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HELSINKI, Finland, Jan 18, 2007 (UPI via COMTEX) -- The financially strapped Finnish National Opera said it will trim the number of main performances by as much as 20 percent beginning in 2008 to cut costs.
The Board of the Opera also reduced the company's production week to five days and agreed that the Ministry of Education would more closely monitor the opera company's finances, Helsingin Sanomat said. It also decided that opera staff and management could no longer vote at board meetings.
Three opera staff members will keep their right to be present and to speak, while General Director Erkki Korhonen and Administrative Director Pekka Kauranen will act as presenting officials at board meetings, the directors said.
How board members chose their chair also has changed. The Ministry of Education, which also appoints the majority of the nine-member board, also will name the chair.
A new board will be appointed in the spring.
The latest cost-cutting measures won't affect previously announced layoffs, the board said. The entire staff of the National Opera will be furloughed for two months, while annual holidays will be taken in June and July.
The interruption in performances is scheduled to last four months.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2007 by United Press International
