Royal Winnipeg Ballet posts surplus

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, which two years ago had to cut costs after reporting a $200,000 operating deficit, posted its second consecutive year with a surplus, the company announced at its annual general meeting Wednesday.

The RWB reported a $203,482 operating surplus for the 2017-18 season, on revenues totalling more than $11.3 million, thanks in part to cutting more than $500,000 in expenses compared with the previous season. The company also reported less revenue, taking in $268,689 less than the 2016-17 season, thanks to a shortened touring schedule.

Don Leitch, chairman of the RWB’s board of directors, called the 2016 shortfall "a watershed moment for the organization," which forced the RWB board to restructure its executive group, naming artistic director André Lewis as CEO in 2016.

Lewis said the entire company had to make tough decisions to turn its fortunes around.

"We looked at things from the old days that we didn’t need to do anymore," Lewis said after Wednesday’s meeting. "It didn’t affect the rehearsal process, and the performances. We had to be more careful, more diligent, be cautious about it.

"If it needs to be spent, we’ll do it."

The RWB’s next season, its 78th, begins Oct. 10-14 with a five-show run of The Handmaid’s Tale at the Centennial Concert Hall.

Meanwhile, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra also made beautiful financial music during the 2017-18 season, recording a $32,207 operating surplus on revenues totalling close to $9.5 million.

The orchestra revealed the surplus at its annual general meeting on Sept. 25. It is the WSO’s 11th consecutive season in the black and bolsters its accumulated surplus to $523,713.

One of the WSO’s 70th anniversary goals was to add $700,000 to its endowment fund. Thanks to donations from patrons and matching grants from the federal government’s Canadian Cultural Investment Fund, it was able to add $2 million to its endowment fund, WSO board president Terry Sargeant said in his report.

The 2017-18 season was the WSO’s 70th, and it held several events marking the anniversary, including a performance with violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman. It also bid farewell to music director Alexander Mickelthwate, who left after 12 seasons to join the Oklahoma City Philharmonic.

The orchestra hired Daniel Raiskin in Mickelthwate’s place, and the Russian conductor made his debut as music director in the 2018-19 season opener on Sept. 17. Raiskin returns to the Centennial Concert Hall podium tonight and Saturday night for performances of Gustav Mahler’s Titan symphony and Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with guest pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin.

alan.small@freepress.mb.ca Twitter:@AlanDSmall