Houston Grand Opera finishes year strong despite $15 million hit from Harvey

Stagehands move around sets during the transformation of a George R. Brown Convention Hall into a grand opera house is underway Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017, in Houston. Houston Grand Opera moved to the George R. Brown Center Exhibition Hall A3, now titled the "HGO Resilience Theatre." ( Steve Gonzales / Houston Chronicle ) less Stagehands move around sets during the transformation of a George R. Brown Convention Hall into a grand opera house is underway Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017, in Houston. Houston Grand Opera moved to the George R. ... more Photo: Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle Photo: Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 66 Caption Close Houston Grand Opera finishes year strong despite $15 million hit from Harvey 1 / 66 Back to Gallery

The city's premier opera company has finished its fiscal year on "strong financial footing" despite a challenging year following Hurricane Harvey that saw a ten percent drop in attendance.

Houston Grand Opera has raised more than $9.5 million to offset losses caused by the flooding of the Wortham Theatre Center last August during Harvey. The company expects financial losses will total $15 million over three years, according to a report detailing information presented during HGO's annual meeting on May 30.

The $9.5 million was raised as part of a Harvey recovery campaign. It will be received over the next three years, from fiscal years 2018 to 2020.

The recovery fund is buoyed by an increase in HGO's regular annual operating support, which is expected to reach $17.2 million by the end of July. This is an $1.2 million increase in annual operating support over 2016-17, due to the addition of 86 new patrons and trustees this year.

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HGO was forced out of its home last year and relocated to a convention space at the George R. Brown Convention Center. The company presented an entire season in the makeshift operahouse, not to return to the Wortham until this year's Sept. 26 concert featuring Plácido Domingo and Ana María Martínez.

During the 2017-18 season, attendance dropped by 10 percent, with 58,038 seats sold, compared to 2016-17's attendance of 64,533. This was due to "The lingering effects of the hurricane on arts attendance across Houston, the unfamiliar venue, and the smaller capacity of the temporary theater," the release said.

Nine performances were sold out during the past season: one performance of "Elektra," four performances of "The Barber of Seville" and four performances of "West Side Story." These included 7,000 first-time buyers.