San Francisco Opera musicians, who have threatened to strike if they do not have a new contract by opening day, said Music Director Eun Sun Kim stands in solidarity with them amid an ongoing labor dispute and would resign if a deal is not reached.
The statement by Kim, which has not been confirmed by the music director, came during a rehearsal for Opera in the Park on Thursday, Sept. 10, two days before the Opera’s scheduled season-opening performance of Verdi’s “Simon Boccanegra” at the War Memorial Opera House, according to two orchestra members who said they were present for the exchange.
The musicians, represented by the American Federation of Musicians Local 6, warned the company last month that they will not perform this weekend unless they reach what they consider a fair contract with management.
For the San Francisco Opera’s 104th season, Kim is currently slated to conduct “Simon Boccanegra,” Opera in the Park on Sunday, Sept. 13, Massenet’s “Manon,” an all-Strauss concert and Wagner’s “Das Rheingold” – the prologue to Wagner’s most dramatic work, which will be performed in three full cycles in June 2028.
The San Francisco Opera celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2023. (Justin Katigbak/For the S.F. Chronicle)
Kay Stern, the orchestra’s concertmaster, said Kim made the comment after musicians interrupted rehearsal Thursday to speak with her about the stalled negotiations.
Stern said Kim “showed concern” that the musicians were not being supported artistically or financially and “couldn’t support the contract” the musicians were preparing to reject.
“She immediately and abruptly – kindly, warmly – ended the rehearsal so that she could immediately talk to Matthew and see if she could make a difference,” Stern said, referring to Opera General Director Matthew Shilvock.
Stern said Kim wanted to speak with Shilvock “rather than have to sign a letter of resignation if we strike.”
Craig Reiss, a violinist who said he is in his 34th season with the orchestra, gave a similar account.
Reiss said musicians met with Kim after the first hour of Thursday’s Opera in the Park rehearsal and told her they were “very dismayed” by the direction of negotiations.
He said the musicians also told Kim that management had given them a 3 p.m. Thursday deadline to agree to a contract extension or risk cancellation of Sunday’s Golden Gate Park concert. Reiss said Kim appeared unaware of the deadline and was “angered” and surprised that such a decision could be made without her knowledge.
After the musicians told Kim they were unified in their willingness to strike if no fair agreement was reached, Reiss said, “she told us that if we go on strike, she will resign.”
Reiss said Kim then planned to meet with Shilvock after the rehearsal.
Kim could not immediately be reached for comment, but an Opera spokesperson confirmed with the Chronicle on Saturday that “Eun Sun Kim was expressing her solidarity for the Orchestra in that private meeting and hopes for a mutually acceptable resolution to these negotiations as soon as possible.”
San Francisco Opera director general Matthew Shilvock, from left, U.S. Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Paul Pelosi, and S.F. Opera Guild president Courtney Labe during the Opera Stage Dinner at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco in 2024. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/S.F. Chronicle)
The dispute centers on the orchestra’s expired labor contract, which lapsed July 31. Negotiations began in May and resumed Aug. 26, when musicians returned for rehearsals for the new season.
The followed day, the orchestra told the company that its members would not perform on opening night unless they reached a new agreement with management.
“We are writing to let you know that the musicians of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra will not be able to perform on Opening Night, September 12, unless management has reached a fair contract with us before then,” the musicians said in a statement released Aug. 27. “We are letting you know this weeks in advance rather than having you be surprised at the door.”
The musicians said management initially proposed a 26% pay cut, which would have returned their wages to 2015 levels. They said that offer was later reduced to a 20% cut, which would have rolled back pay to what they were earning in 2018.
Opera leadership has described the proposal differently, saying its latest five-year compensation plan would keep musicians’ annual earnings at current levels while changing how they are paid over time.
The leadership also cited a structural deficit of $15 million a year, saying expenses have outpaced revenue growth for decades.
Under the recently expired contract, the guaranteed minimum base salary for a section musician in the San Francisco Opera Orchestra is $118,326.75 for a 24-week season.
The company acknowledged, however, its existing labor agreement was designed for a level of programming that has not been economically feasible for many years.
Attendees picnic and enjoy Opera in the Park at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco in 2023. The annual free event was held in Robin Williams Meadow and featured the San Francisco Opera Orchestra. (Loren Elliott/For the S.F. Chronicle)
The labor dispute has already upended the company’s opening-weekend plans. The Opera Ball, its major annual fundraiser, was postponed from Sept. 12 to Nov. 12 to allow more time for contract negotiations, according to the company.
As of Saturday morning, “Simon Boccanegra” was still scheduled to open at 8 p.m., with additional performances through Sept. 27.
The free Opera in the Park concert, sponsored by the Chronicle, also remained scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Robin Williams Meadow in Golden Gate Park.
“I feel that we are at an inflection point now,” said Reiss, who described the tone of the negotiations as unlike anything he had experienced in his decades with the company. “If our management continues to go down this road, it could be a significant milestone, and it could be the beginning of a real downturn in the status of our company and the prestige of San Francisco Opera.”
Stern emphasized the dispute is about more than the hours musicians spend in the pit.
“What it takes before we even get to the first rehearsal is extraordinary,” she said. “To get this kind of a job and to keep this kind of a job, the work and the upkeep, it’s extraordinary.”
She added that she is especially concerned about younger musicians trying to build careers in San Francisco.
“If it was like this when I entered the orchestra, I would have had to leave,” Stern said. “I don’t want to see any of my younger colleagues in this disadvantage.”
The San Francisco Opera orchestra and chorus perform Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco in 2024. (Santiago Mejia/S.F. Chronicle)
The labor dispute reflects broader changes at the Opera, which continues to present a smaller schedule than it did before the COVID-19 pandemic. In the past four decades, the company has gone from presenting 16 productions per season in 1981 to less than half that.
The 2026-27 season is slated to include six mainstage productions – “Simon Boccanegra,” “Manon,” “Mary, Queen of Scots,” “The Marriage of Figaro,” “Tosca” and “Das Rheingold” – though it is now unclear when the first show will be presented.
The Opera said since 2020, it has cost about $2 million more per season to produce the same number of operas at the same scale.
The Opera’s most recent audited financial statements show $13.8 million in ticket sales and $82.6 million in operating expenses for the fiscal year that ended July 31, 2025. As with most major arts organizations, the gap is largely covered through philanthropy, including individual and institutional donations, grants and distributions from the company’s endowment.
The company’s 2025 fall season saw the debut of a new production of Wagner’s “Parsifal” and the world premiere of Huang Ruo’s “The Monkey King.” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and his wife, Lori Huang, also announced a multiyear commitment to donate $5 million annually to the company.
This season’s challenges echoes the Opera’s 2024 season opening, when the musicians and management reached a last-minute agreement that averted a strike but delayed its first performance.
Other protests related to labor issues that have disrupted fundraiser galas include the San Francisco Symphony’s 2024-25 season opener and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s gala at the de Young Museum earlier this year.
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This article originally published at San Francisco Opera musicians say music director would resign if orchestra strikes.