The Los Angeles Opera Company, a major cultural institution in Southern California, has disclosed that it has accepted over $27 million in government grants during the last ten years. IRS tax filings show the nonprofit also spent about $33 million on executive compensation in the same period.
Executive pay details
President and CEO Christopher Koelsch earned $974,878 in salary plus $26,200 in other compensation for the fiscal year ending June 2025, bringing his total to just over $1 million. Executive Vice President and Chief Strategic Officer John Nuckols received nearly $511,000, Vice President of Artistic Planning Rupert Hemmings more than $353,000, and Vice President Diane Rhodes Bergman almost $315,000. A year earlier, Koelsch’s compensation topped $1.2 million, and the organization reported $3.7 million in total executive pay that year, with another $3 million the following year.
Additional perks and contracts
The filings also list first‑class travel and housing allowances for several staff members, including Music Director James Conlon, who technically receives $0 salary from the opera but has been paid roughly $7.28 million through a contract with Amadeus Music Productions over the past decade. Former General Director Plácido Domingo received first‑class travel until 2019, resigning amid a sexual‑harassment investigation.
Public funding sources
Los Angeles County’s Arts & Culture Organizational Grant Program provides taxpayer money to nonprofits of any size. LA Opera received an $86,200 county grant for the 2025‑2026 cycle. The program scores applications on artistic quality, managerial excellence, project planning, evaluation, and community‑needs criteria, rewarding organizations that already raise large private sums. LA Opera reported nearly $29.7 million in private donations for the fiscal year ending June 2025 and finished with $89 million in net assets.
COVID‑era assistance
Much of the opera’s government aid came after the pandemic. The nonprofit obtained a $4.1 million Paycheck Protection Program loan in April 2020 and a $2 million loan in March 2021, both later forgiven and counted as grants. It also received a $7.6 million Shuttered Venue Operators Grant in 2021 and, more recently, $1.37 million from FEMA for the fiscal year ending June 2025, with an additional $660,570 the prior year for COVID‑related reimbursements.
Critics weigh in
Watchdog groups argue that taxpayer money should not subsidize arts organizations that already raise tens of millions from private donors. Tom Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste, said, “Taxpayers should not be robbing bus drivers and plumbers to pay strapped actors and photographers.” The Cato Institute’s Ryan Bourne called such subsidies “a fundamentally unfair transfer of wealth from the lower classes up,” noting there is no clear evidence that arts funding boosts public welfare or productivity.
Response from the opera
LA Opera’s communications director, Marlene Meraz, did not respond to requests for comment on the grant and compensation figures. The nonprofit’s tax filings indicate it would provide governing documents, tax‑exemption letters, and conflict‑of‑interest forms upon request, but those have not been released.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
