N.Y. Opera wants new home

The New York City Opera, the poor cousin and neighbor of the lordly Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center, may take on the daunting task of raising about $400 million to build a new home.

City Opera is close to a deal with New York City and a developer to build a new theater a block west of its current home at the New York State Theater, said Robert Wilson, the opera company’s chairman from 1981 to 1993. Plans call for a 1,850-seat opera house to anchor a residential tower at the site of the Manhattan office of the American Red Cross.

Financing for the project, in discussion for more than 18 months, isn’t set. Wilson, a former money manager, said he was skeptical that the opera could raise the money. Its chairwoman, Susan L. Baker, is convinced it can, he said. Baker declined to comment.