New York City Opera Announces It Will Close The 70-year-old company, long a star in the city's cultural firmament, announced on Tuesday morning that its emergency fund-raising appeal had fallen short, and that it would begin the process of dissolving itself and filing for bankruptcy. "New York City Opera did not achieve the goal of its emergency appeal," Risa B. Heller, a spokeswoman for the company, said in a statement. Today, the board and management will begin the necessary financial and operational steps to wind down the company including initiating the Chapter 11 process. Earlier in September, City Opera had announced that it would need to raise $7 million by the end of the month to pay for the rest of its season. The drive fell short, though, so Saturday night's performance of Mark-Anthony Turnage's opera "Anna Nicole" at the Brooklyn Academy of Music stands to be the company's last. Its first performance, of Puccini's "Tosca," was given in 1944. The company, which has struggled to attract donations since it moved out of Lincoln Center in 2011 to save money, only managed to raise about $2 million of its $7 million goal, an official said. The company, which has said that it hopes to be able to reimburse people who have bought tickets to the three productions that had been scheduled for the remainder of the season, sent an e-mail to subscribers Tuesday telling them of the decision to cancel the season and "wind down the company." George Steel, the company's general manager and artistic director, who led the move away from Lincoln Center, said in the e-mail that "we thank you for your continued support over the years and for making New York City Opera truly "the people's opera." " A Kickstarter campaign that the company had launched to try to raise $1 million of the $7 million it sought fell far short of its goal: when it shut down at midnight, it had gotten commitments for $301,019 from 2,108 backers. The company was launched 70 yeas ago with the help of Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia, who wanted to provide what he called "cultural entertainment at popular prices." On Monday, as it became clear that the fund-raising drive was falling short, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg - a billionaire who is a major patron of the arts, and who has supported the company in the past - told reporters that neither he nor the city would ride to the rescue of the opera. He said that the company's "business model doesn't seem to be working."" Tino Gagliardi, the president of Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians, which represents the orchestra, noted that the "musicians made great sacrifices in wages and benefits to keep the City Opera afloat." The musicians were once guaranteed a weekly salary of 29 weeks a year, but in recent years have been paid instead by the rehearsal and performance. The musicians had protested the move from Lincoln Center and the decisions to cut back the number of performances each year, which the company said was essential to survive. In a statement, Mr. Gagliardi said that "management's reckless decisions to move out of the opera's newly renovated home at Lincoln Center, slash the season schedule and abandon an accessible repertoire have predictably resulted in financial disaster for the company." He said that the musicians would like to "continue working together as a cohesive ensemble should the opportunity arise." The company's demise has saddened New Yorkers. Rosalind Nadell Scheer, 91, sang the role of Mercedes in the company's production of Carmen during its first season, in 1944. A review in The New York Times singled her out near the end, saying, "Of the lesser roles the most compellingly sung was the Mercedes of Rosalind Nadell, a youthful contralto with a rich, vibrant voice of fine promise."" On Monday morning, after the company's bankruptcy was announced, she said, "It hurts - it really hurts."