An open letter from Lyric's General Director Anthony Freud

To our Lyric community:  

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for Lyric and other arts institutions around the world.  This has been the test of a lifetime and we are all having to deal with real emotional trauma across so many areas of our lives.  Nevertheless, Lyric remains dedicated to creating a sustainable future for the company.  To achieve this, it is imperative that we work collaboratively and productively with our unions – now more than ever. 

In recent months we have been attempting to engage in meaningful discussions with the unions representing our artists and technicians.  Our goal is to collaborate on changes to our collective bargaining agreements which will enable us to withstand the ongoing uncertainties presented by the pandemic. We have made good faith proposals to our unions that included guaranteed wages and medical benefits during the dark period to help reduce the hardship during this difficult time. We have always been committed to providing highly competitive wages to attract and retain the most talented artists and technicians in the world, and our record reflects that. In fact, despite substantial revenue losses, we reached compensation agreements with all of our artists and technicians after the cancellation of three full Ring cycles this spring.  

However, to remain viable for our artists, employees, and the community, Lyric will need increased operational flexibility to adapt to the challenges brought on by the pandemic—challenges that will last for many years to come.  This can only be achieved through changes to our union collective bargaining agreements which govern all aspects of our work including how we rehearse, when we perform, and even the types of performances we can present. 

The current union agreements are based on long outdated earned revenue models. We urgently need to bring our operation, including our union agreements, into line with current realities to ensure that Lyric not only survives but thrives in the future. Without the changes we seek, we jeopardize our future as a world-class opera company and as an indispensable cultural service-provider to our city and our nation. 

In discussions with our unions, we have explained these realities and shared substantial financial analysis. We proposed reasonable and necessary changes to the union contracts and have offered guaranteed wages and medical benefits during the dark period. We asked the unions to meet us in the middle and work constructively toward a viable solution.

We are still hopeful of reaching agreements but CFM, the union that represents our orchestra members, has filed a grievance alleging that the pandemic is not a force majeure event covered by the union contract. We are now entering contractual arbitration with CFM and we will move expeditiously to complete this process so that we can resume negotiations.  During the arbitration process, we will continue to offer to negotiate as we have offered to do for the past many months. 

AGMA, the union that represents our chorus and stage artists, has delayed negotiations for months. We offered compensation incentives if they would start bargaining but they rejected the negotiation process agreement. We have asked them to negotiate and remain available to meet. Unfortunately, they still have not responded to Lyric’s contractual proposals.  

Lyric does not wish to leave our artists behind. In fact, since the opera house closed due to the pandemic in March, we have paid for healthcare benefits for all artists and technicians at a cost to Lyric of $1.64 million and we have offered a proposal that will also provide a generous percentage of salary while the house is dark. However, we simply do not have the means to continue providing health benefits indefinitely without a willingness on the part of our unions to work with us to find a viable solution.  We have agreed to continue to pay for healthcare benefits until December 31 but our ability to continue after that date depends on the outcome of negotiations.   

Let me end as I began. We are all living through a terrible time, with great personal and professional stress and trauma. It is my fervent hope that we can grapple together with our current realities and work collaboratively to secure for our company and ourselves a successful and secure future.  I do believe that Lyric will return, as vital and indispensable as ever. At the same time, we are operating with an understanding that the new normal will be fundamentally different from the old, and that Lyric must adapt.

We value our artists tremendously. They are central to everything we create, and we have the deepest admiration for their talents and professionalism. We will continue to strive to reach an agreement that addresses these unprecedented challenges and ensures a sustainable future for Lyric, our artists, technicians, and the other employees who collectively are the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Sincerely,

Anthony Freud
General Director, President & CEO