The Week in Review

New York City Opera to Declare Bankruptcy: In what appears to be an unstoppable tragedy, New York City Opera, once one of the city's most treasured institutions, is set to declare bankruptcy. The company has gone from pillar to post since it lost a year's worth of revenue as the David H. Koch Theatre -- formerly the New York State Theatre, renamed after a donation by the climate-change-denying oil billionaire -- was renovated. A subsequent decision by the board to dip into the company's endowment, the defection of new artistic director Gerard Mortier even before he took over, and a plan, by general manager and artistic director George Steel, to vacate Lincoln Center and drastically reduce its seasons, have all contributed to NYCO's ill health. Unless $7 million appears today, the fat lady, as they say, will not sing. For details: http://plasa.me/aytn4.

Eugene Onegin Opens at the Met Opera, Faces Protests: The Metropolitan Opened its season with a typical glittery gala and a new production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. This year, however, protestors were out in force, trying to get the Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, the conductor Valery Gergiev, and the Met itself to condemn Russia's new antigay laws. All three demurred, which led to demonstrators (some in drag) on the plaza at Lincoln Center, and hecklers in the auditorium making their demands known just before the overture began. For the full story, go to http://plasa.me/e3034. For a review of the production, which had problems of its own, having changing directors in midstream, go to http://plasa.me/1u8jq. You can read about the handsome production design in November's LSA.

Prince of Broadway Faces East: Prince of Broadway, the much anticipated retrospective of numbers from musicals produced and/or directed by Harold Prince, has had an extraordinarily difficult time raising the $12 million needed to put it on. As The New York Times reports, Prince may have been the victim of inexperienced fundraiser. (The show has burned through two sets of producers so far.) Others cite the financial losses suffered by Jerome Robbins' Broadway, a show with a similar format, which opened in the '80s. In any case, the new plan is to produce it in Japan, of all places, with an eye toward opening on Broadway in 2016. For what it's worth, Fiddler on the Roof, one of Prince's biggest hits, has always been huge in Japan. For more, go to http://plasa.me/wy7ij.

Inflatable Concert Hall to Tour Japan: In a fascinating combination of Swiss initiative and Japanese ingenuity, an inflatable concert hall will tour those areas of Japan most affected by the 2011 tsunami. Sponsored by the Lucerne Festival, the Ark Nova, created by Anish Kapoor, a British sculptor, and Arata Isozaki, the Japanese architect, the concert hall "consists of a single skin membrane that can be easily inflated or deflated to enable its transportation around the region." A varied musical program is planned. For more, including a truly bizarre visual, go to http://plasa.me/25emc.

Here and There: Laura Kepley is the new artistic director of Cleveland Play House, one of the Midwest's major regional theatres. Previously, she was the theatre's interim artistic director after three seasons as associate artistic director. Interestingly, she is only the ninth AD in the theatre's 98-year history ... Attention Las Vegas: A Love Boat musical is headed your way, to open sometime in 2014. No creative team or theatre has been announced, but apparently the score will consist of period pop hits ... It's not looking good for Minnesota Orchestra, as the musicians have voted to reject the new contract offered by management. The orchestra lost an entire season last year when the musicians were locked out. For the record, they are being asked to take a pay cut of roughly $30,000 per year, reducing average salaries from $135,000 to $104,500. All of this is happening as the Orchestra Hall's renovation has been completed. Stay tuned ...