Norfolk and Virginia Opera leaders are clashing over claims of $270,000 in unpaid rent on Harrison Opera House as the parties negotiate a new lease agreement.
The city, which leases the opera house to Virginia Opera, says the organization owes $270,000 in unpaid lease payments for July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2024, according to an agenda item from the latest Norfolk City Council meeting. The agenda item, which would have leased just the organization’s office space in the opera house, was continued at the June 11 meeting.
Virginia Opera leaders dispute those claims, said Peggy Kriha Miller, general director and CEO.
“This is being reviewed and discussed as part of the ongoing negotiations,” Miller said in an email. “Due to our longstanding relationship with the city we are confident we will find resolution.”
When asked why opera leaders do not believe the organization is behind on rent, Miller declined to provide further comment.
City leaders also hope to find an amendable solution to the dispute, Norfolk City Manager Patrick Roberts said during the council meeting last week. He said the city also would continue funding the opera through a budget allocation. The city is spending $317,178 this upcoming 2025 fiscal year, which begins in July.
“That’s not in question,” Roberts said.
Roberts and Miller said the groups are trying to determine the best funding model for the facility use going forward. One option, they said, would be to continue leasing the opera house annually. Another would have the opera pay for facility use per event. Miller said the groups could also agree to some combination of the two methods.
“Our goal is to arrive at an equitable agreement that works for the city and the Opera,” she said.
Since the pandemic, the Virginia Opera has made significant strides recovering, Miller said, including steadily increasing ticket sales. The opera made about $5.5 million in revenue during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, a 49% increase from about $3.75 million two years prior, according to the nonprofit’s most recently available tax form.
Miller said the organization is primarily funded by donations and grants, which made up 70% of revenue during the 2023-24 fiscal year. Ticket sales made up 25% of revenue during that time period, and 5% came from other earned revenue.
In addition to contributing to Norfolk’s arts and culture scene, Miller said the opera’s current $5 million budget is responsible for more than $2.3 million in Norfolk investment through personnel, vendors and admissions taxes.
The opera performs at 160 W. Virginia Beach Ave. in Norfolk and at venues in Richmond and Fairfax.
The Virginia Opera’s 50th season will begin in September and features the inaugural production of Loving V. Virginia, an opera based on the Supreme Court case that legalized interracial marriages in Virginia and in the U.S.
Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com