The San Francisco Opera Orchestra is warning audiences that it will not perform opening night of the 2026-27 season until it receives a fair contract.

The orchestra released a statement noting, “Dear Friends, We are writing to let you know that the musicians of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra will not be able to perform on Opening Night, September 12, unless management has reached a fair contract with us before then. We are letting you know this weeks in advance rather than having you be surprised at the door.”

The statement continued, “Our contract expired on July 31, and the season is about to open without a new one. We came into these negotiations months ago, expecting to build on the modest agreement we reached two years ago. Management instead proposed a 26% pay cut, which would have returned us to 2015 wages. They have since “improved” that offer to a 20% cut, which would put us back at our 2018 pay. We cannot begin a season under proposals like these.”

The orchestra noted that the San Francisco Opera is not a company in trouble as management shared that six productions have sold out in the past three years, ticket sales and subscriptions are rising, while donations have increased by $8 million compared to last year, exceeding the Opera’s stated goals by $2.2 million. Additionally, the company has recently received several high-profile gifts, and the number of “Producers Circle” donors (those who contribute over $100,000 per year) has more than doubled since the pandemic.

However, even though there has been significant improvement, the seasons continue to shrink. The orchestra said, “we are now down to only six productions this year, compared to twelve productions in 2008. Every round of programming cuts has been presented as the cure for the organization’s deficit. But what their own financial reports have shown is that the diminished schedule has only exacerbated the issue. Fewer performances mean less ticket revenue and fewer production sponsorships, while the fixed costs of mounting an opera remain the same. Twice in the past two decades, the deficit was larger after the cuts than before them. And while management claims that production costs are only going to continue to increase, they refuse to explore less expensive offerings such as semi-staged productions or concert operas.”

The statement concluded that the orchestra is not walking away from table and wants two things.

“First, a contract that gives the musicians of this orchestra stability and pay that keeps pace with the cost of living in this city. Second, a working partnership with management to reverse the pattern of cuts: more performances, longer runs of the productions that sell out, and a plan to grow the company’s audience and offerings rather than further reduce its ambitions.”

The San Francisco Opera is set to open on Sept. 12 with a production of “Simon Boccanegra” starring Eleonora Buratto and Amartuvshin Enkhbat.