Opera Singers claim

Freelance Opera Singers deserve fair pay and workplace dignity.

And yet for too long a combination of pay stagnation, reduction in performances and spiralling cost of living have eroded real terms pay. It is time to change this.  

At the end of July, Equity submitted a claim for improved pay and conditions for opera singers to SOLT. A working group of Equity members, together with Equity Officials, will now begin talks/negotiations with SOLT-UKT. 

To get the best deal for all workers, we need as many Equity members engaged with the claim as possible. Please check your details are up to date.

What is Equity calling for?  

Structure of the agreement: 

For the Opera Guest Artists and Opera Singers Agreement to be combined, leaving one fit for purpose agreement covering all freelance singers not otherwise covered by a house agreement.  

Pay  

• Significant uplifts to weekly rehearsal minima, alongside inflationary increases to performance, cover and other fees. 
• An uplift to the all-inclusive weekly cut off.
• Greater clarity about when session payments can be applied. 

Scheduling

• No Saturday rehearsals prior to studio runs.  
• Weekly schedule to be released earlier, with no changes once the weekly schedule has been announced. 

Who do these agreements cover?  

• These agreements are used by members of UK Theatre and SOLT for the engagement of external/non-employed singers as covers and principals in their productions. 
• The claim proposes expanding some terms and conditions to chorus, where other house-specific agreements are not already in place.  

What happens next?  

We have now submitted the full claim to UK Theatre and SOLT, which will begin a negotiation process.  

We are currently in the process of building our working party of members who will be directly involved in this process – whether by attending negotiations alongside union staff (full training given) or by feeding into any offers made and supporting our negotiating strategy. If you would be interested in being involved in the working party, please email me.  

The timeline for these negotiations will depend on the managers’ response to our claim. Members who have worked on these agreements will be kept informed throughout and will be balloted on any final offer to decide whether this is acceptable or not.  

How the claims were created 

Across 2025 and early 2026, Equity members who have worked as Opera Singers on these agreements were surveyed for their views to input to our claim. The results from that survey were analysed by Equity’s staff, and anonymised results were also considered by Equity’s elected Singers Committee. The final claim was then ratified by the Singers Committee.  

What about other Opera Agreements?  

Equity also holds collective agreements with SOLT and UK Theatre for Opera and Ballet Stage Management, and Opera Directors. These are negotiated separately to the agreements for Singers. Claims for improvements to terms and conditions on these agreements will be submitted in Autumn.