Drew McManus on the orchestra business.
Although it isn’t unheard of to deflect attention from one crisis by creating another, more manageable one, on a smaller scale it is unlikely that was the case when The Metropolitan Opera (Met) announced they were cancelling the radio broadcast and simulcasts for John Adams’s “The Death of Klinghoffer.” In case you missed the bombshell news, just do a Google search and you’ll catch up on the details in no time …
After five years of one labor dispute after another, it is satisfying to finally see a musician stakeholder group take a smarter approach toward developing a meaningful online presence. The New York Times published an article by Michael Cooper on 5/20/2014 that examines the metorchestramusicians.org website project; how it began, what sets it apart from other efforts, and why it is worth your attention. Perhaps the most important aspect about metorchestramusicians.org, …
A move that might be best described as entirely expected, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra musicians unanimously authorized their negotiating committee to call a strike if negotiations fail to produce a new agreement after the current one expires on Thursday, July 31, 2014. Interestingly enough, the 5/12/2014 edition of the New York Times reported that the “union representing the orchestra…vot[e]d to authorize a strike should negotiations with management fail.” This is a …
The New York Times published an article by Michael Cooper on 5/5/2014 that reports on the official opening of negotiations between The Metropolitan Opera (The Met) and the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA), the chorus, dancer, singer, and stage manager union. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that bargaining started off in the worst way; in fact, it appeared to simply be an extension of the public theatrics …
The 04/28/2014 edition of Deutsche Welle published an article featuring an interview with Metropolitan Opera (Met) General Manager, Peter Gelb. The interview was conducted by Gero Schliess and although not terribly long, it turns up the fire on an already heated labor dispute. Gelb’s key talking points include: The need for permanent cuts isn’t due to executive mismanagement. The failure to meet revenue goals is due to a “cultural and social …