Struggling NYC opera, musicians reach impasse
NEW YORK – A bitter contract dispute has led to a lockout of musicians at the New York City Opera, a possible “death knell” for a company that’s nurtured such singers as Renee Fleming, Placido Domingo and Beverly Sills.
On Sunday, hours after talks broke down, the cash-strapped company canceled Monday rehearsals for a Feb. 12 opening production of Verdi’s “La Traviata” in Brooklyn.
“This is a very sad day for what once was a spectacular cultural icon and for the people who performed its music,” said Alan Gordon, national executive director of the American Guild of Musical Artists representing the chorus, stage directors and principal singers.
Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians represents the orchestra. Both unions have been without a contract since spring.
City Opera is now operating on a shoestring, offering orchestra and chorus members minimum fees for an already abbreviated season. City Opera moved out of its longtime home at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts last year, citing financial troubles, and cut back its usual schedule of 12 to 16 operas per season, with a peak of about 130 performances.
In a statement, the company said it had “no choice but to lock out” union members because they rejected the company’s economic offer and had threatened to strike when performances began, according to a statement released Sunday.
The musicians rejected the company’s offer, saying the financially diminished company doesn’t guarantee work or pay.
Under a contract management proposed in early December, the musicians’ average annual income would drop from about $40,000 to as little as $5,000 for two productions. For decades, musicians were guaranteed at least 22 weeks’ work.
City Opera’s troubles started about a decade ago with multimillion-dollar deficits, followed by the appointment of Belgian director Gerard Mortier as general manager and artistic director, effective as of the 2009-2010 season. Accustomed to staging expensive, cutting-edge extravaganzas in Europe, he insisted that City Opera’s theater be renovated, forcing the company to go dark for the 2008-2009 season, with only six unstaged performances elsewhere.
The economy’s free-fall was a last straw for the 69-year-old company.