TodiMusicFest teeters after exits, money rift

PORTSMOUTH

Six years ago, TodiMusicFest kicked off with ambitious plans: a grand opera, an Italian street festival and gospel and jazz performances.

City officials and arts aficionados boasted of its power to attract people and their money, claiming the two-week summer event generated $1.3 million of spending in Portsmouth over the years. But attendance never soared - according to festival records, fewer than 900 people last year paid to see the opera "Eugene Onegin," the centerpiece attraction.

And now, as this year's festival draws closer, the future of Portsmouth's signature arts program is in doubt.

In a flap over city funding, the festival's executive director and development director resigned in February. Without a director at the helm, there will be no opera performance this year - "Aida" has been shelved.

At a time when they should be selling tickets and working on promotions, the festival's board is simply trying to figure out what smaller shows will go on.

"It is a sad day for TodiMusicFest and for opera lovers around the region," said Eileen Thomason, president of the festival's board. "We're trying to do what we have to do to keep Todi going for one summer season. But it will not be the same type of Todi."

The festival's current troubles stem from a dispute with the city over money. More than the region's other arts organizations, TodiMusicFest has relied heavily on government money. Each year, nearly half of its funding came from city and state subsidies.

The money it has been receiving from Portsmouth - around $250,000 annually - always has come in early July at the start of the city's fiscal year. That was only weeks before the festival got under way, forcing Todi to borrow cash from a bank to secure artists and acts. The loan was repaid once city funding arrived.

Earlier this year, TodiMusicFest pushed the City Council for a long-term agreement to pledge $260,000 in support annually, split into quarterly installments. The organization also sought an additional $173,000 immediately to shore up plans for the upcoming season.

"We couldn't just go on promises anymore," Thomason said. "We'd been trying to do that and trying to make it work over the years."

Facing a budget shortfall and dissent from other arts organizations, City Council members balked on the agreement. That prompted the resignation of Todi's executive director, Howard Bender, who said he was under the belief that his organization would receive no city funds.

In reality, Todi is poised to receive $139,000 from the Fine Arts Commission and about $90,000 from other parts of the city budget, Councilwoman Elizabeth Psimas said. Even so, that's about $25,000 less than the city provided in 2007.

Adding to the woes, state legislators this winter cut contributions to arts organizations, slashing Todi's money by $65,000 for the upcoming season.

Those decreases make it difficult to afford the hundreds of performers, choir members, orchestra players and stagehands needed to put on a major opera performance, Thomason said. Last year's opera boasted 125 paid artists.

Bender's resignation - and the resignation of his wife, Ellen, the group's fundraising manager - has left Todi without a paid staff in the United States. The artistic director, Walter Attanasi, lives in Italy and did not respond to several e-mails.

"We were really abruptly thrown for a loop," Thomason said.

As the board concentrated on securing a long-term agreement with the city, little work occurred on other fronts. The organization's main fundraiser, an annual Carnivale, didn't happen this January. TodiMusicFest's Web site hasn't been updated since last July. And local businesses that handle such things as advertising, building opera sets and sewing costumes say nothing's been done.

"We're kind of reeling," said John Harris, whose Portsmouth company, Stage Tech Services, provided everything from stagehands to lighting. "It was an economic boost in the summertime for us, there's no question."

"Todi was one of a kind for our area. I don't know that it's dead, but I do know that it's sleeping at the moment, or in a coma."

Psimas said she hopes the festival can recover from the loss of the Benders and live to put on another opera in 2009.

"One person does not a festival make," she said. "It's my hope they'll put on some kind of festival this year and get their ducks in a row for next year."

Meghan Hoyer, (757) 446-2293, meghan.hoyer@pilotonline.com