We've followed announcements of the New York City Opera's fiscal problems and performance venue changes, as well as the controversies surrounding City Opera's artistic director and general manager, George Steel. A report in the New York Times details the most recent episode in the company's turbulent existence: locking musicians out of rehearsal. According to that report, talks among City Opera and the unions representing the company's performers, stage management and directors broke down Saturday night. City Opera declared a lockout for rehearsals scheduled to begin today for the company's production of Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata. The unions have speculated that the rehearsal lockout could result in the cancellation of the Traviata production and possibly also the entire City Opera season. New York City Opera spokeswoman Risa B. Heller said the company still intends to open La Traviata on Feb. 12, but was cautious about the company's longer-range plans:
Rehearsals are canceled until we have a deal, and we are taking it day by day to evaluate our options.
Read more: Talks Break Down at City Opera (NYT)
