Economy Takes Toll on ‘Most Expensive’ Art Form

Opera has had an especially difficult time weathering the economic storm, NPR’s All Things Considered reports, citing cutbacks in staff and productions at New York’s Metropolitan Opera and the Los Angeles Opera, as well as the Baltimore Opera’s recent declaration of bankruptcy.

Marc Scorca, president of Opera America, which represents 110 U.S. organizations, noted that opera “is absolutely the most expensive of the performing arts.” He added: “The minute that we saw the significant change of the market in October, our opera companies began making reductions.”