Houston Grand Opera cuts staff, budget

The Houston Grand Opera announced Tuesday that it has laid off 27 percent of its staff as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

HGO’s staff previously consisted of 129 people, accounting for unfilled positions. It now has a staff of 94.

The professional nonprofit opera company will be forced to significantly reduce its budget as a result of canceling performances and fundraising events. For the 2020-21 season, the opera’s budget will be cut from $30.73 million to $20.66 million.

Remaining staff will take a 15 percent pay cut or have their hours reduced. These cuts will take effect July 1 and last through February. Salary rollbacks for senior staff started June 1.

“Many people depend on HGO for their livelihoods, and this was not an easy decision to make,” artistic and music director Patrick Summers said in a statement.

“We are thankful to have a strong board and patron base that will help us get through this upcoming season and remain financially sound.”

The layoffs were made to “protect the financial future for HGO,” Summers said.

The opera will remain closed until next April, canceling 33 of its 47 planned performances for the upcoming season. The canceled shows include “Carmen” (Oct. 23-Nov. 13), “Werther” (Oct. 3-Nov. 15), “Snowy Day” (Dec. 1020), “Parsifal” (Jan. 22-Feb. 7, 2021) and “Cinderella” ( Jan. 29Feb. 15, 2021). Mazzoli and Vavrek’s “Breaking the Waves” (April 16-May 1, 2021) will be HGO’s first post-pandemic show, along with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The Sound of Music” (April 30May 15, 2021).

Season ticket holders will have their tickets moved to the 2021-22 season. Subscribers will receive their original seats for “Breaking the Waves” and “The Sound of

Music,” part of 2020-21, for free.

HGO will still produce content during this hiatus, through bimonthly online video performances.

The opera’s home is in Houston’s Theater District at the Wortham Theater Center. As COVID-19 cases continue to grow, Houston’s downtown performing arts scene will remain closed, resulting in similar budget cuts and program reductions at Houston

Ballet, the Houston Symphony and the Alley Theatre.

Arts leaders have said COVID-19 has hurt the arts scene like no other event, with ramifications far exceeding that of Hurricane Harvey.

“Producing an opera begins years before the piece reaches the

stage and its audience,” HGO managing director Perryn Leech said in a statement. “HGO brings in people from all over the world to produce a diverse range of opera on the Wortham stages and in other venues around Houston. This means that hundreds of our singers, musicians, artists, technicians and administrative staff will be impacted by the cancellation. Years of hard work and collaboration have been put on hold as we navigate our current reality.”