By Don Ireland
Senior Reporter/Weekly Register call
When the curtain rises at the iconic Central City opera each summer, the well-dressed patrons attend the highbrow performances featuring professional singers, beautiful stage designs and an orchestra whose music resonates throughout the historic, well-preserved opera house building on Eureka Street.
During this off-season, however, a nasty brouhaha has emerged between last summer’s cast and the operators of the non-profit opera organization. At the moment, what’s going on behind the scenes at the opera resembles more of a reality-TV show slugfest than the traditional Shakespearean plays scheduled for next year’s opera season, including Romeo and Juliet and Othello.
This ongoing clash, deemed a “Fight at the Opera” by local observers, features two sharply-contrasting viewpoints about last season and the status of ongoing negotiations between the opera and the performers’ guild.
Members of the bargaining committee from the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA), which represents the opera singers, have issued complaints about the Central City Opera and Pamela Pantos, who became the opera’s CEO and president last February, claiming she is trying to break up the guild that performs in Central. While both sides say they are open to negotiations, they also claim the other side isn’t communicating.
AMGA alleges “several artists have come forward, detailing disturbing conduct, ranging from public body shaming to sexual harassment, to threats of retaliation for union activity. Out of respect and concern for the artists who have shared these accounts with us, we will not detail them here, but we are open to discussing the conduct with CCO’s Board of Directors under an appropriate agreement that guarantees the confidentiality and protect of the targets of this abuse.”
The guild, which has had an 80-year agreement with the Central City Opera, noted that “at the moment, our path forward in negotiations is questionable due to the recent actions of the CCO, under the current leadership of Pamela Pantos. We understand that it has been a tumultuous period for CCO and that, in recent months, several long-tenured and respected members of CCO’s artistic team have resigned.”
Last summer, a Covid outbreak among performers caused the opera to cancel performances from July 19 to 24. The new, younger performers weren’t paid due to the cancellation, according to AMGA, substantially impacting their personal finances, while the longer-serving guild members were compensated.
The Central City Opera has fund balances and assets exceeding $12 million, according to a tax form filed with the IRS by the CCO in 2019. The opera is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization.
Leaders of the Central City Opera, responding to an inquiry from the Weekly Register-Call, said in a statement Monday, “We’re proud of our long and storied history as a staunch advocate for opera and the arts in Colorado and across the country, so we are naturally concerned about unfounded allegations being made as part of current contract discussions. We’re committed to working under National Labor Relations Board standards to reach an agreement and maintain a fair and equitable working environment for our artists.
“This summer, we shut down production for eight days due to Covid and were praised by the state and AGMA for taking swift action to protect the health and wellbeing of our artists and staff. During that time, we continued to compensate our artists. Additionally, we have not received any recent complaints or allegations of misconduct, including body shaming, discrimination, retaliation or harassment, from any of our artists – either to our human resources team or via our anonymous hotline. If there is validity to these claims, we commit to fully investigating and addressing these wrongdoings immediately. However, after requesting more information on these claims from AGMA, we have not received a response.
“We take the allegations presented very seriously and remain committed to the negotiating process with AGMA in order to reach a mutually beneficial resolution. Our position has been to refrain from public comments as we are still in active negotiations with AGMA. We are disappointed information has been made public without a full representation of both sides, however, we need to continue to refrain from specific comments so that we don’t jeopardize the ongoing negotiation process.”
AMGA, in releases on its website and Facebook posts, said it is open to negotiations. However, the guild also alleged the opera had retained the law firm of Little Mendelson, which they describe as “a notorious union-busting firm currently engaged by Starbucks to crush their ongoing unionization effort, to represent it in negotiations. Our first day of bargaining was on Nov. 1, and it was immediately made clear by the CCO management-drafted proposals is a transparent attempt to destroy the AGMA bargaining unit at CCO in a bid to make artists at CCO less empowered and less secure.
“Taken together, CCO’s proposals and actions have forced us to conclude that, under the leadership of Ms. Pantos, CCO management is attempting to target and silence our industry’s most marginalized artists. We think this demonstrates rather clearly who so many of our colleagues are afraid to participate opening in bargaining. It is for this reason that our committee for these negotiations is comprised only of AGMA artists who are well-established in our careers and do not rely on CCO for employment and advancement – we are at the table because CCO management has made it unsafe for others to be there instead.”
The AGMA remarked, “at the moment, though, our path forward in negotiations is questionable due to the recent actions of CCO under the current leadership of Pantos.”
In a statement, AMGA called the Central City Opera one of the organization’s oldest signatory companies. “It is a jewel in the opera world and a pillar of the local Colorado and Rocky Mountain Arts community. A number of us, as well as many successful artists in our industry, had their start at the Central City Opera. We respect the institution so much and consider it a leader in producing artists that continue to flourish, and we want nothing more than to see it thrive for the sake of the next generations of artists. Our attempt to reach the Board of Directors is not to tear you down as a group or as individuals, but to fill in potential gaps of information. We believe a switch change in approach is needed at your institution in order to ensure its storied legacy as the country’s fifth oldest opera house and one of its leading and most-celebrated training programs is upheld.”
Before the arrival of legalized gaming in Central City 30 years ago, the Central City Opera was the primary summer attraction that drew thousands of Denver-area visitors to experience the 550-seat jewel box opera house built in 1878 by Welsh and Cornish Miners. After the gold-mining boom of the late 1800s ended, the opera house fell into a state of disrepair. The building was restored and reopened in 1932 and is a national historic landmark. That summer, the legendary actress Lillian Gish opened the newly restored opera house with Camille, launching an annual tradition of summer festivals in Central City that continues to this day. During the past decade, the opera has trimmed the number of shows offered during the season. During the pandemic year of 2020 pandemic, the opera was forced to cancel the season.
The Central City Opera organization, based in Wheat Ridge, was founded in 1932 and is the fifth-oldest opera company in the nation. The opera owns the opera house and 27 Victorian-era properties, and three commercial buildings in Central City. In recent years, many Central City locals have complained about the lack of upkeep and maintenance of the opera residences. Others have voiced concern that the homes – which are vacant most of the year – could be used for much-needed housing or temporary rentals in Central City. Some local business operators say the opera is a part of the city’s rich history. However, the patrons use most available parking spaces in town during the season but don’t patronize local establishments.
Circulating around Central City are reports that the opera has lost several long-time staff members, including board members after the opera organization hired a new CEO this year.
Central City leaders have not publicly expressed opinions about the current opera situation. Last week, however, the City Council approved their 2023 municipal budget, which gives an annual $25,000 donation to the opera.