RogerEvansOnline.com

Just as the New York City Opera puts out its dismal news, this comes from Washington:

Today, the Executive Committee of Washington National Opera made a very difficult but important decision. At the recommendation of our General Director Plácido Domingo, the Committee has agreed to postpone the Ring cycle scheduled for next season. In light of the economic downturn and the extraordinary expenses associated with mounting the Ring, it became evident to all of us that WNO needed to make this choice to ensure our financial health for this and future seasons, and to ensure that WNO continues to produce opera of the highest quality. I know this will be disappointing to many of you who have worked so hard to make this possible and looked forward to the performances, but we believe that this is the only fiscally responsible decision for our company. We believe it will save us $5.0 million next year. At the same time, our artistic staff has been able to create an alternate 2009-10 season that will be artistically excellent and financially viable. While our titles are still being finalized, we expect to offer six fully staged productions as well as two concert performances of Götterdämmerung.