In the Arts: Star Tenors Join Call for City Opera to Stay at Lincoln Center

More than 120 major opera-world figures, including superstar tenors Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras, have attached their names to an open letter protesting the New York City Opera’s decision to leave Lincoln Center, writes The New York Times.

The missive also accuses City Opera’s management of “dismembering” the organization “piece by piece,” a reference to the organization’s loss of key officials and shrunken season, according to the soprano Catherine Malfitano, a former City Opera singer who is spearheading the protest.

The financially troubled organization announced plans this year to leave its longtime venue as part of a wide-ranging effort to cut costs. In a written response to the letter, Maggie McKeon, an opera spokeswoman, said the decision “was not entered into lightly. Rather, it was born of very real financial necessity.”

Plus: A year after cutting grants to culture groups by 6.8 percent, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved maintaining arts spending at the current level in a vote Tuesday, writes the Los Angeles Times.

Average grants will drop slightly as supervisors approved splitting the $4.1-million grant pie among the 184 organizations proposed by the county arts commission, 18 more groups than received aid last year.