The New York City Opera announced last year that it was entering a “new era” of bringing opera to the masses. It was a time of excitement and opportunity. Or at least that’s what they said out loud. With problems with the Lincoln Center location and with the company being unable to come up with the money to even rent the space, they set out to create a “living presence” in the places like the Upper West Side, Harlem, Central Park, and Brooklyn.

But it doesn’t look like you’ll be hearing La Traviata at Brooklyn‘s Howard Gilman Opera House any time soon. The cash strapped company has run into even more trouble with the unions.

The money woes have extended to the orchestras, chorus, and soloists of the company. Because according to the contractual union-contract scale, they must be paid a certain wage. A huge labor dispute followed and finally it appears that NY City Opera has broken down. This past Saturday the company locked down the rehearsals and did not let anyone practice for the February run of aforementioned La Traviata.

Could this really be the end of New York City Opera? Well, it might be, but there is no end in sight of smaller opera companies looking to take it’s place.