The drama’s offstage at Opera Carolina, with leadership shakeups and a contentious lawsuit

Opera Carolina and its business director are embroiled in a lawsuit with the former production director amid a leadership shakeup that’s as dramatic and intense as an opera performance itself.

It’s an unusually turbulent time for the 77-year-old nonprofit that is the largest opera company in the Carolinas.

Opera Carolina also recently ousted the long-time head of the company — James Meena, the principal conductor and artistic director.

In the lawsuit, the former production director, Michael Baumgarten said Opera Carolina and general director Shanté Williams failed to uphold his employment contract as director of production when he was fired without cause last fall.

Baumgarten is seeking in excess of $25,000 from Opera Carolina and Williams in the suit filed in Mecklenburg County Court. He also is seeking a jury trial. Meena, court filings show, was Baumgarten’s direct supervisor.

“This employment agreement is very clear,” Baumgarten’s attorney Tyler Peacock with Lord & Lindley in Charlotte told The Charlotte Observer. “They have a contractual obligation and they’re just not going to do it.”

Williams filed a counterclaim accusing Baumgarten of tarnishing her reputation as Opera Carolina’s leader. Baumgarten’s lawyers in return filed a motion to dismiss that claim on March 19, saying Williams fails to meet requirements for pleading claims of defamation. Peacock called Williams’ claim “completely meritless.”

Opera Carolina attorney Benjamin Fryer of Ford Harrison in Charlotte did not respond to requests for comment. Williams’ attorney Alesha Brown of Justice in Action Law Center in Charlotte also did not respond.

Who’s who in the opera lawsuit

Baumgarten, of Matthews, was Opera Carolina’s director of production and resident lighting designer since 2005, according to the lawsuit. He’d been producing with Opera Carolina since 1985, Peacock said.

Opera Carolina was founded in 1948 by the Charlotte Music Club and serves more than 70,000 people in North Carolina, South Carolina and northern Georgia. The Charlotte nonprofit is celebrating its 75th season on Oct. 30 with a benefit concert featuring Italian singer Andrea Bocelli.

Charlotte businesswoman Williams was named Opera Carolina’s general director on July 1. She is the opera’s first person of color to lead the organization’s business operations. She’s the second woman to lead the Opera following Beth Hansen, who was executive director from 2018 to 2020 after being on the board of directors since 2012.

The lawsuit’s claims

In 2022, Baumgarten signed a three-year employment contract as production director for Opera Carolina, according to the lawsuit filed Dec. 13. The agreement was through June 30, 2025.

Among Baumgarten’s job duties, he was responsible for working with Meena to select cast members for opera productions and creating their contracts for signature and review, according to court documents.

Under Baumgarten’s employment agreement, if Opera Carolina terminated him without cause, the opera was required to pay him the balance of his annual salary. Beginning July 1, 2023, Baumgarten’s annual salary was $70,000, court records show.

Williams and Opera Carolina fired Baumgarten by email, effective Nov. 6, according to the lawsuit. “It has been determined that our current production demands are not sufficient to require a director of production and the cost to retain your services are beyond our current financial capacity,” the email from Williams said.

”While I am aware of the termination provisions in your contract Opera Carolina will not be paying the remainder of the current agreement,” Williams said in the email termination letter.

“The termination was without ‘cause,’ ” Baumgarten’s lawyers said in court documents. Cause under the agreement include criminal conviction, discovery of embezzlement, “gross misconduct” in the performance of duties, according to the contract included in court filings.

Because Opera Carolina fired Baumgarten without “cause,” it is required to pay him his annual salary from Nov. 7, 2024, through June 30, 2025, according to the lawsuit. But Williams and the opera have refused to pay Baumgarten, who is suing for breach of contract and N.C. Wage and Hour Act violations.

Opera Carolina denies it has violated the contract or any laws. The employment agreement “could have run” July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2025, but “could be earlier terminated by the parties,” Opera Carolina said in its March 6 response.

“He anticipated being with Opera Carolina for the rest of his career,” Peacock told the Observer. “They need to honor their obligations.”

The countersuit

Williams filed a motion to dismiss and a counterclaim on Feb. 17 in response to Baumgarten’s complaint. She asked to be dismissed from Baumgarten’s case because she was not part of the employment agreement and did not control the conditions of his employment.

Williams “held the authority to fire (Baumgarten) simply by virtue of her executive position,” according to Williams’ response. Williams, on behalf of Opera Carolina, issued the termination letter at the “sole discretion and direction of Opera Carolina’s Chairperson of the Board of Directors,” the response said.

Williams also said that Baumgarten has “unclean hands” because it was his “gross misconduct and breach of his duties” that caused his termination. No additional details were provided in Williams’ defense.

She filed a counterclaim against Baumgarten for “false and defamatory statements” that she said cast doubt on Williams’ professionalism, and caused her to endure “substantial” mental, emotional and professional harm.

Williams said Baumgarten told people she is “not smart” and that she is making poor financial decisions for Opera Carolina. Williams is seeking compensatory damages.

In a March 19 motion to dismiss Williams’ countersuit, Baumgarten denied her claims.

More Opera House leadership change

In July, James Meena, who joined Opera Carolina in 2000, saw his role change when Williams was hired to run the business operations.

Meena remained artistic director and principal conductor. But last month, the opera announced on social media that Claudio Ferri-Vignati is the new artistic director and deputy general director.

The 73-year-old, who had been with Opera Carolina for 25 years, was ousted by the opera’s board before his contract was up in June 2026, according to The Charlotte Ledger newsletter, which first reported the lawsuit and leadership shakeup. Meena negotiated a severance agreement with the opera.

His final production with the opera will be Puccini’s classic tragedy, “La Boheme,” April 10-13.

What tax documents show

An IRS 990 tax form for fiscal year 2023 — the most recent year available — shows Opera Carolina had 73 employees. That’s up from 62 employees the prior year, according to 2022 tax forms. Such forms are required to be public for nonprofits. The tax form is for fiscal year July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023.

Opera Carolina’s total revenue was $2.9 million, down from $3.7 million the prior year, according to the 2023 tax document. Total expenses were $3.3 million, up from $3.2 million. That meant it ran a deficit of $345,284 in 2023, a year when arts groups nationwide were still struggling from the pandemic’s impact.

James Meena’s salary was $120,502, down from $127,608 the prior year.

NC Reality Check reflects the Charlotte Observer’s commitment to holding those in power to account, shining a light on public issues that affect our local readers and illuminating the stories that set the Charlotte area and North Carolina apart. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email realitycheck@charlotteobserver.com

This story was originally published March 24, 2025 at 11:19 AM.