the company and the annual Opera Ball fundraiser exceeded revenue expectations by 29 percent. And 40 percent of the ticket-holders for this spring’s canceled productions — “Aging Magician,” “The Falling and The Rising” and “The Barber of Seville” — opted to donate the value of their tickets back to the company as a gift.

Bennett, who the board will soon grant a five-year contract extension, said he’s gratified at the generosity of the company’s patrons during this time of need because it shows they have faith in the future. Just six years ago, San Diego Opera’s former board of directors voted to close the company at the direction of its then-leader. But a group of renegade board members and employees led a public fundraising campaign that rescued San Diego Opera at the last minute in summer 2014.

“This is a sign of confidence from donors that there’s a company that will be around for their giving to have impact on,” Bennett said Monday.

David Bennett is the General Director of San Diego Opera.

(K.C. Alfred/San Diego Union-Tribune)

Another reason for the projected surplus this season was a dramatic reduction in company spending over the past year. In 2019, company officials changed their mindset on spending from the aspirational to the realistic, setting a budget and staff size that it knew it could afford based on past results. This was achieved through staff reductions last summer and a sharply slimmed-down production budget. Projected expenses for the 2020 season are $6.6 million, down from a projected $8.4 million last summer.

Meanwhile the company’s endowment stands at $7.5 million. This is down from $8 million before the pandemic hit, but well up from the $4.8 million the company had in 2015. And the company’s liquidity — the amount of cash it has on hand to pay for liabilities — is at a high 4-to-1 ratio, up from a 2-to-1 ratio in 2019.

Looking ahead to the 2020-21 season, Bennett told the board he is moving ahead with plans for a full season, even though public health orders may force the company to cancel or postpone shows planned for later this year. The company has several scenarios in place to adjust as necessary to ensure the health of the singers, musicians and the public.

The season is slated to open Oct. 24 with Puccini’s “La bohème” at the San Diego Civic Theatre, featuring Metropolitan Opera star Angel Blue as Mimi and San Diego Opera company favorite Joshua Guerrero as Rodolfo. If state orders still prohibit large indoor gatherings this fall, Bennett said he is looking into moving the production to an outdoor, socially distanced venue.

Also scheduled for the upcoming season is an as-yet uncast vocal recital in November; a reprise of the a cappella choral opera “All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914” in December; and two Puccini one-act operas “Suor Angelica” and “Gianni Schicchi” in February. Two of the canceled productions from this spring, “Aging Magician” and “The Barber of Seville,” will transfer to next spring to close the company’s 2020-21 season.

On the downside, 45 percent of the ticket-holders for this spring’s canceled productions opted to transfer their ticket balance to next spring, which will deprive the company of some ticket revenues next spring. But on the plus side, $390,000 of the production expenses for “Aging Magician” and “Barber of Seville” were already paid for in this season’s budget, so expenditures will be lower next spring.

One interesting thing to come out of the meeting was the announcement that ticket sales for the two Mainstage productions presented at the San Diego Civic Theatre this past season, a staged concert version of “Aida” and “Hansel & Gretel,” fell 18 percent short of expectations. Meanwhile, tickets to the company’s hugely popular Detour Series of smaller, edgier works exceeded projections for the second year in a row.

Bennett said he has no plans to reduce the number of large-scale productions the company produces at the Civic in favor of smaller works at alternative venues because audiences appreciate the diverse mix of programming.