(Photo credit: Anastasia Sistevaris) Unable to perform this past year due to a chronic illness that directly affects her vocal mechanism, mezzo-soprano Molly Noori has turned towards advocating for other singers in a similar position. Through her new non-profit, The Chronicled Voice, Molly has created a safe space for opera singers to talk openly about their frustrations, fears, and ideas {…}
The AGMA Board of Governors has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz for President and Vice President of the United States in the 2024 election. The Musical Union for Artists said, “Together, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are THE choice for people who treasure the Arts and artists and believe in workers’ rights and the value {…}
The American Guild of Musical Artists and Central City Opera have reached a new five-year collective bargaining agreement, beginning May 19, 2023. The new agreement will run through Sept. 1, 2027 and the AGMA Board of Governors, acting through its Executive Council, will ratify the agreement on May 22, 2023. In a statement, Sam Wheeler, National Executive Director of AGMA {…}
AGMA has released a statement regarding the contract negotiation with the Central City Opera. The union said, “Yesterday AGMA and CCO met in bargaining for more than 14 hours. We are pleased to report that we are in agreement with CCO on the main issues that had served as an impediment to an agreement. AGMA and CCO are meeting with {…}
Central City Opera has presented a complete four-year contract to the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) for signature. The company said that AGMA actively allowed its contract with Central City Opera to expire in August of 2022, refusing to negotiate until October, thereby leaving its members without an agreement. The company noted that if AGMA chooses not to sign {…}
Central City Opera (CCO) has issued a statement noting that it has filed an unfair labor practices claim against the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA). The claim, which was filed with the National Labor Relations Board, asserts that AGMA has violated several provisions of the National Labor Relations Act during their current collective bargaining agreement negotiations including demanding the {…}
Central City Opera (CCO) and the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) have both issued statements regarding recent negotiation challenges between the two organizations. AGMA recently took to social media to share a portion of an open letter it had written to the opera company regarding negotiations for the collective bargaining agreement between AGMA and Central City Opera that expired {…}
The AGMA Board of Governors has announced Sam Wheeler as the Union’s new National Executive Director. The Board approved the appointment on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022 with Wheeler assuming the position on Feb. 1, 2022. Wheeler is a union-side labor lawyer who has dedicated his professional life to the labor movement and joined AGMA in 2019 as Eastern Counsel. During {…}
The Lyric Opera of Chicago has reached a tentative agreement with the AGMA/Lyric Opera of Chicago Negotiating Committee. AGMA announced the news and noted that voting on whether or not the agreement will be ratified will take place on August 14, 2021. According to the press release, the negotiating committee fully endorsed the ratification of the agreement. AGMA Artists at {…}
For over a month, there have been no big headlines about the Metropolitan Opera in news. Sure, there are cast changes and the likes, but that’s kind of business as usual per the Met. And it creates a sense of progress toward the opening of the new season. But this apparent progress or achievement, which during the summer was routinely {…}
Every Friday, Polina Lyapustina delivers a short essay on some of the most essential topics in the industry with the intent of establishing a dialogue about the opera world and its future. This week, AGMA announced that a four-year agreement was approved by union leadership after a tentative agreement (starting on May 11, 2021) and following a shop vote of all the {…}