The email, obtained by parterre.com, reads:

Dear NYC Opera Board Members,

I wanted to give you this late-hour update on the outcome of our 14-hour negotiating session with Local 802 and AGMA, the unions representing our orchestra and chorus.

I am sorry to report that at about midnight, the unions rejected our final offer, which represented considerable movement from our initial positions. The unions made no counterproposal, and their summary rejection of our offer puts us at an impasse . . . .

The practical implication of impasse is that we will implement elements of our final offer, and we will offer to meet with the unions further to explore if there is any way to find a way forward.

I am at a loss to explain the unions’ move, but I expect they sense the need to push beyond “the end,” either as an expression of helplessness and/or anger, or as a negotiating “hail mary.” In any event, it puts everyone in a difficult position.

There are a lot of ways this situation could go, and I will keep you updated as the situation develops . . . .

yours,

George

According to a job description from executive search firm Sandler Associates obtained by parterre.com, the Director of Development spot “is an opportunity to craft and implement break-through ways to drive revenues and connect people with opera. The primary focus will be placed on identifying, cultivating and soliciting major individual gifts as City Opera is relaunched as a new civic icon for the City of New York and beyond.”

She has withheld the patron’s name by request.

Good morning.

I have received the subscription renewal brochure for next season, and as usual I have read it quite carefully.

At the risk of sounding absolutely ancient and out-of-it, I’d like to mention that I have attended City Opera performance for many years, probably beginning around 1959, when I attended a memorable performance of The Consul, with an astonishing Patricia Neway. There were seasons where it seemed that everything I saw there was great, and other times that I was not so entranced.

But looking back, just about everything was worth seeing, and there were many many performances that still linger in my memory many years later. I will never forget literally shaking in my seat at Norman Treigel’s final scene in Mefistofele in the fall on 1969, and Sills in Lucia that same year. I recall wonderful performances of challenging works like Ginastera’s Bomarzo and Don Rodrigo. (With young Domingo, no less.) I sat next to a weepy Paul Newman at a performance of Hoiby’s Summer and Smoke.

And such indelible artists as Patricia Brooks and Maralin Niska, who placed their own unique stamps on many of the productions done for Sills. And who could ever forget Brooks in La Traviata? More recently, and in more difficult times, I was quite thrilled to see Antony and Cleopatra again in the semi-staged version at Carnegie Hall.

I have always been a rather thrifty and low-end tickets buyer. When a certain amount of money is available, I like to get the largest number of performances, and have never felt I was missing much by sitting in the fourth or even fifth ring. My first Sills Manon was a one dollar ticket in the fifth ring of a sold out performance. No problem. Everything came across to my satisfaction.

Last year, my fourth ring subscription tickets came to (I believe) 12 dollars per seat. I saw all the operas, as well as the additional “concerts” and although I was not quite wild about everything, the City Opera has long provided an incentive to see unusual things at a reasonable price. I would not be in a hurry to see any of them again, but I don’t regret having seen them once. Even Seance on a Wet Afternoon, which, if little else, had interesting and committed performances.

This year, it appears that the least expensive ticket will be $60. Or $48 if one chooses to attend all four and get the discount. I’d say that is quite a jump.

In addition, I suspect that traveling from the Bronx to and from BAM ( although I have done it on very special occasions) might be a bit more than I want to undertake for Rufus Wainwright’s Prima Donna or Jonathan Miller’s take on Traviata. To speak of BAM, John Jay and El Museo as “curated venues” (whatever that actually means) strikes me as a bit euphemistic. And as for the “specially-curated subscription series,” well that strikes me as a bit too much “curating” to be claimed in one letter.

In short, I feel quite insulted by your brochure. The extremely offhand and casual way you present a 400% or 500% ticket price increase and a move to what seem like rather substandard (however “curated”) venues is especially insensitive.

Sincerely,

[Faithful Member of the Cher Public]

Here’s the complete press release from NYCO:

New York City Opera General Manager and Artistic Director George Steel announced today that the company will make New York City its stage for the 2011/12 season. With an imaginative and accessible season that encompasses productions ranging from the Baroque to Classical to Romantic and Contemporary, City Opera will create a living presence in neighborhoods across New York, including Brooklyn, the Upper West Side, Harlem and Central Park. The company will present a season of classics, undiscovered and new works that explore a repertory ranging nearly 300 years.

“Today, ‘The People’s Opera’ is coming to meet the people of New York in Brooklyn, in Harlem, in Central Park, on the West Side, the East Side – wherever New Yorkers live and love their favorite opera company,” said George Steel. “New York City Opera’s new home stage will be New York City itself – a theater with eight million seats.”

