For the first time in its 122 year history, Carnegie Hall was forced to close because of a labor strike according to an announcement on its website. The opening night performance, which was to have featured the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, was canceled on short notice and will not be rescheduled. The orchestra. which only recently emerged from bankruptcy, instead gave a free concert at Verizon Hall in Philadelphia.
The strike was called by the stagehands' union. According to an article in the New York Times:
"They are among the highest-paid performers at Carnegie Hall, even though they do not play a note: they are the stagehands of Local 1, whose average total compensation of more than $400,000 a year is more than some of the hall’s top executives earn. Little happens on Carnegie’s stages without them."
The timing of the strike was not accidental. As Chairman of the Board Sanford I. Weill noted: "This is our most important day for Carnegie Hall, our biggest fund-raising day,
and it’s the first time in 122 years that we don’t have a performance on opening
night." In an attempt to save something of the evening, the scheduled black tie dinner which was to have followed the concert was still held at the Waldorf Astoria though at an earlier hour.
Negotiations to end the strike are ongoing. A concert by the American Symphony Orchestra went on yesterday evening as planned. According to an article on Reuters, "A union leader told Reuters he was optimistic the two sides could reach a
permanent deal by Friday." In the meantime, those holding tickets to events at Carnegie Hall are best advised to consult the venue's website on a daily basis to learn the status of future performances.
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