New York City Opera Declares Rehearsal Lockout New York City Opera's future darkened this weekend when the company declared a lockout for the first rehearsal of the season, scheduled for Monday, amid a labor dispute with its unions. The impasse raises the possibility that the struggling company may have to cancel its first production, "La Traviata," and possibly the season. The move came after mediated talks broke down on Saturday night. Negotiations between the company and its two unions, Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians, and the American Guild of Musical Artists, have grown increasingly bitter since City Opera announced last spring that it was moving out of its Lincoln Center home, the David H. Koch Theater, to save money. Local 802 represents the orchestra, and the guild represents the chorus and singers as well as stage managers and directors. The lockout most immediately affects the chorus, which was scheduled to report for a "Traviata" rehearsal at 3 p.m. on Monday, along with a rehearsal pianist. The orchestra is not scheduled to rehearse until Feb. 1. City Opera's spokeswoman, Risa B. Heller, said the company had no plans to hire replacement workers. The unions predicted that the lockout would lead to the season's cancellation, but Ms. Heller said there was no change in the company's plans to put on 16 performances of four operas in various locations around the city, starting with "La Traviata" at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Feb. 12. "Rehearsals are canceled until we have a deal, and we are taking it day by day to evaluate our options," Ms. Heller said. But time will quickly run short. After the "Traviata" run, Rufus Wainwright's opera, "Prima Donna," begins immediately, on Feb. 19. Mr. Wainwright issued an appeal on his Web site for fans to buy tickets to the show. "A big early interest in "Prima Donna" would really boost the moral and physical prospects for both my piece and the New York City Opera as a whole," he wrote. Mozart's "Così Fan Tutte" is to go up in March, followed by Telemann's "Orpheus" in May. The company did not immediately respond to a question about how long it could go without rehearsals before having to cancel performances. City Opera wants to eliminate salaries for the chorus and orchestra and pay only for individual rehearsals and performances, saying it simply cannot afford large contracts based on a far larger season. The unions say such a plan would cost dozens of jobs and lead to pay reductions of 90 percent, when the workers have already made large pay concessions in recent years. In the continuing battle to portray the opposing side as the real enemy of the company's survival, each blamed the other for intransigence. George Steel, the company's general manager and artistic director, said in a statement that the unions "refused to budge" despite the offer of "hundreds of thousands of dollars" more in compensation. Ms. Heller said that offer amounted to seven more months of full health coverage, or one year's worth; limited coverage for the next two years; and increased severance pay of $3,500, or in some cases $5,000, per person. "City Opera had no other choice but to lock them out, as the company cannot afford to pay for rehearsals when the unions have pledged to strike the performances," the company's news release said. Gail Kruvand, a double bassist in the orchestra and the leader of the players" negotiating committee, said of the supposedly sweetened offer: "That's not what we saw. I don't know what period he's talking about, but it was certainly not in the last week. She said the orchestra had offered to play performances free but rehearse for pay and have a greater say in the company's management. City Opera rejected the offer. "We can't keep sacrificing if this effort by current management is doomed to failure," Ms. Kruvand said. "You can't run a nonprofit performing-arts company on 10 percent earned income," she added, referring to the rough proportion of ticket sales to donations. She blamed company negotiators for the impasse and said the unions were willing to compromise on just a year of full health coverage. "We were willing to keep talking," she said. We're heartbroken. This is not something we wanted to see happen. Alan S. Gordon, the guild's executive director, blamed the City Opera board and its chairman, Charles R. Wall, for the company's problems. "City Opera's death rests squarely on the shoulders of Chuck Wall," he said.