Orange finishes in the red

The Philharmonic Society of Orange County lost $434,000 on its recent Eclectic Orange Festival but was able to tap some of its regular donors to make up the shortfall, executive director Dean Corey said.

In its fourth season, Eclectic Orange spent $2.2 million -- two-thirds of the festival’s $3.3-million budget -- to become only the second U.S. presenter of the French equestrian troupe Theatre Zingaro. Zingaro accounted for 22 of the 41 performances, and for 78% of the festival attendance of 35,563. But Corey said it also accounted for most of the shortfall.

Needing $1.985 million to break even, the Philharmonic Society took in $1.551 million at the box office.

Sixteen additional festival performances, including Opera Pacific’s five stagings of “La Boheme,” were presented by other organizations and are not included on the Philharmonic Society’s books, Corey said.

Zingaro’s blend of horsemanship, modern dance, somber themes and oblique, story-less presentation “was more sophisticated, probably, than some people imagined,” Corey said, but “it’s something people will remember for a long time.” He said attendance at the Oct. 11-Nov. 10 festival also was hurt by the poor economy and competing telecasts of the Anaheim Angels’ World Series run.

The Philharmonic Society, Orange County’s leading presenter of touring classical musicians, probably won’t stake so much on a single attraction again, Corey said.

But he didn’t rule out a return of Theatre Zingaro in 2005.