NYC Opera needs to raise $7M by end of September

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York City Opera says it may have to shut down the rest of its productions this season if it can't raise $7 million by the end of September.

The Daily News (http://nydn.us/19y2UiR ) reports that the announcement comes nine days before the premiere of the company's co-production with the Brooklyn Academy of Music of "Anna Nicole."

City Opera Artistic Director George Steel says the company needs the money both for the rest of this season and for it "to continue forward on solid financial footing."

The company has embarked on a $20 million fundraising effort.

The City Opera left its permanent home at Lincoln Center in 2011. That helped balance its budget. Now, Steel says what the company needs "is the stable funding that will make our work possible."

Unlike the Metropolitan Opera, the City Opera is devoted to bringing opera to the masses.

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Information from: Daily News, http://www.nydailynews.com