by Paul J. Pelkonen
It ended not with a bang, or a whimper, but with a press release.
The Gotham Chamber Opera, which was among the front rank of New York opera companies not based at Lincoln Center, has closed its doors and ceased operations.
The news came in a press release at 4:33pm today.
"We regret to announce that Gotham Chamber Opera will cease operations," said Beatrice Broadwater, president of the Board of Directors of Gotham Chamber Opera. "In early summer, the company's new executive director, Edward Barnes, uncovered a significant deficit that was not previously disclosed to the board. We do not have, nor do we anticipate having, sufficient donations and pledges that would enable continued operations of the company."
The company enjoyed a fifteen-year lifespan in New York, presenting unusual repertory in unusual locations: including the Hayden Planetarium, the cherry orchards in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Arms and Armor wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Box, a burlesque club on the Lower East Side.
"I am proud to have founded Gotham Chamber Opera," said artistic director Neal Goren in the press release. "The company's fifteen year lifespan has been an extraordinary run, and we have been fortunate to be a part of New York City's cultural landscape. We are grateful to all of our generous donors, collaborators and attendees, and thank them for their support."
Gotham was also one of the first companies to grant press ticket priveleges to Superconductor, starting with a 2010 production of Haydn's Il Mondo della Luna at the aformentioned Planetarium. Their innovative spirit and unusual repertory choices will be missed.
Their most recent production was The Tempest Songbook, combining the music of Kaija Saariaho and Henry Purcell in a production mounted at the Met Museum. Like most of their shows it was spare, smart and innovative.
They will be sorely missed.