For arts organization in troubled times, this coupling of mission driven direction and success ought, in theory to be tight. The effort reported here examines the degree to which an Arts organization, in particular those presenting Opera, have stayed their mission dictated course and survived, even succeeded. By looking in depth at several opera companies in the San Francisco Bay area, more broadly, opera companies through out the United States and, in summary, at other arts organizations, we will present how well the conceived missions are actually achieved and have served to drive success.#ArtsCultureandAudiences #2010Conference