Steel continued: “For our new 2011/12 season, we have been able to match each opera with a performing space that ideally suits it. This new model gives the operas a custom-fit setting, while also weaving New York City Opera directly into the cultural fabric of New York City, neighborhood by neighborhood.”

The 2011/12 season will open in Brooklyn in February with La traviata in a new staging by Jonathan Miller followed by the New York premiere of Rufus Wainwright’s opera Prima Donna, also in February, directed by Tim Albery. Both operas will be performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Howard Gilman Opera House. The next offering will take City Opera to the Upper West Side in March for Così fan tutte, the second installment of the company’s Mozart/Da Ponte cycle led by director Christopher Alden, in performances at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College. In May, City Opera travels to Harlem to present Telemann’s Orpheus in the theater at El Teatro at El Museo del Barrio. Beyond fully staged opera productions, New York City Opera will present additional concert events as part of the 2011/12 season. Full casting details and concert performance information will be announced at a later date.

New York City Opera and The Public Theater are thrilled to announce a new initiative to present operas based on Shakespeare plays at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park in the fall of 2012. Tickets will be free. The first opera will be presented next season with hopes for a continuing relationship. The repertoire of wonderful Shakespeare operas includes dozens of 19th century, modern, and baroque masterpieces by Verdi, Britten, Purcell, and dozens more. The full announcement will be made later in the year. Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis said: “Fiorello La Guardia called the New York City Opera ‘The People’s Opera.’ The People’s Opera and The Public Theater make sense together. Free Shakespeare in the Park is one of our great civic traditions, and to combine Shakespeare, with Opera, outdoors, in the center of the greatest city in the world, for free, will make a beautiful sound.”

Steel continued: “New York City Opera is open for business. The Company is forging ahead with a strong and invigorating new model that will redefine the experience of live opera in New York City. We are thrilled with our new partnerships, and we look forward to building new collaborations in the future.”

BAM Executive Producer Joseph V. Melillo said: “New York City Opera’s adventurous artistic spirit will be embraced in Brooklyn. We look forward to having new work by Jonathan Miller and Rufus Wainwright on our opera house stage, and to welcoming George Steel and his dynamic vision to BAM.”

Chair of the Board of Trustees at El Museo del Barrio Tony Bechara said: “’The People’s Opera’ at El Museo… it’s a great idea. El Teatro is intimate and beautiful, and a perfect complement to Handel or Telemann. We are so pleased to work with New York City Opera and welcome their ideas with open arms.”

ABOUT THE PRODUCTIONS

La traviata Verdi’s masterpiece La traviata returns to City Opera in a new production by acclaimed director Jonathan Miller. This co-production between Glimmerglass Festival and Vancouver Opera focuses on the psychological drama between the characters; during a recent Vancouver performance the Vancouver Sun wrote, “Miller’s vision of the over-all trajectory of the drama is unhurried; there are no tricks or flashy gimmicks. But the dramatic arc of the story—so obvious and so inevitable—is conveyed powerfully, and the final act, staged with stark realism, is completely gripping. Miller’s La traviata is a rich and distinguished evening of music theatre.”

The coveted title role will be soprano, and Brooklyn native, Laquita Mitchell, joined by Canadian tenor David Pomeroy in the role of Alfredo, making his City Opera debut. The sets and costumes are designed by Isabella Bywater, the lighting is designed by Robert Wierzel. The production will take place in the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Howard Gilman Opera House.

Performance Dates: February 12 (mat), 14, 16, 18

Prima Donna Affectionately referred by Elton John as “the greatest songwriter on the planet” and praised by The New York Times for his “genuine originality,” Grammy nominee Rufus Wainwright has established himself as one of the today’s finest male vocalists and songwriters. Prima Donna is the composer’s first opera, for which he also co-wrote the French libretto with Bernadette Colomine. The opera takes place during a single day in the life of an aging opera singer, anxiously preparing for her comeback in 1970s Paris. Prima Donna was commissioned by Manchester International Festival, Sadler’s Wells, Luminato: Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity and an excerpt was performed with the Oregon Symphony for The Portland Institute for Contemporary Art’s Time-Based Art Festival. There will also be a portion of it performed next week at the Royal Opera House in London. The work premiered to great acclaim in 2009 at the Manchester International Festival and more recently received a 2011 Dora Award for Outstanding New Musical/Opera.

Rising star Melody Moore will return to City Opera to sing the tour-de-force title role in a production by acclaimed director Tim Albery. She will be joined by debut artists Rebecca Bottone and Randal Turner. The set and costumes for production are designed by debut artist Antony McDonald, the lighting designer is Thomas C. Hase, making his company debut. The production will take place in the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Howard Gilman Opera House.

