Anita Rachvelishvili, one of the world’s most celebrated mezzo sopranos, has responded by suing the Metropolitan Opera (Met) in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. This follows her firing from the company just weeks after welcoming her newborn. The lawsuit, initially reported by the classical music website Slipped Disc, is highly damaging to the Met. It alleges that the organization has engaged in widespread violation of a number of pregnancy discrimination and disability rights laws.
Yet Rachvelishvili alleges that the Met violated numerous laws. She claims they broke the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the New York Human Rights Law for pregnancy discrimination. She alleges that the company has not honored its stipulated obligations under these laws, resulting in her retaliatory termination.
Rachvelishvili’s countersuit against the Met — which she says owes her more than $400,000 — is in the process of being adjudicated. This figure comes from broken contracts for shows scheduled from 2022 to January of 2025. These performances featured her in starring roles in Verdi’s “Aida,” “Don Carlo,” Bizet’s “Carmen,” and Ponchielli’s “La Gioconda.”
The mezzo-soprano made her Met debut in 2011. Since then, she’s danced in close to 60 shows with the troupe. After the birth of her daughter, her top soprano range experienced some vocal restrictions re-classified as short-lived. Fortunately, she has returned to full health since then!
The American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA), which represents Rachvelishvili, They notified her attorney that they are withdrawing their grievance and will not proceed to arbitration on an alleged contract violation by the Met. This decision makes Rachvelishvili’s quest for justice on this issue much more difficult.
The Met’s policy going forward is not to comment on ongoing litigation. They point to the nature of the lawsuit itself as one reason they’re staying quiet. With the battle now in the legal arena, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian has set a pretrial conference date of July 1.
Len Egert, a national policy representative for AGMA, noted that Rachvelishvili has achieved further laurels even through her recovery and surgery times.
“She went on to sing leading roles in Berlin and Athens, as well as other major venues, with much success during the same period as the cancelled Met performances.” – Len Egert
Egert also highlighted the contractual obligations of the Met.
“It is important to note that the ‘pay or play’ provision of the AGMA agreement required the Met to pay out her contracts regardless of whether or not the company ultimately used her.” – Len Egert