Syracuse Opera Files for Bankruptcy, Ending 50 Year Run
The company cancelled all performances during the 2023/2024 season and never recovered.
Syracuse Opera has officially ended its 50-year run, filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in mid-December. The move follows the company’s cancellation of the remainder of its 2023-24 season and the furlough of all staff last November, reports This is CNY.
“It is an ending, and endings are sad,” said Board Chair Camille Tisdel. “But I also celebrate what we had as an art form for so long. Syracuse did have an opera company for 50 years.”
The bankruptcy filing shows more than $340,000 in debts owed to 16 creditors. The largest amount - $154,675 - is a Covid relief loan from the Small Business Administration. Syracuse Opera also owes $100,000 to Berkshire Bank and $19,736 to Key Bank. It claims $23,761 in assets, nearly all of it cash.
Tisdel said corporate support declined dramatically, especially after the pandemic. Ticket sales dropped 40-60% from pre-Covid levels and never recovered. “It got to the point where we just realized it didn’t make a whole lot of sense for us to move forward,” she said.
Tri-Cities Opera (TCO) in Binghamton partnered with Syracuse Opera in 2022 to share costs and staff, with TCO’s John Rozzoni serving as general director. While the partnership produced multiple operas - including “La Cenerentola,” “The Marriage of Figaro,” and “The Medium” - sparse ticket revenues couldn’t keep up with the high production costs.
“Ticket sales [bring in] maybe $50,000,” Rozzoni said. “Basically the funds dried up. They were not flowing in as quickly as we needed them to.”
Syracuse Opera’s final show was “I Am A Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams,” a contemporary work staged at the Redhouse Arts Center in October 2023. Despite its relevance, attendance remained low. “Even with us trying to do something new and different, there still wasn’t necessarily the audience,” Tisdel said.
“Covid left such a financial hole,” said board member Dr. Douglas Goldschmidt. “And there’s no such thing as cheap opera.”
Although Syracuse Opera will no longer produce shows, supporters hope the art form will continue in Central New York through smaller organizations or emerging partnerships. “I’m hopeful that opera is not dead in Syracuse,” Goldschmidt said. “But it won’t be what it was. To some extent, it’s down to how you can reinvent yourself.”
For now, Syracuse Opera’s website is down, its social media pages remain inactive, and Google marks it “Temporarily Closed.” Tisdel and others involved in its 50-year history say they’re proud of the cultural legacy it leaves behind - even as the curtains fall on one of the region’s long-running arts institutions.
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