Performance Dates: February 19 (mat), 21, 23, 25

Così fan tutte The fidelity of two sisters is put to the test in Mozart’s comedy of love, lies, and constancy. This eagerly-anticipated new production will be the second in Christopher Alden’s ongoing Mozart/Da Ponte cycle, which launched last season with the critically-acclaimed Don Giovanni. The cast for the production will once again feature a hand-picked selection of today’s most promising young talents, led by the sure hand of Alden, about whom the New York Observer wrote, “[Alden] has been giving the most consistently vibrant operatic theater in the city.”

Featured performers include debut artists Amanda Majeski as Fiordiligi, Jennifer Holloway as Dorabella and Allan Clayton as Ferrando. Philip Cutlip returns to City Opera as Guglielmo and Marie Lenormand sings Despina. Rod Gilfry makes his City Opera debut as Don Alfonso and the production will be conducted by returning artist Christian Curnyn. The production will feature sets by Andrew Lieberman, costumes by Terese Wadden, and lighting by Aaron Black. The production will take place at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College.

Performance Dates: March 18 (mat), 20, 22, 24

Orpheus City Opera, widely renowned for fueling the rediscovery of Handel’s operas, continues its leadership role by expanding its exploration of the Baroque with a new production of Georg Phillipp Telemann’s 1726 opera Orpheus, one of the few Telemann operas that has survived intact. Ranging from pastorals to historical opera seria to slapstick comedy, Telemann’s operas are rich and full of invention, often using a broader palette of instrumental color and formal variety than is typically found in operas by Handel, his junior by four years.

The tri-lingual libretto for Orpheus is in German, French, and Italian, and offers a unique twist on the Orpheus myth, focusing on the character of Orasia, Queen of Thrace, whose jealousy brings about the fall of Orpheus and Eurydice. The title role will be sung by baritone Daniel Teadt. Gary Thor Wedow will conduct, with a creative team to be announced at a later date. The production will take place at El Teatro del Museo del Barrio.

Performance dates: May 12, 15, 17, 20 (mat)

The spy’s observations after the jump.  

AGMA and Local 802 (orchestra) met with NYCO as a unified body, a first in the company’s history.

AGMA and Local 802 gave George Steel a unanimous no-confidence vote. Steel made a short presentation where he tried to make the case that producing traditional works like Butterfly are more costly, and that subscribers wanted non-traditional fare.

NYCO presented a three-page list of performances with no listed soloists, venues, or works, stating that it was going to make an announcement in two weeks…

The orchestra had previously taken a unanimous vote to NOT leave Lincoln Center.

It is unclear if NYCO still has obligations to the David H. Koch Theatre, and if, in fact, they intend to leave Lincoln Center.  As such, there is some concern that NYCO’s announcement may be designed to break the union.

802 and AGMA both agreed that, should the company proceed down its current path, their members will not be allowed to work for NYCO.

AGMA has not received any contracts for soloists.

Steel remarked that future chorus involvement would be “freelance.”

La Cieca has also obtained a memo from Alan Gordon, National Executive Director of AGMA, concerning today’s meeting: [PDF]

The latest appeal, after the jump.

“Give us the money or your exciting 2011-2012 season will die.”

More elaboration, plus speculation on “What That Means,” in the New York Observer.  And for those of you with a taste for hash, the subject is revisited as well in the New York Times.

Hoelterhoff (not pictured) is, as always, entertainingly vitriolic, if in this case a bit Godwinny (“For comparable magical thinking, you’d have to go back to Hitler dreaming of rescue in that bunker in Berlin.”)  Her tartest comic sally is the tongue-in-cheek suggestion that Joe Volpe is the man to run NYCO; pardon La Cieca whilst she wipes away the tears of laughter!

Best New Production at the MetDon Carlo

Worst New Production at the Met
Le Comte Ory

Best Revival at the Met

Pelléas et Mélisande

Worst Revival at the Met

Armida

Best NYCO Production

A Quiet Place

Best “Off-Broadway” Opera Production

Norma (Caramoor)

Best Performance by a Diva

Joyce DiDonato (Ariadne auf Naxos)

Worst Performance by a Diva

Deborah Voigt (La fanciulla del West)

Best Performance by a Divo

Jonas Kaufmann (Die Walküre)

Worst Performance by a Divo

James Maddalena (Nixon in China)

Best Performance in a Non-Diva Role

Felicity Palmer (Pelléas et Mélisande)

Worst Performance in a Non-Diva Role

James Morris (Roméo et Juliette)

Maestro of the Year

Fabio Luisi

Einspringer of the Year

Fabio Luisi

Debut of the Year

Eva-Maria Westbroek (Die Walküre)

Photos: Ken Howard (Ring, Pelléas, Don Carlo), Carol Rosegg (A Quiet Place), Cory Weaver (DiDonato).

