NY City Opera et al.

Struggling music companies in the United States are nothing new. Stories about orchestra strikes, delayed season opening, and companies on the verge of closing have been somewhat common for years. In a country where public funding for the arts is scarce, dwindling of private donations and aging audiences have an even more fatal effect than in Europe - and this is exactly what happened when the big financial crisis of 2008 hit, from which the United States has still not fully recovered. But the headlines from America have become more dramatic in the recent past. After embittered and unsuccessful contract negotiations, the musicians of the renowned Minnesota Orchestra were locked out for over a year, from October 2012 until January 2014. The New York City Opera, after the Met the second-largest opera company in New York and also well-known, went into bankruptcy last October. At the same time, there are cases of American music companies that seem to withstand any crisis. Georg Hirsch has taken a closer look at the American classical music scene, with a special focus on the case of the New York City Opera.

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