Milan’s La Scala cancelled the start of its ballet season yesterday following strike action by performers. Chorus members for the production of Romeo and Juliet, choreographed by Sasha Waltz and conducted by James Conlon, opposed requests for them to perform movements on stage alongside the ballerinas, demanding additional payment. Earlier ballerinas had complained that the sloping platform used in the performance was causing them backache.

La Scala said the dancers had now backed down from industrial action. The ballerinas had merely wanted to draw attention to ‘some difficulties of this stage project’, according to a spokesman. However, the chorus refused to take part unless a bonus was paid for each performance, despite La Scala’s insistence that ‘nothing extraordinary’ was requested of them and that they often appeared onstage during opera performances. The company claimed it could not afford the additional payments.

‘It was not our intention to get the premiere cancelled,’ said chorus member and union representative Mauro Peconi. ‘The theatre's direction has closed the door to any negotiations and called off the premiere. We were willing to continue negotiations.’

La Scala has been affected by a number of strikes in recent years, including the cancellation of a production of Beethoven’s Fidelio in September 2011 and a further cancellation of the premiere of ballet L'altra metà del cielo in March 2012. Government funding provision for all of Italy’s 14 opera houses has been reduced in the wake of austerity measures, including a €7m reduction for La Scala.

The second performance of Romeo and Juliet is due to take place on December 28.