National Opera House artists say they are persecution by administration and forced to resign

The conflict between the administration and artists of the Chisinau National Opera House goes deeper. In a news conference on June 3, tenor Mihai Munteanu accused the institution's director Valeria Seican, who was named to the post several months ago, of not respecting the artists who have worked for many years at the theater, Info-Prim Neo reports. “The administration and the employees must cooperate. It is not right to fire the artists who made a substantial contribution towards the development of the Opera House,” Mihai Munteanu said. The tenor denied Valeria Seican's assertions that many of the artists of the National Opera House did not return to the country after going on tours abroad. “Many of them were discharged. They did not remain in foreign countries,” he said. The head of the trade union committee Claudia Armas told Info-Prim Neo that many artists have been persecuted and forced to resign during the last month. The troupe of the National Opera House is dissatisfied with the fact that the new director accepted easily the decrease in the salary coefficient proposed in the amendments to the Tax Code. Artists' salaries were cut by almost 30% and the number of tours abroad was significantly reduced. For her part, Valeria Seican denied the accusations made against her. She said the salaries were decreased because of the crisis, but they are paid on time. The long tours abroad were canceled as they exhaust the artists and damage the institution's repertoire, Seican also said.