Crains New York - February 18, 2013 - (Page 29)

INSIDE HELLUVA TOWN Source Snack Model Karlie Kloss launches line of Kookies PAGE 30 Out and About Social Media Week 2013 A big bravo for the Met Oh, to be the Metropolitan Opera during a recession. While smaller operas like Dicapo (see accompanying story) have barely been able to stay afloat, donations to the country’s granddaddy of opera companies kept growing despite the economic turmoil. In the five years that ended July 31, 2012, contributions to the Met rose 26%, to $150.3 million. The company’s illustrious 128-year history and high- bloomberg news PAGE 31 SWAN SONG: The Dicapo Opera Theatre Michael Capasso founded needs an angel investor if it’s to perform in NYC again. Lights out at the opera? Accolades came, donors didn’t. Now creditors want their money back. M buck ennis powered board help. But the Met’s management made some smart business moves as well. Right before the recession, the company started a host of new programs, including live broadcasts of operas in movie theaters. Those shows helped prompt donors to open up their wallets, according to Peter Gelb, general manager of the city’s largest cultural institution. “I don’t take a dollar of it for granted,” said Mr. Gelb. The company does have its challenges. The recession pushed the Met to postpone a capital campaign to pad its endowment. It is also facing a shrinking regular-audience base. In the past five years, the percentage of full-price ticket purchasers fell to 78% from 88%. Mr. Gelb said there would be some changes in ticket prices soon that could help reverse that. Of course, the Met has fared much better than its former neighbor, the New York City Opera, has in recent years. That company was forced to abandon its longtime home at Lincoln Center in 2011 and dramatically restructure its operations, but it is now on more stable ground. City Opera is in the process of selling off many of its costumes and sets to avoid the expense of keeping them. And now, after paring back its number of productions and switching to different venues, the company is set to have its second consecutive balanced budget, holding steady at $13.6 million. “I’d love to raise more money,” said George Steel, the opera’s general director. “But the economy is sluggish, and I don’t want to have an aspirational budget.” —theresa agovino DRYING UP BY THERESA AGOVINO ichael Capasso, sitting in the theater he built for the opera company he created, recalled the moment 18 years ago when the orchestra pit flooded during construction of his Dicapo Opera Theatre. ¶ “Everybody was just freaking out,” said Mr. Capasso inside the empty theater on a recent rainy day. Not him. He knew the problem was an easy fix because he’d worked in construction before founding the company, which shares its name with its theater, 32 years ago. ¶ These days, it’s Mr. Capasso who’s scared. Severe debt caused by fundraising shortfalls forced the opera company to go on a hiatus last month, canceling three productions in an attempt to save money and avoid bankruptcy. Creditors, which are owed a total of $600,000, are being asked to wait six months for their money. ¶ Mr. Capasso knows he needs to act fast. He also knows what will solve the crisis. “I need an angel,” he said with no trace of irony, even though the theater is in a church basement on the Upper East Side. ¶ Finding one won’t be simple. Mr. Capasso is praying for divine intervention. Meanwhile, he’s searching See LIGHTS on Page 30 Donations to Dicapo Opera Theatre $400K $100K 2008 2012 February 18, 2013 | Crain’s New York Business | 29

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - February 18, 2013

DIGITAL NY
IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
the insider
BUSINESS PEOPLE
OPINION
GREG DAVID
SMALL BUSINESS
REPORT: REAL ESTATE
THE LIST
CLASSIFIEDS
FOR THE RECORD
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE SNACK
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crains New York - February 18, 2013