Labor dispute threatens New York City Opera season

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A labor brawl between a

New York City Opera

and unions representing a musicians led to one operation being canceled on Monday, and unions are presaging a corner could jeopardise a whole season.

A mouthpiece for a cash-strapped 70-year-old

New York City Opera

pronounced a

chorus rehearsal

for Verdi's "La Traviata" was canceled Monday after a preference to close out musicians tentative an agreement.

"Rehearsals are canceled until we have a deal. We are holding this one day during a time," a opera's mouthpiece

Risa Heller

pronounced in an email.

After talks pennyless down on Saturday night, Heller pronounced a uncover "had no other choice though to close them out as a association can't means to compensate for rehearsals when a unions have affianced to strike a performances."

Some feared any ensuing termination of a whole deteriorate would henceforth penetrate a struggling opera, that left a home during Manhattan's Lincoln Center final year amid financial difficulties.

Alan Gordon, executive executive of a

American Guild of Musical Artists

, one of dual unions sealed in a brawl and a deputy for a carol and singers, pronounced he had "some hope" that a association might wish to continue negotiating.

But ye combined that "if there are no serve negotiations afterwards we am certain a deteriorate will be canceled."

The arriving deteriorate facilities 4 operas including

Rufus Wainwright

's "Prima Donna" scheduled to have a New York premiere on Feb 19.

Wainwright appealed to fans on his website to buy tickets and uncover "a vast early interest" to boost morale. He feared if a strike continued, "the association will expected be decimated, so withdrawal a city of

New York

with usually one vast uncover residence since all a good informative cities of a universe have during slightest two."

The unions contend a new agreement would meant performers would be incited into freelancers, salaries for musicians would be separated and instead they would be paid a salary for any operation and performance.

Tino Gagliardi, boss of a internal bend of The

American Federation of Musicians

, that represents a orchestra, pronounced that unfolding would meant a vital rebate in compensate and health benefits.

"It would discharge stream members of a band from behaving during all," Gagliardi pronounced in a phone interview.

The

opera company

pronounced in a matter it had no choice since it is underneath mercantile vigour to spin around a finances, and it disagreed health advantages were limited.

"For New York City Opera to survive, we contingency transition to a indication that many uncover companies use: profitable people usually for a work that they do," pronounced George Steel, General Manager and Artistic Director for New York City Opera.

He combined a uncover went "beyond this simple indication by putting hundreds of thousands of dollars in advantages and word on a table."

(Reporting by Christine Kearney, modifying by Bob Tourtellotte)

(news.yahoo.com)