If you didn’t get a chance to see this weekend’s production of Pagliacci, you missed out, for several reasons. First it was a tremendously moving show, second there was a cute pregnant woman in the chorus with great green 50’s glasses and a frumpy green dress, and third because it was Opera Cleveland’s last production for a year if not forever. There were many tears shed by chorus members as the closing line of the show was stated: “La Commedia e’ finito!” (The comedy is over). Being the type that is brought to tears when others cry, I too shed many tears during the bows as I thought about how sad it was for Cleveland that the company is closing, how sad it is for the arts and opera specifically, and how sad it is for all those chorus members- many of whom have chosen to meld family life and their love of singing opera, who have had yet another window of opportunity closed.

The closure is yet another sign of the rocky economy. Donors, scared, of what the future will bring have sharply cut their donations, and the foundation for the arts has been harshly decreased by the federal government. When an economy tanks, the arts are always the first to go. Opera Cleveland isn’t closing permanently, yet. It’s going to take the next year to research and feel things out and determine if it is financially possible to reopen in a year. Hopefully, things will look better in a year and they can return. Who knows.

I want to make some sort of conclusive statement, but I just feel confused, bewildered by how to solve the difficult situation artists face, that they have always faced. Perhaps, suffering is what makes good art.