<p>saintfan- my eldest son lives in Seattle, so maybe we CAN go to the opera next time I’m there!</p>
<p>News broke today of the inflated admin budget for the San Diego Opera: Ian Campbell attempted to justify his salary of $508,000 in 2012 by saying that he “had two jobs” with the organization- those of Artistic Director and General Director. A specious argument at best since those are often filled by the same person. His wife, Ann, was also on the SD Opera payroll, taking in $282,345 that same year. The Old Globe Theatre and the San Diego Symphony are thriving, attracting new audiences and donors while the Opera lost 3 million in just a couple of years. Campbell claims that he “saw (the closing) coming three years ago”, so why wasn’t an aggressive fund raising campaign mounted and cost-cutting measures (such as closing the big set shop the organization didn’t need) implemented? The unrelenting arrogance and head-in-the-sand attitude will lead to more closures unless the public in communities demand financial transparency each year- and the incompetency is across the board spreading into all areas of the performing arts; just look at past situations in Philly, Atlanta, Boston and NYC.</p>