Philip Glass’s The Fall of the House of Usher, opening February 23 at Chicago Opera Theater, is a turning point for the company. This marks the real end of the era of now-retired general director Brian Dickie, who raised COT’s artistic profile and moved it to Millennium Park. And it’s the first full season for his successor, Andreas Mitisek, the new guy in town.
Meanwhile, COT was struggling after several years of declining revenue and climbing debt. Earned income, which topped $1 million in 2007, had fallen to about half that by 2010, while donations and grants had also dropped off. Board president Gregory O’Leary, who took office that year, puts much of the blame on the recession.
“I think people who love opera want to see lots of opera,” he says.
The biggest changes might be offstage. Mitisek describes himself as a “proactive” fund-raiser, an area where he says there’s room for improvement. And he’s not afraid to make “the ask.” O’Leary says Mitisek has already met one-on-one with company supporters, bringing some folks who’d lost interest back into the fold.
Chicago Opera Theater, Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph, 312-704-8414, chicagooperatheater.org, 2/23-3/1: Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM, Wed and Fri 7:30 PM, $35-$125.
