Lyric Opera musicians go on strike, threatening opera season
CHICAGO — The 64th season of the Lyric Opera of Chicago was disrupted Tuesday when musicians walked off the job to protest cuts proposed by management.
The musicians set up a picket line outside the Civic Opera House on Tuesday and played excerpts from various operas as they expressed opposition by the opera company to cut the number of orchestra musicians by five.
“What we are suggesting to the orchestra is that we reduce the number of core players through attrition and with voluntary retirement benefits,” said Lyric Opera CEO Anthony Freud. “The thing is that currently, the core number of musicians is 74. Many of the operas we perform don’t need an orchestra of 74.”
The opera company also wants to cut the pay of remaining musicians by 8 per cent and the number of working weeks by two weeks to 22 weeks.