Curiouser and Curiouser

Labor Injunctions May Kibosh City Opera Exit Plan

"I can't fix the budget, Alice. I'm just a flamingo."
Illustration from Alice in Wonderland by John Tenniel.

"He sent them word I had not gone
(We know it to be true):
If she should push the matter on,
What would become of you?"
--Lewis Carroll

Just when you thought things couldn't get any weirder for the once-proud New York City Opera, an announcement today has the opera company falling further down a metaphorical rabbit hole of their own making.

Today, the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) which is the musician's union for opera, dance and concert musicians (in other words: the union of the New York City Opera's singers, choristers, and production staff) filed unfair labor practices against City Opera.

The charges accuse the opera company of bargaining with the artists in bad faith as the deadline to renew their contract came and went. City Opera is coming off a disastrous 2010-2011 season which saw the once proud company presenting obscure operas (A Quiet Place, Intermezzo, Séance on a Wet Afternoon) to 40% capacity houses.

My Top Ten City Opera Performances

Samuel Ramey as Attila.
Photo © IMG Artists from the artist's website.

(That I can remember off the top of my head.)

First, some history.
I went to my first opera at City Opera in 1983, the year a strike nearly sunk that company three decades ago. It was Puccini's Turandot. I was 9 years old, and I went with my parents. They bought me a chocolate ice cream and a libretto. The three ministers, Ping, Pang and Pong, and the three riddles fascinated my young brain. The music was good too.

That year, Mom and Dad took me to three more operas. La bohéme.. Candide. Carmen. I still have the librettos somewhere. And I was hooked. The New York State Theater was part of my childhood. And teenage years. And adulthood. And career. Well, you get the idea.

I "grew up" in that theater. Here's some great performances I attended. Y'know--if the company thought about reviving some of these productions, I'll bet people would go see them and have a nice time.