Sep 13, 2018

Maryland Lyric Opera GM Responds To Elizabeth Blanke-Biggs Statement On Firing

By David Salazar

On Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2018, soprano Elizabeth Blanke-Biggs issued a statement addressing her firing from the Maryland Lyric Opera’s upcoming production of “La Fanciulla del West.” The soprano noted that the situation revolved around great emotional abuse from the part of major leaders within the production.

“They appear to believe they can act with impunity, therefore I am constrained to resort to legal counsel for satisfaction,” she noted in her statement.

OperaWire reached out to the Maryland Lyric Opera for comment on the situation and received a response early this morning directly from the company’s General Manager Matthew Woorman.

“While we cannot discuss details of our decision to part ways with Ms. Blancke-Biggs out of respect for her privacy, we can assure you that we have looked into the situation and we know that our opera company has acted appropriately and professionally at all times. Ms. Blancke-Biggs is a talented performer and we wish her well. Thank you,” Woorman told OperaWire.

The production is slated to take place this weekend with Blanke-Biggs originally scheduled for the performance on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018.

Categories

By David Salazar

Prior to creating OperaWire, DAVID SALAZAR, (Editor-in-Chief) worked as a reporter for Latin Post where he interviewed major opera stars including Placido Domingo, Anna Netrebko, Vittorio Grigolo, Diana Damrau and Rolando Villazon among others. His 2014 interview with opera star Kristine Opolais was cited in a New York Times Review.

He also had the opportunity of interviewing numerous Oscar nominees, Golden Globe winners and film industry giants such as Guillermo del Toro, Oscar Isaac and John Leguizamo among others.

David holds a Masters in Media Management from Fordham University. During his time at Fordham, he studied abroad at the Jagiellonian University in Poland. He also holds a dual bachelor’s from Hofstra University in Film Production and Journalism.