Atlanta Opera musicians earn under $10,000 a year
OrchestrasThe New York Times reported approvingly the other day that Atlanta Opera’s turnaround chief Tomer Zvulun made a handsome $700,000 in the company’s last financial year, parlayed down to $550,000 by some anxious PR.
Zvulun has, by all accounts, worked wonders for Atlanta.
Below decks, however, things are not so happy.
Musicians tell us that a section player is paid between $6500-$9000 a year for 3-4 productions, which is hardly an inducement to move to Atlanta. Hourly wages have fallen 12 percent in real terms since 2019. Contract negotiations are stalled.
Meanwhile, Atlanta Opera is spending $45 million on a new admin building and arts centre.
Not so jolly, then.
That is America!
This is theatre. Always the management get fat pay rises and cut salaries of the backstage, show staff, musicians, anyone and everyone who actually makes a theatre what it is. Some theatres hire volunteers as front of house staff because it is ‘rewarding and enriching’. So you get to deal with all the problems of an underpaid job except on no pay. Across Europe this has been happening for over 20 years. Depressing.
Sounds like that isn’t a full-time wage
Thanks for making this issue known. Btw, it’s Zvulun, not Zevulon.
From an Atlantan
Yes, as Alviano says above, this is America.
https://www.epi.org/publication/ceo-pay-in-2023/