Can you imagine paying a large amount of money for a New York City Opera ticket just to have them close their doors and offer their patrons who purchased tickets no form of compensation. Well that is exactly what happened about a year ago. We just ow have received word that an investor group that is looking to bring back the opera will be paying out ticket holders in a different manner.
When New York City Opera shut its doors last year, patrons who had already bought tickets for the upcoming season not only lost a source of entertainment, but they also failed to get any refunds.
Now, an investor group that hopes to revive City Opera has a deal to offer those scorned ticketholders.
According to documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, former subscribers owed more than $500 will get a 25% discount on a subscription to City Opera’s six-show revival season. Subscribers owed $500 or less, meanwhile, can get 25% off a single ticket in the first season.
Anyone wishing to cash in on the deals must promise to drop their claims against the bankruptcy estate, the filings show.
The revival plan, backed by opera veteran Michael Capasso, isn’t a done deal just yet. Anyone wishing to challenge the group’s offer-which proposes paying $10,000 in cash and settling $500,000 in City Opera’s debts-has until Jan. 5 to do so.
New York architect Gene Kaufman, who is funding the production of a new opera along with his wife, has expressed interest for months in making a bid for City Opera. A spokeswoman for Mr. Kaufman said Monday that he’s still weighing his options.
Catering more to the masses than its well-established neighbor, New York’s Metropolitan Opera, City Opera launched the careers of singers including Beverly Sills and Plácido Domingo. It shut down following a failed emergency fundraising campaign to bring in $7 million to keep the company afloat.
Write to Sara Randazzo at sara.randazzo@wsj.com. Follow her on Twitter at @sara_randazzo