New York City Opera on brink of bankruptcy

NEW YORK, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- The New York City Opera needs to raise $7 million by the end of September, or its current production of "Anna Nicole" will be its last, a spokeswoman said.

In addition to the $7 million the organization needs by Monday, the opera wants to raise $13 million by the end of the year for future seasons, a news release from the opera said.

"If we don't raise the [$7 million] by the end of Monday the board is going to begin the process of bankruptcy," said New York City Opera spokeswoman Rita Heller.

The opera, which opened in 1943, has raised $1.5 million, in addition to $202,223 it raised through an online Kickstarter campaign. The company was hoping to raise $1 million through the online campaign, CNN reported Friday.

The company, founded 60 years after the Metropolitan Opera, was begun as a way for every New Yorker to be able to afford going to the opera.

Starting ticket prices are $25, but General Manager and Artistic Director George Steel said the organization would have to sell every ticket at $600 to raise the money necessary to stave off bankruptcy.

"We need the help of the people we were founded to serve to put on our season this year," Steel said. "We need you to come together and carry it forward into the future. I hope we can count on you."