by FoM
It's really starting to look like the End of Days over at City Opera where, according to Dan Wakin in today's Times, talks broke down last night between management and the musicians union, resulting in management declaring a rehearsal lockout. Which, according to the union, means that the season will be canceled. According to Dan:
"They blamed each other for intransigence. City Opera said the unions had “refused to budge” from their position despite the offer of hundreds of thousands of dollars more in compensation, and the unions said City Opera had rejected a final wage concession by the workers. City Opera said it had no choice but to lock them out since the unions had promised to strike when performances begin, so it could not pay for rehearsals."
This is a shocking, heartbreaking fall for a company that only four years ago was poised to go head-to-head with the Met with the appointment of Gerard Mortier as director and plans to produce everything from Philip Glass' Einstein on the Beach to Messiaen's Saint Francois d'Assise. But with this development, coming fast on the heels of City Opera's abandonment of their longtime Lincoln Center home, it appears that the 70-year old company is barely surviving on life support.
But, don't count City Opera out just yet. As I noted in this post last month, City Opera management has telegraphed their desire to replace the full-time orchestra and chorus with freelancers. Which, as harsh as it may sound, is the only solution that makes sense in a half-season with only four productions on tap – including the premiere of Rufus' Prima Donna on Feb. 19. So, don't get rid of your tix just yet: let's see what George and the rest of his team can pull off in the next few weeks.