The Icelandic Opera Claims The Funding Isn’t Sufficient

There’s drama in the opera world and we’re not talking about on stage. The Icelandic Opera is claiming that funding allocated by the Ministry of Culture and Commerce for operations in the 2023-24 season will not be sufficient to sustain the institution, reports Vísir.

That claim was made in a statement released by the Icelandic Opera in response to a funding announcement made by the Ministry of Culture and Commerce on August 15. That ministry announcement was issued in response to another statement released by the Icelandic Opera the day before claiming funding has ended.

The Icelandic Opera first claimed it would be forced to shut down due to budget cuts and that it had been informed that funding contributions to the institution would be terminated before a new national opera (which is in the works) could be established.

However, the ministry’s announcement contradicted this, saying financial contributions have been allocated for the Icelandic Opera’s next season. It is estimated that the financial contributions to the institution will total 334 million ISK.

The Icelandic Opera now asserts that this amount will not suffice to keep the institution functioning. “Thus, it will inevitably cease to operate long before the possible national opera, which is in preparation, can start its activities, a decision we consider extremely thoughtless and a great cultural accident.”

The Icelandic Opera further claimed that decisions were made by the ministry unilaterally and that very limited consultation had been carried out with the institution regarding how to maintain the process successfully. Not surprisingly, the ministry denied that was the case.

Earlier this year, the Icelandic Opera was accused of “yellowface.” Read more here.