A French opera house is ‘on the verge of liquidation’

A French opera house is ‘on the verge of liquidation’

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norman lebrecht

October 08, 2014

The Opéra of Montpellier, serving th southwest of France, could be shut down in as little as three weeks, Figaro reports.

The regional council of Languedoc-Roussillon has failed to pay a promised 4 million Euro subsidy. The company is 716,000 Euros in debt, facing creditor demands. The auditor has warned that unless funds are raised within weeks he will have to shut the company.

The Opéra runs on a 22 million Euro budget, employing 242 staff. Plans to reduce the orchestra have met stiff resistance. The director general, Valérie Chevalier, has been in the job for less than ten months.

montpellier opera

Lawrence Foster was music director until 2012. No music director is presently listed on its website.

Comments

  • David Blumenstein says:

    Reductions meeting with stiff resistance …. makes it a struggle for empathy. If these organizations are not willing to help themselves, then a bientot Montpelier. It is a changing world, and the audiences are dwindling. These decadent ways of management and union demands have to stop.

  • Abendroth says:

    Again, a political muddle. The region failed to pay the promised subsidy because the president of the region died during summer, which led to a quasi-shutdown until his successor was elected last week. Everything should go back to normal now, but meanwhile an opera is on the verge of bankruptcy. After all the troubles at Radio France, this kind of mess repeats itself, which is truly amazing.

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