It's Not About Money
05 May, 2008 | Posted by: webmaster
The Florida Grand Opera has stated that they cannot afford to directly employ musicians. However, the numbers seem to indicate otherwise. Employing musicians directly would not add to their payroll costs as the opera already pays the musicians' wages (through Sunset Entertainment).
Florida Grand Opera also pays a significantly smaller percent of their budget to the orchestra than other opera companies do, as the chart below illustrates.
| Opera Company | Budget Size (millions) | % of budget paid to orchestra |
| Lyric Opera of Chicago | $61.25 | 17% |
| San Francisco Opera | $64.77 | 15% |
| New York City Opera | $39.43 | 13% |
| Metropolitan Opera | $249.02 | 9% |
| Atlanta Opera | $4.05 | 9% |
| Palm Beach Opera | $3.70 | 8% |
| Arizona Opera | $6.00 | 7% |
| Michigan Opera Theater | $12.79 | 7% |
| Florida Grand Opera | $16.48 | 4% |
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Comments
If I understand correctly, it is NOT more expensive for Florida Grand Opera to hire its own Orchestra. Certainly the quality would improve that way, for they could actually have a say in it instead of hoping that the contractor they hire will produce an orchestra of quality.
So… if it is not about the money, why oh why does FGO not hire its own Orchestra… right now it is certainly not about the quality either (which was quoted in the paper as being the main reason for the switch to a different contractor)…
As far as I can tell, next years orchestra will have very few musicians in it that actually know how to play opera.
Some of the “key players”, who would have been able to make it work, have declined because of solidarity and because of other conflicts…
Suggestions to hire our current, highly qualified FGO musicians in next season's orchestra have NOT been honored by the new contractor…
My sincere hope is that all of you musicians that are next in line to accept the ”job” will see the unfairness of it all and join your courageous colleagues in declining!
Florida Grand Opera: please take another look at the facts …. I am not sure any of you wanted this to happen in this way….
THANKS
I think that it is a disgrace that the orchestra, which is probably just as important as the singers,are treated like dirt. I have been a regular subscription member for the past several years and marveled at your orchestra. I intend to call your CEO and let them know how I feel about this. I dread the thought of how the quality of the music will diminish if the FGO carries out their plan of replacing you fine musicians. Good Luck!
Florida Grand Opera does not have a say in who plays in the orchestra? Well then clearly The contractor is the employer and these musicians have no rights to a CBA. If the contractor is the one who "controls" who plays then the contractor is the employer and you should go after a CBA with Sunset. Ms. Van Eck, trying to maintain that only these key players currently playing for Sunset know how to play opera is insulting to all the other highly qualified musicians in South Florida.
I'm so sorry to discover on this site that FGO has had no say in who plays in the orchestra. Since then under law they clearly are not the employers, and I am certain that the new "contractor" will field a worse orchestra and my opera going experience will be further damaged.
In fact, FGO has had input in hiring and firing musicians, however the FGO will deny this because it appears their greatest concern is to not be seen as the musicians' employer. FGO also exerts control over musicians by determining what, where, when, and how they perform, among other things.
After the wonderful La Boheme performance on Saturday I spoke with a musician whose passion about being treated unfairly by the opera company led me to look at this musician website. I find it confusing. Iris Van Eck, a cellist, states that the opera company does not have a say in who is hired to play in the orchestra. The item "It's Not About Money" states that Sunset Entertainment manages the orchestra. The webmaster states that the opera company does have input in hiring and firing musicians. I think input is not the same as actually hiring and firing and that Charles Bourne is correct in stating that the musicians should be talking to Sunset Entertainment rather than the opera company. I'm sure you can get the help you need from an expert in the field and then the passionate energy of the young woman at the opera can be pointed in the most effective direction. Bon chance!
To be clear, musicians have been hired and fired at the direction of FGO. It is the belief of the musicians' attorney that FGO is at least a joint employer if not the primary employer of the musicians.
FGO's managment stinks - they don't give a damn about musicians. Cry all you want, complain all you want, the orchestra is gone, and FGO doesn't care.
Let's be real:
Let me be real - bleak cynicism like this lacks imagination and is frankly, intellectually lazy.
I assume that you are a musician or a local patron that has given up on the FGO. This is really no matter but in either case, this is a pessimistic attitude that amounts to very little.
Not only is it all to easy to assume the worst from a remote computer keyboard, your comment demonstrates a common defeatist attitude in current society of "all or nothing." Not everything gets done overnight and your knowledge - like mine - of this situation is only one side and maybe even just the tip of the iceberg. Please give this situation time to ferment and play out before burying your head in the sand.
I am guessing that this is not over yet. Even if it is, making noise about it is cathartic for the people involved, and not only that, it sends signals to the FGO that the public is upset with them. Perhaps you underestimate the effectiveness of the online world and its unique ability to apply pressure to the real world.
I think that the recent cancellations of the Florida Symphony concerts at Broward is a strong indication that Miami wants quality music. There is still a strong argument then, that the FGO can still provide this with a contracted orchestra with a CBA.
While you might observe the opinions expressed here as crying and complaining, the movement that the union is trying to stimulate here, and the effort that the musicians are trying to accomplish with this web site, is not a "sum of its parts greater than the whole" scenario. Often, it is the other way around.
Be patient.
As a musician myself, I observe many musicians with this "what can you do for me?" attitude when it comes to the union and collective bargaining. If you are involved and very active in this cause, pardon me and perhaps you have a right to have this defeatist opinion.
If you are lazy and uninvolved - as I expect - you have very little room to voice such a poor attitude towards your colleagues who are working hard towards your future.
Shame on you.
If you are a discouraged opera fan, I would encourage you to get involved and do something about this. Your community deserves better.
Shame on you for taking these musicians for granted.
Thank you Bruce for a well written and intelligent comment. Every-one should be writing in... keeping in mind that being positive will bring us much further... doing "something" will open up a whole array of possibilities while doing "nothing" will have only one result: NONE. We can all work together to make a positive change in South Florida, and I think a lot of that is already happening.
Florida Grand Opera Orchestra Musicians