“Flatten the curve” is a phrase we’re hearing a lot in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic—the need to slow the number of new infections and prevent exponential increases that would overwhelm the healthcare system in the short term. The spread can be slowed, public health officials say, if people avoid public gatherings and practice “social distancing.” As a result, all industries—like the arts—that are defined by bringing people together for an educational or entertainment purpose have been forced to suspend their activities for the sake of public health. Unfortunately, all those individuals that depend on the arts for business and employment have been forced into a very precarious position.
Although most of Knoxville Opera’s pending projects were weeks or months off, the uncertainty of how long this all may last has forced them to officially postpone their spring projects, including the hugely popular Rossini Festival Street Fair (scheduled for April 18) and their spring opera project, Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed That Line To Freedom (scheduled for May 1-3).
Let’s be frank about this. Arts organizations are finding themselves in the midst of an economic trauma that is as injurious to them just as the COVID-19 virus is to individuals. While the dangerous virus will eventually pass, the damage to arts organizations may be long term, if not irreparable. For this reason, performing arts organizations are asking that current ticketholders consider converting their reservations into a donation. Their continued existence may depend on this.
Knoxville Opera is suggesting that those who have already purchased Harriet Tubman tickets consider converting your reservation to either a donation or a voucher for the rescheduled production. Please contact Marie Butler (mbutler@knoxvilleopera.com) about these options.
For Rossini Festival vendors and exhibitors wishing a refund, please contact Don Townsend (dtownsend@knoxvilleopera.com).
