Some publicity for the Lyric Opera Publicist

You may not know who she is, but she is behind the scenes whenever there is something happening with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City.  Her name is Ellen McDonald and she has been the Company’s publicist for almost 3 years.  KCMetropolis.org recently interviewed Mrs. McDonald, highlighting her career in the non-profit world, advocacy for arts, and commitment to this city.  Click the title to read the interview: Movers, Shakers, Stalwarts: Ellen McDonald by Victor Wishna.

The Lyric Opera Needs Your Help!

A note from General Director Evan Luskin:

You have probably heard about the budget shortfall which the state of Missouri is facing.  Proposed expenditures for the coming year total over 8 billion dollars, but revenues fall 1 billion dollars short of footing the bill. Obviously, cuts need to be made, and I have been expecting a cut in the Missouri Arts Council funds which will affect the Lyric Opera.  It is only fair that the arts shoulder their fair share of the budgetary shortfall.  I had not, however, anticipated that the State Senate would propose zeroing out the Arts Council for the coming year!

As opera supporters, you and I attend and support the opera because we love the art form.  I understand that Jefferson City must make its decisions on something more tangible than our love for great art.  In fact, the arts in Missouri are a business, and are significant employers and provide tax dollars which contribute to state revenues.

The Lyric Opera is a $4.5 million business.  Most of the money we spend stays in our community.  More than half the budget goes into payrolls, providing the means by which individuals support themselves and their families and pay taxes.  The arts attract tourists throughout the region who come to Kansas City and eat in our restaurants and shop in our stores, generating additional revenue for the state.  While the arts community understands the necessity of making cuts, we believe that eliminating all state support is just plain bad business.

The members of the State Senate’s Appropriations Committee need to know that arts funding matters to you.  While you understand that the arts budget must be cut, you believe it does not make good business sense to eliminate it completely.  Please phone or email the members of the Senate Appropriations Committee today.  Just a brief email which states “Don’t zero out the Missouri Arts Council.  The arts are good for the economy” would let the Senators know where citizens stand.

Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee

Senator Rob Mayer                   Rob.Mayer@senate.mo.gov

Senator Tom Dempsey            tom.dempsey@senate.mo.gov

Senator Chuck Purgason         chuck.purgason@senate.mo.gov

Senator Frank Barnitz              Frank.Barnitz@senate.mo.gov

Senator Joan Bray                     jbray@senate.mo.gov

Senator Timothy Green           timothy.green@senate.mo.gov

Senator Yvonne Wilson           Yvonne.Wilson@senate.mo.gov

The following senators prefer not receiving emails.  You may reach their offices through the capitol switchboard at 573-751-2000:

Senator Kurt Schaefer, Senator Jim Lembke, Senator David Pearce

Thank you for your support!

Culture crunch

Time magazine has a nice feature article this week about the impact the economic crisis has had on the arts. Check it out here.

Want to help support the Lyric Opera? Consider making a contribution here.

Vote today: KC Visitors’ Choice

The Lyric Opera of Kansas City has been nominated a finalist in the 2009 KC Visitors’ Choice competition. You can vote multiple times through August 31, so send this to some friends and make the Lyric Opera a visitors’ favorite!

Cast your vote here.

President Obama nominates Landesman to chair NEA

Rocco Landesman

On May 13 President Obama announced his nomination of Rocco Landesman to chair the National Endowment for the Arts. Landesman, who was born in St. Louis, is a Broadway producer, and is responsible for bringing important shows to the great white way, including Angels in America, Proof, Smokey Joe’s Café, The Grapes of Wrath and Caroline, Or Change. Read the President’s press release here.

Robert Lynch, CEO of Americans for the Arts, released his positive endorsement of the President’s nomination the same day. You can read it here.

American’s for the Arts wants to know what you think Landesman’s priorities should be as he considers the position. Share your thoughts here on our blog, as well as on Artsblog.

Welcome back, Paul!

