Simone Young's proposed 2004 schedule for Opera Australia would have put the
company a record A$10 million in the red, The Australian reports.
The newspaper said that details of Young's plans, which Opera Australia has tried to keep secret, shed light on why the conductor was ousted as music director last week. They also indicate that Opera Australia faces greater financial problems than previously disclosed.
Opera Australia told Young on 13 September that it would not renew her contract beyond 2003.
According to The Australian, Young's initial 2004 program was to include Richard Mills' new opera Batavia, a new production of Tchaikovsky's Queen of Spades and Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier. All three would have been expensive to stage, requiring the company to hire extra musicians and large casts without knowing if it could recoup its investment at the box office. A number of financial models were developed to try to make Young's ideas viable, but all of them produced deficits of at least A$2 million. Opera Australia has never run a deficit of more than A$4.6 million.
The newspaper also says that Opera Australia in worse shape than reported up to now. Box office income is expected to come in below projections, leaving the company with a small deficit. The Australian says the company, which performs around the country, is considering cuts to its Melbourne season to rein in costs.
— Michael Markowitz
"Young's Red Opera"
Katrina Strickland - The
Australian [Sydney] - 19 September 2002
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