The New York City Opera, which was first established 70 years ago, announced on Tuesday that it is closing and filing for bankruptcy, according to the Chicago Tribune. The filing is after they were unable to raise sufficient funds to remain open.
Prior to the filing, the opera company had hosted what amounted to an emergency fundraising appeal, where it needed to raise $7 million by the end of September to remain open, a benchmark it failed to meet. They only raised $2 million, according to a spokeswoman for the City Opera.
"New York City did not achieve the goal of its emergency appeal, and the board and management will begin the necessary financial and operational steps to wind down the company, including initiating the Chapter 11 process," the New York City Opera announced on their website.
The production this season was "Anna Nicole," which was based on the life and death of Anna Nicole Smith, the stripper from Texas who became famous after marrying the oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall when she was 26 and he was 89, a choice that in hindsight may have not been the best one to attract a supportive audience.
"The last performance was on Saturday," the spokeswoman said to the Chicago Tribune.
The New York City Opera was founded in 1943 and was nicknamed "The People's Opera" by the New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia. It intended to promote younger performers and composers by presenting new works and interpretations of classics, while making the opera affordable and accessible to the city residents.
The company tried to raise $1 million of its goal through a fundraising goal on Kickstarter, the online fundraising site.
"It is with much regret that we announce the end of our fundraising campaign on Kickstarter and the cancellation of the 2013-2014 Season," the company announced on its website.
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