Florida Grand Opera Fires Orchestra

• 4/ 06/08: This blog entry has been updated.
  

A news item at TradingMarkets.com reprinted from the Miami Herald mentions that the Florida Grand Opera has decided not to renew the contract for its orchestra, the Florida Classical Orchestra. Conducted in other venues by the renowned Richard Hayman, the orchestra has been criticized as being "substandard."

"The substandard quality of the orchestra, contracted through Sunset Entertainment of Delray Beach, has come in for harsh criticism this season."

Justin Moss, managing director of marketing and communication, said that the company is exploring alternatives for next season. "We have many options that we are pursuing," Moss is quoted as saying.

Stewart Robinson is listed as the Music Director of the Florida Grand Opera on their web site.

The Florida Grand Opera has a five-opera season similar to Arizona Opera. Also like Arizona Opera, they perform opera cycles in two different cites - in their case, Miami and Fort Lauderdale. However, it is not known if the Florida Classical Orchestra has any union agreement which protects its musicians. According to its web site, the orchestra is a part of a sub-set of music ensembles contracted though Sunset Entertainment and it appears that it has no existing formal union contract with Florida Grand Opera.

On an unrelated note, Arizona Opera Artistic Director Joel Revzen will be a guest conductor, leading the pit for Florida Grand Opera's production of Rossini's "La Cenerentola" in January 2009, according to the same Miami Herald article, and an article in the Florida Sentinel.

• 4/ 06/08: This article has been updated.

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