"We spent the weekend with legal advisers,financial advisers,etcetera,arriving at the point where I was able to tell the board yesterday we believed we are still solvent and that we can continue to trade. It was as serious as that,"he said.
"In governance terms,we had to demonstrate that we are a going concern and solvent. Suddenly we were in a position where we had to show that we could refund all our tickets sold for the future and have no income from ticket sales for the foreseeable future."
Today's decision to cancel this year's Opera On The Harbour production ofLa Traviata is a heavy blow for the company. It was to run for a month on the purpose-built stage at Mrs Macquaries Point. Last year's production ofWest Side Story drew 65,000 people and the outdoor series has generated about $66m in visitor spend since it began in 2012,according to OA.
"As Churchill said,‘If you’re going through hell,keep going’,"Mr Jeffes said.
"For us it’s about how we ensure the short-term safety of everybody involved with Opera Australia and how do we take decisions now to give ourselves and indeed the broader sector the opportunity to still be here in as vibrant a form as possible as we come out of hell."
The option of selling off property to cushion the company through the unprecedented shutdown is"fairly likely",added Mr Jeffes.
"Opera Australia has some assets but those are not cash so we need to look at how we dispose of those assets and convert them to cash over the next three-month period,"he said.