Names in the News : Redgrave’s Lawsuit Not Revived

The Supreme Court today refused to revive actress Vanessa Redgrave’s lawsuit against the Boston Symphony Orchestra for canceling her performances following threats by protesters.

The court, without comment, let stand a $39,500 breach-of-contract award won by Redgrave but barred any additional damages based on claims that her civil and constitutional rights were violated. Redgrave was hired by the symphony in 1982 to narrate six performances of Stravinsky’s opera-oratorio “Oedipus Rex” at Boston, the orchestra’s Tanglewood concerts in western Massachusetts and New York’s Carnegie Hall.

The contract was canceled after the symphony received letters and telephone calls from people threatening to picket and protest the performances because of Redgrave’s support for the Palestine Liberation Organization.