San Francisco Opera's Economic Situation

Overview

This is an incredibly complex time for the arts. Even with strong sales and donations, inflationary expense growth has outpaced revenue growth for decades, resulting in a structural deficit of $15M that must be resolved. San Francisco Opera is increasing revenues as much as possible, but expense reduction is also critical. The Opera Orchestra’s compensation structure has become increasingly out of alignment with the volume of work available and we must make gradual adjustments to the structure so that it better reflects the needs of this time.

San Francisco Opera is very sensitive to the impact of salary reductions on our Musicians, and so has proposed a five-year contract that phases in structural change at the same time as increasing wage rates, such that the Musicians’ seasonal compensation does not reduce during the five years.

We look forward to reaching a resolution with our Musicians for a new contract that recognizes the tremendous value of our employees while aligning their contract with the current needs of the Company. 

We hope that this information will help give some helpful context for the current economic situation of the Opera and the negotiations currently underway between San Francisco Opera and its Orchestra.

Please see the Table of Contents with links to more detailed information on key topics and questions.