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New York City Opera Plans to Lock Out Performers

By Wil Cruz | January 9, 2012 2:08pm
The New York City Opera has locked out its performers after negotiations broke down over the weekend.
The New York City Opera has locked out its performers after negotiations broke down over the weekend.
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DNAinfo/Leslie Albrecht

UPPER WEST SIDE — The New York City Opera planned to lock out its workers Monday after failing to resolve a contract dispute with workers.

The move could be the "death knell" for the organization, which helped launch the careers of singing legends including Placido Domingo, but is already financially struggling, union officials said.

The lockout forced the cancellation of rehearsals for Verdi's "La Traviata," which was due to start a run at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on February 12.

Alan Gordon, national executive director of the American Guild of Musical Artists which represents many of the chorus members, singers and stage directors, told the New York Post, "I don't see how that performance can still happen."

Contract talks between the opera, the AGMA and the American Federation of Musicians, which represents the orchestra, broke down on Saturday.

The move comes after management announced in May that the group would be moving its performances from the Lincoln Center, where it had been based since 1966.

Among the sticking points is management's push to do away with salaries for orchestra and chorus, a move union leaders say will reduce them to freelance status.

The unions say that would cut wages from about $40,000 for orchestra members and singers down to approximately $4,000.

The unions targeted New York City Opera General Manager George Steel for criticism, in particular.

"Management has failed appallingly to produce the kind of quality repertoire that respects our loyal audience and welcomes the next generation of opera fans," said Tino Gagliardi, president of Local 802 branch of the American Federation of Musicians, in a statement.

Steel told the Post, "As we have said countless times, for New York City Opera to survive, we must transition to the model that most opera companies use: paying people only for the work they do.

"We went to extraordinary lengths to enrich the offer well beyond the basic model by putting hundreds of thousands of dollars in benefits and insurance on the table while the unions put up artificial roadblocks and refused to budge."