Lyric Opera is pleased to learn that Paul Horsley will be writing for The Independent. Already Paul has premiered his first column in the weekly magazine (featuring our production of La bohème). Paul’s reviews will also appear in the print magazine, as well as The Independent’s new blog — check it out here.

Why critics are important

The Kansas City Star, among other voices, questions why the Lyric Opera and other arts organizations in Kansas City care so deeply about the loss of a permanent classical music and dance critic. The Financial Times highlighted the cuts in Kansas City and other similar cuts in an article posted today:

Of the thousand journalism jobs reportedly lost during the past year, 121 belonged to specialists covering music and dance, film, books and television. The music critic at the Kansas City Star was told to walk after eight years of heavy duty. The Miami Herald’s critic was granted eight weeks’ severance pay. The Los Angeles Times no longer employs a dance critic. The Village Voice in New York and the Los Angeles Weekly have ceased coverage of “classical” music. The Seattle Times no longer employs a music critic. Even the relatively secure New York Times has found two of its venerable critics – one in music, one in dance – to be expendable. Time and Newsweek gave up earnest arts coverage long ago.

The Financial Times does a beautiful job of summarizing why we should care, and does it eloquently:

A primary cause of our imminent extinction must be the internet. An impatient generation is succumbing to the free and easy lure of computer enlightenment. Sure, not all those who cover the arts in old-fashioned print are paragons – still, most do have sufficient education and/or experience to justify their views. On the web, anyone can impersonate an expert. Anyone can blog. Credentials don’t count. All views are equal. Some sort of criticism may survive the American media revolution, but professional criticism may not.

Essentially, our civilisation is tilting towards anti-authoritarian contests. Audiences, not judges, select winners. Call it the American Idolisation of culture. On TV, contestants get voted off without explanation. Quality is measured by thumbs, up or down. Scholarly analyses have turned into irrelevant extravagances for snobs.

This is too important a time for the arts in Kansas City without raising our voices in protest to The Star’s decision. Have you spoken out in support of the arts?

Tell The Star: reinstate the classical music criticism staff position

Last week, in an effort to shore up its sagging revenues, The Kansas City Star eliminated the position of classical music critic, and with it Paul Horsley.

Clearly, management at The Star does not understand the vibrancy and importance the arts community . Its action ill serves classical music and dance by not having a dedicated reporter covering that beat. As the Lyric Opera, Kansas City Ballet, and Kansas City Symphony anticipate performing in the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in 2010, this decision is tantamount to the Royals making it to the World Series, only to have all the local baseball reporters fired from the sports department.

Will you help support the Lyric Opera by writing a letter to the editor of The Star, as well as the Reader’s Rep and let them know that The Star has a responsibility to cover the full breadth of the vibrant cultural landscape of this community, including music and dance, with a dedicated, full-time critic?

All letters should be made very personal, and should not have the tone or feel of a form letter. When writing to The Star, be sure to let them know:

• Whether you are a subscriber to the paper, and whether a lack of coverage of music and dance will impact your decision to renew your subscription to The Star;
• How the arts in Kansas City contribute $279 million annually in economic impact to the region, and a lack of coverage will have a direct and dramatic economic impact;
• How freelancer writers lack the ability to see the “whole picture” of music and dance in the community, and how a more limited view is a disservice to readers;
• How you use the arts coverage in the newspaper impacts your knowledge and support of Kansas City arts institutions;
• How diverse the readership of arts coverage is.

Please send your letters to both the Editor (letters@kcstar.com) and the Reader’s Rep (readerrep@kcstar.com). Letters can also be mailed to 1729 Grand, Kansas City, MO 64108. Letters should be a maximum of 150 words, include your name, address and daytime telephone number.

Additionally, send your letters to Peter Tira, Communications Director for The McClatchy Company (owners of The Kansas City Star): 2100 Q Street, Sacramento, CA 95816-6899, ptira@mcclatchy.com.

We would love to represent your voices here, on the Lyric Opera blog as well. Just click the comment button to share your letter with us.

Thank you in advance for your continued support of the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and for helping us educate the owners of The Star about the importance of music and dance in Kansas City – and in Kansas City’s newspaper.