Cutting, But Not Slashing

Like countless other arts organizations, the San Francisco Opera is going through some tough economic times. Unlike many other orchestras and opera companies, the company is refusing to hit the panic button, even after budgetary concerns forced it to trim the number of operas it would present in 2003-04. Berlioz’s massive “Les Troyens” was postponed several years to save the company $1 million, but “although much of the season’s repertoire is comparatively traditional, seven of the nine productions are new to the company,” including a daring (and not terribly accessible) 1978 opera by György Ligeti.