Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rahvelishvili was as soon as probably the most wanted stars of the opera, recognized for stirring, highly effective performances in works resembling Bizen and Verdi Carmen “TroubadourS “
However after she started to expertise voice problems Throughout being pregnant in 2021, her profession was injured. The Metropolitan Opera has canceled its commitments and Rachvelishvili has misplaced work in different opera corporations.
Now Rahvelishvili, 40 -year -old, is judging each Met and the Union, who represents it, in search of compensation of greater than $ 400,000 for misplaced work. In a criticism filed on the finish of March, she accused MET of breaking her contracts along with her, and he or she mentioned that her union, the American Guild of Music Artists, did not current it correctly.
Rahvelishvili’s trial claims that Mess was conscious that she “suffered issues from being pregnant and delivery affecting her voice and voice scope.” The declare described her as “disabled due to her being pregnant” and accused the opera of discriminating in opposition to her.
“I used to be shocked that I used to be not given the possibility to get better and all my contracts for the subsequent two years had been instantly canceled with out pay,” she mentioned in an announcement.
Mecha mentioned he couldn’t touch upon pending litigation.
Her criticism claims that MET ought to compensate for it due to a contractual settlement referred to as “pay or play”, which requires establishments to pay agreed contractors, even when they later resolve to not have interaction them.
However in response to the collective settlement on negotiation, MET retains some capability to keep away from the fee of singers who don’t meet its inventive requirements. In keeping with the settlement, MET shouldn’t compensate the singers, which they imagine are “vocal or bodily unfit for efficiency”.
Her trial blames her union, the American Guild of Music Artists, who represents opera singers, not be capable of “file a criticism and to proceed with arbitration associated to discrimination based mostly on the plaintiff’s being pregnant or different relevant laws.”
The Union declined to remark.
The case differs partly as a result of Rachvelishvili’s lawyer Leonard D. Egert led to the union he was judging. Egert was the nationwide government director of the Guild from 2016 to 2022 (very not too long ago he was a normal advisor and normal supervisor of Ballet in San Francisco and as a advisor on the Baroque Orchestra of the Philharmonic and San Francisco, whose singers voted for unification final 12 months.)
Egert mentioned in an interview that his former union needed to do extra to push MET to compensate for Rachvelishvili for the canceled commitments.
“It might be logical for them to do it,” he mentioned in an interview. “However they did not.”
Rachvelishvili, who made his Met debut in 2011, was recognized for her voice. Met Basic Supervisor, Peter Gelb, as soon as welcomed her as “the best mezzo-soprano singing” and Ricardo Muti, a outstanding conductor, had she called her “Undoubtedly, Verdi’s greatest mezzo soprano in the present day on the planet.”
However her voice started to endure throughout her being pregnant in 2021, turning into a “scratching and unusual” as she recalled in 2023 Interview With the New York Instances, by which she talks frankly about her voice issues and her efforts to beat them. She canceled Don Carlo’s mileage by Verdi Met within the fall of 2022, however arrived there to sing the Amneris a part of Aida in December.
After the primary presentation, Gelb eliminated it from the manufacturing. (It was apparent that she was not the identical singer – no less than not the identical singer – who had conquered our scene so brilliantly thus far, “he mentioned later.
Rachvelishvili’s criticism admits that it was “briefly restricted in its highest vocal vary because of delivery.” But it surely says that she was “at any time prepared, keen and able to performing the roles for which a contract had been signed,” and that she had made a full restoration ever since.
Her declare mentioned that its Union representatives met with MET representatives in February 2023 and that the Union initially took the place that MET was in violation of the availability of “pay or play” of the treaty. It says MET initially indicated that he would suggest to “purchase” her contracts. However that mentioned he then withdrew from the proposal.
The declare mentioned final 12 months the Union knowledgeable the representatives of Rachvelishvili that it could “refuse to mourn contract violations, to submit arbitration, or in any other case search an settlement” with MET.
The Union didn’t clarify its resolution.
Rachvelishvili continues to carry out, although not as a lot as earlier than. In November, she participated within the manufacturing of Rusalka at Dvic, which opened the season within the Theatro San Carlo in Naples, Italy.
