Director Expects Agreement on Opera Musicians Today

An agreement between the Louisville musicians union and the Kentucky Opera for upcoming performances could be in place today.The opera typically hires musicians from the Louisville Orchestra, but orchestra management and players do not currently have a contract in place for the season. Orchestra concerts for this month and next month have been canceled.The opera has been in talks with the union for several days to secure live musicians for performances on the 23rd and 25th and for rehearsals that must begin on the 12th. General Director David Roth says those talks have gone smoothly and he expects to secure an agreement for 45 musicians today."The negotiations that we needed for this were held directly with the union as an independent organization and independent of any ongoing negotiations between the Louisville Orchestra and its musicians," he says. "There might be a few T's to cross and I's to dot by Monday, but we're fairly confident we'll get that contract in hand from the union and that'll allow us to go ahead and start contracting individual musicians for the Kentucky Opera Orchestra for Carmen."Due to demand for tickets, the opera has added a third performance of Carmen on the 30th.