NEW YORK – The New York City Opera said Tuesday it would close and file for bankruptcy after 70 years, having failed to secure desperately needed millions through an emergency fundraising appeal.

The second opera company in the city considered the cultural capital of the U.S. opened in 1944 and had set out to make the art more accessible and affordable to the masses.

But the deadline on an emergency appeal expired at midnight Monday with the company getting just $2 million of the $7 million it needed to keep its doors open.