Fat Lady Sings

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The final note has apparently sounded for the Berkshire Opera Company. The 26-year-old company filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday, Jan. 19.

According to the Boston Business Journal, the company filed for Chapter 7, which its says usually results in liquidation, and its assets were less than $50,000. Its liabilities are reportedly $100,000 to $500,000.

The company once had grand plans, buying the Mahaiwe back in 2000 for $435,000 as a permanent home. Its $15 million grand plans to renovate the historic theater, however, ran almost immediately into financial trouble and it sold off the theater two years later.

Things continued to go downhill from there as the state's economy faltered and the audience for classical performances declined. The company's last season was in 2008; no performances were attempted in 2009. BerkshireFineArts did a story on its economic woes early last year.

There's still hope for opera lovers; the Mahaiwe offers a number of performances simulcast live in high-definition from New York City's Metropolitan opera.