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NEWS
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Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Ends 2009 Fiscal Year in the Black; Anticipates Challenges in 2010
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OTSL Receives $1 Million Grant from Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Towards Three-Year Contemporary Works Cycle
October 06, 2009
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis general director Timothy O'Leary announced today that the company ended its thirty-fourth season and the 2009 fiscal year with a small surplus, despite a parlous economic climate that has resulted in losses to its endowment.
A press release issued by the company attributed its current financial footing to a number of factors, including: a five percent increase in box-office revenue over the past season, with a ninety-two percent attendance rate in 2009; reductions in administrative and facilities expenses; a nearly 250% increase in growth from co-productions and production rentals over the previous year, amounting to some $470,000 in revenue; a six percent increase in donations, particularly from individual donors, who helped cover a decline in corporate and foundational contributions; and a successful year-end challenge gift from OTSL board members, which, over the last two months of the fiscal year allowed the company to resolve a projected $90,000 shortfall by means of contributions from 177 donors.
According to the opera, total revenues for the 2009 fiscal year amounted to some $8.1 million. The company, which performs in the 987-seat Virginia Jackson Browning Theater, covers only twenty-six percent of its total costs with box office revenue; the remaining revenue is comprised of contributions, endowment income, co-productions and production rentals. Since its 1976 inception, OTSL has yet to post a year-end operating deficit.
Anticipating even greater fundraising challenges during the 2010 fiscal year, as well as further losses to its endowment, OTSL reported that it has frozen its staff's salaries, suspended contributions to its employees' 401(k) plans, and made budget cuts to administrative, facilities and operational expenses. Despite the measures, O'Leary reported that the company will need to identify more than $200,000 in new and increased funding sources to balance its 2010 budget, saying: "We are determined to forge ahead without compromising on artistic excellence, adventurousness with the repertory, or our commitment to fiscal responsibility."
In addition to news of the company's finances, O'Leary also announced that the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has given OTSL a $1 million grant towards the creation and production of contemporary works over the next three seasons. In 2010, the company will present the world premiere of composer Peter Ash and librettist Donald Sturrock's The Golden Ticket, based on Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; in 2011, the company will present a new production of John Adams's The Death of Klinghoffer; and in 2012, OTSL will present an as-yet-unannounced world-premiere commission.
"We are grateful beyond words to Opera Theatre's many wonderful friends for all that they have done to keep the company in such artistic and fiscal health," O'Leary said in a statement issued by the company. "We are especially thankful to the Mellon Foundation for its endorsement of Opera Theatre's ongoing mission to present excellent operatic works of our own time. The Foundation's tremendous generosity gives much-needed momentum to our planning for the coming years." 
More information can be found at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.
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