On Bloomberg, Philip Boroff (he of the “Carnegie Hall Stagehand Moving Props Makes $530044″ shockeroo), spills the beans on NYCO’s finances. Most breathtaking factoid: attendance in the George Steel’s first season (2009-10) stood at less than 25% of attendance in Paul Kellogg‘s final year (2006-07).

At the New York Times, Dan Wakin has gathered the gloomiest group of quotes imaginable, stopping just short of  “O, woe is me, To have seen what I have seen, see what I see,” though I think Cori Ellison probably did say  that while the recorder was paused.

Wakin best catches the apocalyptic tone when he wails, “The anguished expressions of regret came amid a deafening silence from Lincoln Center and City Opera officials, and leaders of other cultural institutions who might serve as hosts for the company in its new peripatetic persona.”

And, Bloomberg again: “The union said it will protest the end of guarantees by picketing outside Steel’s home, among other measures.”

NYCO is leaving Lincoln Center, cutting staff and is going to “scale back its performance schedule” (is such a thing possible?) George Steel says the announcement of the company’s new home “would be made in weeks,” though, again, I’ll believe those sisters have moved to Moscow when they send me a postcard from Old Basmanny Street. All kidding aside, La Cieca is told that there will be a delay in any further signficant action while the NYCO board waits for approval from the state attorney general, part of the agreement NYCO made when they were given permission to raid the endowment. But, basically, this is just heartbreaking. [AP]

Meanwhile, AGMA’s Alan Gordon has emailed AP with a warning that Tthe musicians and stagehands could “strike and drive City Opera out of existence” if working hours and benefits are cut.

A board meeting, “widely expected to determine the fate of the company’s fall season,” is scheduled for today..

The current contract between AGMA and City Opera expires April 29th.  Although the contract required that both sides “begin negotiations in good faith prior to February 15, 2011”  NYCO failed to meet that obligation, but eventually scheduled the start of negotiations for April 4th.

Then, according to AGMA, “late in the day Friday April 1st, NYCO canceled the April 4 session, claiming that it’s new chairman had not yet had a chance to review the proposed budget for next season, and that it could not make proposals or respond to AGMA’s proposals until the chairman had sufficient time to consider the budget. NYCO has not yet proposed any subsequent dates.”

Alan Gordon, AGMA’s Executive Director, added, “Regrettably, it became obvious to us that NYCO is merely stalling the negotiating process.”

La Cieca has obtained a copy of the letter from AGMA to the NYCO artists’ managers:

April 12, 2011

To:  Agents Representing AGMA Members Appearing in
NYCO’s Production of Séance On A Wet Afternoon on April 30th

Your clients may not be aware that  the collective bargaining agreement between New York City Opera and the American Guild of Musical Artists, AFL-CIO expires on April 29, 2011. Thus far, NYCO has not engaged in bargaining with AGMA toward a successor agreement. NYCO’s postponement of announcing its next season until sometime in mid-May, makes the likelihood of concluding a new agreement that protects the jobs, wages and working conditions of AGMA members working for NYCO before April 29th remote.

Consequently, please advise your respective clients that a work stoppage on April 30th if no agreement is reached by April 29th seems a virtual certainty.

As you know, although your principal artist clients work at numerous opera houses, the men and women in the NYCO chorus and those who work in its production department, who have devoted their entire careers and working lives to NYCO, work only for NYCO. They do not deserve to suffer continuing losses of pay because of gross mismanagement. They have already made staggering sacrifices to help NYCO survive its fiscal problems and need, and expect, the understanding and support of their co-workers.

While we will endeavor to try to reach a new agreement by April 29th, your clients must be made aware of the real possibility that they will not be able to perform on April 30th.

Cordially,

Alan
Alan S. Gordon
Executive Director

Expect an announcement—of some sort—from NYCO by week’s end.

Thank you for taking the time to include a personal note with the letter from George Steel asking me to return to the Patron program at NYCO.

I’m afraid I’m going to have to tell you that I shan’t be able to do that at this time

…..I almost came back a few seasons ago. However, I was so dismayed by the ill-conceived appointment of Mortier that I turned away.

Now, I find myself having the same reaction — but this time not on artistic grounds. I try not to let my political views interfere with my enjoyment and support of the arts. However, I so disapprove of the political and social positions of Mr. Koch that I can’t get by them to appreciate what he is doing financially in terms of support for your company.

Yes, this means that I have avoided (for both opera and ballet) entering a theatre with his name on it and will likely continue to abstain.

It also, unfortunately, means that I can not entertain at this time your request that I resume support for NYCO.

My best wishes for the continued success of NYCO. Perhaps in a better future I’ll feel more disposed to resume contributions.