New York City Opera Warns Season Could Be Halted Without Funding

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The New York City Opera company said this weekend that it will have to suspend its season unless it raises $7 million by the end of the month.

The 70-year-old company has set up a Kickstarter campaign to raise the money. The company said without the funds, it will have to suspend its 2013-2014 season after the end of the season's first production, "Anna Nicole."

"Throughout its history as The People's Opera, NYC Opera has made opera accessible and affordable," the company said. "And now NYC Opera needs help to produce its upcoming season."

The organization has suffered from financial troubles for some years. In 2011, the company elected to move out of Lincoln Center after 45 years there, cut its staff, and scale back its performance schedule due to a dwindling endowment, a multimillion-dollar deficit, and contentious negotiations with its union staff.

The New York City Opera is revered as a pillar of American culture that has delivered daring new productions and built the careers of such stars as Placido Domingo and Beverly Sills.

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