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Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” won’t be so magical if the Arizona Opera Orchestra goes on strike.

That’s the veiled threat the musicians made in an email sent Sunday afternoon to news agencies throughout the state, including the Arizona Daily Star.

According to the email from the Arizona Opera Orchestra Musicians Association , the nearly year-old contract talks between the musicians and opera management disintegrated Sunday. Opera General Manager Debra Harrison “swept away basic guarantees to the musicians that endanger the opening of the opera’s ‘The Magic Flute’ in Tucson on March 1 and its opening in Phoenix March 6,” according to the email.

Violinist Cynthia Baker, a member of the negotiating committee, would not say if the orchestra will go on strike before Saturday’s opening of “The Magic Flute.” She said informal talks continued Sunday and resumed Monday.

“We don’t know. Everybody keeps trying,” she said. “We’re just trying to keep talking.”

Opera spokesman Colin Columna said Harrison was in closed door meetings with orchestra negotiators Monday and hoped to have some resolution later today.

The Arizona Opera Orchestra is operating under a contract that expired last June. The musicians began talks for a new pact last March.

A dedicated opera orchestra was the brainchild of former Artistic Director David Speers, who served five years with the company before resigning in early 2003.

“He really wanted to get a contract that was good for the musicians so he went out on a limb to provide that for the company. And that gave the musicians the security,” Baker said. “When he left, the new management inherited the contract he had established.”

Baker said the musicians association has agreed to wage concessions but want assurances that the opera will employ them for years to come. The current sticking point in negotiations is a proposal by Harrison that would only guarantee the orchestra’s employment for the next two years.

“We would like some assurances in writing that we will continue to be the orchestra for this company,” Baker said. “We are made up of musicians from Phoenix and Tucson as well as Flagstaff.”

Baker said there have been conversations as recently as last fall about doing away with the opera orchestra and using the Tucson and Phoenix symphonies.

This is the orchestra’s third collective bargaining agreement.

“The financial situation is not in great shape. Everybody is having tough times. But we are less than 10 percent of their budget. We’re not asking for much. We are asking for job security. We are offering concessions.”

Musicians on average make $98.95 per service. A section musician who played every service in the 2006-2007 season earned $6,332.80, according to the musicians’ association Web site, www.azooma.org.