An Update from the Musicians of the Minnesota Opera Orchestra
Thank you one and all for supporting the Musicians of the Minnesota Opera Orchestra! You are receiving this because, like us, YOU LOVE GREAT OPERA! We have dedicated much of our careers to the Minnesota Opera Orchestra and to the MN Opera and with your help we are fighting to save them. There is no great opera without a great orchestra!
We are still working without a contract (for first time in 30 years) as we and Local 30-73 try to negotiate a new 4-year contract with management. Below is the leaflet we are currently distributing at every performance of “Rinaldo” where our core orchestra of 46 has been reduced to 19 musicians. Decisions have been made by MN Opera to drastically cut programming, reducing productions at the Ordway from 5 to 3 per season and replacing 2 Ordway productions with chamber productions at the Luminary— a black box theatre which can only fit a fraction of our orchestra.
The photo below shows the stands of the 28 musicians cut from MN Opera's November production as a result. Sadly, these cuts also reduce your access to opera!
The issue is the CUTS in programming, not the programming of chamber operas. In the past, chamber operas have been presented in addition to the regular season. Opera management has made clear that they are not planning to increase the Ordway season from 3 productions in the next 5 years.
We still don’t have basic financial information. The president and GD of MN Opera is avoiding basic questions. We need you to let opera leadership know that this is not how we do things in Minnesota! 612-342-9583 | rtaylor@mnopera.org
More updates and a fundraising page coming soon!
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The photo below shows the stands representing 28 musicians cut from MN Opera's November production.