Opera broadcasts axed as COC fails to reach deal with unions
The Canadian Opera Company’s upcoming season won’t be broadcast on radio.
The COC announced Wednesday that it was unable to reach a deal with the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association and the Toronto Musicians Association.
As a result, the opera company won’t broadcast its productions on CBC-Radio and Radio-Canada, as it has the past three years.
In a statement, the COC called the broadcasts “non-revenue generating initiatives” meant to raise popular awareness of opera.
The company had paid its artists more than $600,000 in fees for the right to broadcast their performances the past three years, but had requested a $50,000 reduction in those fees, which would have seen the artists receive $150,000 per season for the broadcasts.
In total, 21 of the company’s productions had been broadcast over Canadian airwaves since 2009, including the world premiere of The Nightingale and Other Short Fables and the Canadian premieres of Maria Stuarda, Love From Afar and A Florentine Tragedy.
“It is very unfortunate that we were unable to come to an agreement with the unions in order to allow the CBC to broadcast our season as we have for the past three years,” COC general director Alexander Neef said in a statement.
“The broadcasts were extremely important to the future of opera in this country.”