In October 2013, the arts world was rocked by the news that the New York City Opera, "the people's opera," had finally succumbed to financial hardship after 70 years in operation. It had been a fixture on the national opera scene, a home for young talent and a place for new ideas. But it was more than the loss of a cherished organization, argues critic Heidi Waleson; it was a harbinger of massive upheaval in the performing arts, and a warning about how cultural institutions must change in order to survive.