The New York City Opera Must Go On
By: Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger
Photographer: George Whylie
Videographer: Maxine Nolan
The New York City Opera is one of the cultural classics that New York City has to offer. It has been in existence for close to 70 years entertaining enthusiasts. The tough economic times have now made their mark on the arts and a bitter labor dispute is what has ensued. The New York City Opera has lost a portion of its endowment and the audiences have become smaller and smaller in recent years, mostly due to financial and managerial problems.
Many a great opera singer launched their career here from the likes of Beverly Sills and Placido Domingo to Renee Fleming and Gianna Rolandi. Beverly Sills served as the company’s director from 1979-1989. Many well-known American composers had their work showcased over the years. The company has also produced several musicals and operettas including works by Stephen Sondheim and Gilbert & Sullivan.
The Opera made their home for many years in the luxurious Lincoln Center, a very convenient location to draw in mass crowds. But in May of 2011, in order to conserve and reduce costs, the Opera decided to perform elsewhere around the city. This helped with operating savings. Unfortunately, another unavoidable step was the elimination of 42% of the administrative staff, many who had been longtime employees. The company’s collective bargaining agreements have also had to be restructured. What this means is that instead of currently being paid for a guaranteed number of weeks of employment, the artists will only be paid for the time they rehearse and perform. That could mean as drastic as 22 weeks of payment now would become 60 hours of employment pay. That is almost a 90% pay cut, a tough sacrifice for those affected.
However, this has been the structure for quite some time now for the Los Angeles Opera, the Houston Grand Opera, the Seattle Opera and more across the country.
A federal mediator came in to help in the negotiations process but everything came to a halt. There was a lockout imposed on the musicians who were scheduled to rehearse this week. The first performance of the season is set for February 12th at The Brooklyn Academy of Music and although there is a deadline to try and reach a comparable solution, New York City Opera has decided to take things ‘one day at a time’.
Let’s hope that we have many more years to come of the New York City Opera.
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