Maestro fumes as opera cuts 9-month season to 3 weeks

It looks like they are giving up in Vancouver.

After 55 years, the year-round opera company is being cut back to a three-wekk festival.

All the usual excuses: aging audience, declining funds.

‘The leadership came to the conclusion that anything using the old model simply wasn’t working and was not getting the numbers we needed,’ said general director James Wright. ‘There is not an opera company in North America that is not concerned about sales. We are being as forward thinking as possible.’

Wright is retiring next year. Some think he should have got out sooner, before sinking the ship.

Vancouver Symphony music director Bramwell Tovey is spitting tacks. He tweets: It is not cynical to criticize @VancouverOpera nor a failure to accept change. But, it is myopic to think loss of regular season inevitable.

And: Distressing to see @VancouverOpera news spun as visionary. It’s terrible news. Vancouver to be only major Cdn city without an opera season.

Hang in there, Bram. There has to be another way.