He crosses the hall to the Arthur and Dellie Schlesinger Listening Library, created in 1996 following the gift of Schlesinger's collection of cassettes of Texaco Metropolitan Opera broadcasts dating back to 1935. Enlarged now through other bequests, the Schlesinger Library is a potential component of the iconic arts complex envisioned by Campbell on the bayfront site of Lane Field at the foot of Broadway. Campbell points it out from his office window. Study findings will be announced in a few months. There's never been a better time.
Opera is the most labor-intensive and expensive of the arts.
Ranked among the top 10 level-one companies by Opera America, San Diego Opera is doing well. The full-time administrative staff numbers 38, and in 1999 the company issued 625 W2s and 1099s. The year Campbell arrived, paid attendance was 53,396 for the season of six operas. Paid attendance for this season's five operas is estimated at 63,420. Lifelong opera lover William Stensrud, a general partner in the venture capital firm of Enterprise Partners and one of the nation's hottest tech moneymen, becomes president of the board in July.