Following a two month hiatus, the Metropolitan Opera singers union continued contract talks on Monday, with little hope of reaching an agreement before the threatened lockout.
Local 802, American Federation of Musicians, and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra musicians today have commenced negotiations with Met Opera management including General Manager Peter Gelb. The union and the musicians released the attached report detailing the failed management and flawed artistic vision of Gelb during his 8-year tenure at the helm of the Met. The report analyzes the dismal reception of Gelb's expensive new productions by opera critics and patrons and also recommends specific strategies the Met could employ to save $20 Million annually by curtailing Gelb's lavish spending and realizing scheduling efficiencies.
Local 802, American Federation of Musicians, and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra musicians are dismayed that Peter Gelb has pursued a cynical strategy calculated to result in a lockout of his artists and craftspeople and imperil the upcoming Met Opera season. His callousness, combined with his attempt to cover up his failed management and lack of artistic vision that has resulted in declining audiences and plummeting ticket sales, jeopardizes the livelihoods of his employees and the many businesses in New York City's cultural sector and the Lincoln Center area that depend on the Metropolitan Opera for their incomes.
Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: FOOL FOR LOVE opens at WTF, THE LIGHTNING THIEF strikes off-Broadway, and it's Kristin Chenoweth's birthday!
The Metropolitan Opera continues problems as the General Manager, Peter Gelb, in a letter told the orchestra, chorus and stagehands to prepare for lockdown if no agreement is reached by next week.
The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced today the second edition of Sound + Vision, the annual documentary series that explores a diverse range of music, artists, genres, and styles from all over the world.
The MET Orchestra Musicians and Local 802, American Federation of Musicians, are 'deeply concerned' about the future of the Metropolitan Opera and have just given BWW Opera World the following statement regarding today's editorial in the New York Times:
The National Coalition Against Censorship has added a new co-signer to its statement (read online) opposing the Metropolitan Opera's cancellation of live, high-definition screenings of John Adams' opera, The Death of Klinghoffer, to 65 countries. The International Committee for Artists' Freedom has joined as a co-signer, adding to the National Opera Association, Article 19, The Dramatists Legal Defense Fund, Free Expression Policy Project, freeDimensional, Freemuse, and PEN American Center. The statement urges the Metropolitan and its director, Peter Gelb, to reconsider and proceed with the scheduled simulcast. The list of organizations joining the statement is expected to continue growing.
The National Coalition Against Censorship has been joined by the National Opera Association, Article 19, The Dramatists Legal Defense Fund, Free Expression Policy Project, freeDimensional, Freemuse, and PEN American Center in issuing a statement (read online) opposing the Metropolitan Opera's cancellation of live, high-definition screenings of John Adams' opera, The Death of Klinghoffer, to 65 countries. The statement urges the Metropolitan and its director, Peter Gelb, to reconsider and proceed with the scheduled simulcast. The list of organizations joining the statement is expected to grow in the next few days.
After an outpouring of concern that its plans to transmit John Adams's opera The Death of Klinghoffer might be used to fan global anti-Semitism, the Metropolitan Opera announced the decision today to cancel its Live in HD transmission, scheduled for November 15, 2014. The opera, which premiered in 1991, is about the 1985 hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship and the murder of one of its Jewish passengers, Leon Klinghoffer, at the hands of Palestinian terrorists.
The Theatre Museum awarded its 2014 Theatre Museum Awards for Excellence at the Players Club, on Tuesday May 27, 2014. The mission of The Theatre Museum is to preserve, protect, and perpetuate the legacy of the theatre. It is the first and only chartered non profit museum dedicated to the history of Theatre. Since 1995 The Awards for Excellence have recognized individuals and organizations for their contribution to theater arts, education, theater history and preservation.
On Monday evening, BroadwayWorld.com was proud to watch its CEO and Founder, Robert Diamond, receive the 2014 Theatre Museum Award for Excellence in Arts Education. That same evening, Fathom Entertainment received an award for Excellence in Theatre History Preservation, which was presented to their new CEO, John Rubey.
NEW YORK, May 27, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ Borodin's operatic masterpiece Prince Igor, which had its first Met performances since 1917 earlier this year, will be broadcast on Great Performances at the Met Sunday, June 22 at 12 noon on PBS (check local listings). (In New York, THIRTEEN will air the opera at 12:30 p.m.)
According to The New York Times, Arthur Gelb, who acted as a critic, chief cultural correspondent, metropolitan editor, deputy managing editor and managing editor for the publication, died today, May 20, 2014. He was 90.
Beginning Wednesday, June 18, the Metropolitan Opera and Fathom Events will once again present Summer HD Encores, a series of choice encore performances from the groundbreaking Live in HD series of cinema presentations
The New York Metropolitan Opera's artists are facing wage cuts. Met manager Peter Gelb reports to DW on what he believes is at the root of the opera's financial troubles.
The Metropolitan Opera's two popular series of free summer events, the Summer Recital Series and the Summer HD Festival, will return in 2014. For the sixth consecutive year, the Met will present operatic recitals in parks in all five boroughs, as well as a ten-day outdoor festival at Lincoln Center featuring encore screenings from the Met's popular Live in HD transmissions.
Puccini's enduring favorite, starring an exceptional trio of singing actors in the leading roles, returns to Great Performances at the Met today, March 9 at 12 p.m. on PBS (check local listings).
Puccini's enduring favorite, starring an exceptional trio of singing actors in the leading roles, returns to Great Performances at the Met Sunday, March 9 at 12 p.m. on PBS (check local listings).
Tenor Michael Fabiano has been named the recipient of the ninth annual Beverly Sills Artist Award for young singers at the Metropolitan Opera. The $50,000 award, the largest of its kind in the United States, is designated for extraordinarily gifted singers between the ages of 25 and 40 who have already appeared in featured solo roles at the Met. The award, given in honor of Beverly Sills, was established in 2006 by an endowment gift from former Met board member Agnes Varis, who died in 2011. Ms. Varis was also the founding donor of the Met's Rush Ticket program. Fabiano was presented with the award at the Met today by Met General Manager Peter Gelb.
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