Photo by Hitchcock Creative

The Washington National Opera announced late Monday that it is making significant cuts for the coming season, both in terms of staff and the number of productions it will present. The 2010-11 season will include only five operas, continuing the downward trend from six this season and seven in 2008-09.

The company said it is also eliminating eight staff positions, instituting salary freezes, suspending retirement fund contributions, and implementing a series of furloughs. These further cuts were deemed necessary due to increasing financial difficulty amid the current recession.

“For several years, WNO has operated in an unstable economic environment in which our expenses outstripped our ability to raise funds through donations and ticket sales,” WNO President Kenneth Feinberg said in a statement. “These systemic challenges must be addressed now, so that WNO can continue to produce great opera and engage our community through our education, training and outreach programs.”

In the Washington Post, Ann Midgette notes that the five-opera season has “become something of a norm among the larger regional American opera companies.” Not to mention the cuts seen at artistic groups of all stripes and sizes since the recession began.

WNO Artistic Director Placido Domingo also issued the following statement:

“While the changes made today are heartbreaking, WNO’s board leadership made these changes with the best interests of the company in mind. I regret the decisions, and yet, I support them because they will allow WNO to produce opera of a high quality, with world-class artists and productions, and maintain its award-winning education, training and outreach programs. A five-opera season, while far from ideal, will allow the company to maintain the standard of excellence for which we are so well known. I am deeply saddened that these changes are affecting WNO’s staff, who deserve great thanks for their service to the company. It is my profound hope that WNO will regain solid financial ground very quickly and that we will once again be able to offer more productions and performances.”