The announcement was as abrupt as the double knifing at ithe end of Pagliacci. Last month, just a week before the Lyric Opera season opened with the story of the tragic clown–paired with Cavalleria rusticana–Lyric management announced that its radio broadcasts were being “suspended for the 2002-2003 season because of lack of funding.” For nearly 30 years, opening-night performances have been aired live over WFMT and taped for national syndication, carrying the Lyric into the homes of people who can’t make it to the palace on Wacker Drive for whatever reason: distance, schedule, health, price. “In order to make these broadcasts possible, $400,000 in sponsorship [$50,000 per opening night] must be found,” went the sad song of general director William Mason. With the stock market in the dump and the economy stalled, getting the money “has not been possible for either Lyric or WFMT.”
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The problem erupted at the 11th hour, says WFMT vice president Steve Robinson, when sponsors vanished. On the other hand, it wasn’t a total surprise. “It didn’t take a genius to figure out that [major funders] American and United were troubled,” Robinson says. “Once the official notice came, we were scrambling hard, both of us, hoping we’d pull it out. We didn’t really pull the plug until the last minute.” (American Airlines is still on board as a sponsor of Lyric’s annual Operathon fund-raiser on WFMT this Saturday.)
Cernota says the orchestra and the musicians’ union initiated the broadcasts to begin with. They began in the early 1970s and were local, he says: “The contract was only between the orchestra and WFMT. Then WFMT expanded to sister stations, moving toward network status”–and clouding the distinction between local and national broadcasts. The union has agreed to allow “archival” taping of this season’s performances, which could be aired in some fiscally agreeable future.
