In defence of San Diego’s closure
mainA self-declared ‘personal friend’ of the Campbell couple who ran San Diego Opera into the ground has come up with a few interesting apologetics in a local media article.
Don Bauder argues that San Diego’s audience and finances followed a pattern of national decline (they didn’t), that Ian Campbell’s half-million salary was industry standard (not for a company this small), and that his wife Ann negotiated her own pay package (with whom, if not with her husband, the chief exec?).
There is more yet to come out of this mess.
Norman — a costumer friend of mine who has worked there 20 years says it is not over. That $100M amount that Campbell says is needed is in reference to the gift the San Diego Symphony received from Joan and Irwin Jacobs.
Some more inside info: Campbell’s contract goes through 2017. If the company doesn’t go into bankruptcy he gets his full salary for three more years. They both can collect pensions as well. So they do much better by shutting it down now.
What a racket!
This sounds like pure fraud. Does the Attorney General of California mean to investigate these goings-on?