San Francisco Opera's Economic Situation

For 45 years San Francisco Opera has had to adjust programming levels in response to economic realities. Tickets now only cover 15% of revenue.

The economic challenges being faced by San Francisco Opera and other arts organizations are not new and are happening across the performing arts industry. The problem has been growing for decades, and San Francisco Opera has long been modifying its programming accordingly. This is not a short-term situation, or a repercussion of the Covid pandemic. It’s a decades’ long economic reality that has been becoming increasingly acute.

Ticket sales (even with well-sold houses) represent only 15% of revenues. Were tickets to fully cover the costs of producing opera, a $100 ticket would need to be $700. Tickets would be 700% of current prices which would severely limit attendance. Opera has always required a level of subsidy, and now requires even more significant donations to make up the difference between ticket revenue and expenses.

As our economics have increasingly strained over decades, San Francisco Opera, like most performing arts organizations, has had no choice but to reduce programming. We lose significant money every time we open the curtain. The Company has had to reduce the season from 16 operas in 1981 to 6 operas today. The change has been gradual and linear, and speaks volumes to the decades-long strain faced by the arts.

Companies all over the world are reducing seasons to balance budgets.

Many opera companies around the world have seen contractions in programming; this is not unique to San Francisco Opera. 

However, we are not willing to solve the current structural gap by reducing programming further. We need to maintain our current level of programming—a level which is resonating with patrons and donors. We need to reduce expenses without a further loss of programming.

Performing more would only increase the gap between expenses and revenue.

In the face of reductions in the number of titles over 45 years, it is a natural response to suggest that we should just perform more. Surely more performances equals more ticket revenue?

When ticket revenues cover only 15% of our expenses, adding more performances results in net loss to the organization. For example:

• To add an extra performance of last summer’s Elektra would have netted a projected $191k in additional incremental loss including anticipated ticket revenue.
  
  
• The Beethoven 9 concert that we performed in 2024 netted $193k in additional incremental loss, even after selling all the seats.
  
  
• Orchestra-only events in smaller venues that we have done have added incremental expenses of $60–90k per event.

Everything we do creates net loss, and requires additional donor subsidy. This is true from the grandest of grand operas on the mainstage to small musical experiences with the orchestra out of the house. We cannot solve a structural deficit of $15M by adding programming. Adding programming increases the net loss to the organization.

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