Opera in High Definition

A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of hearing a panel discuss the Metropolitan Opera's HD Broadcast program.  The panel included Marc Scorca, President and CEO of Opera America, Marcus Kuechle, Director of Artistic Operations for Cincinnati Opera, and Robin Guarino, CCM Opera Chair and international director, with Majorie Fox, CCM Electronic Media Division Head as mediator.  Many of the questions asked were centered around the audience building aspect of the HD broadcasts.  Are these broadcasts actually bringing in new audiences?  The sentiment expressed by the panel is that this initiative is still very young, being started in the 2006-2007 season, and it is rather early to tell.  Throughout the evening's discussion a few points were brought up that I'd like to address here. (If you'd like a review of the session check out these articles:  ConcertoNet.com and Cincinnati.com.)

The first issue I'd like to discuss is the lack of age diversity in the broadcast audiences.  One gentleman mentioned that youngsters did not want to spend a Saturday afternoon in a theatre.  That may be true on several accounts.  However, I would like to mention that as a "youngster," one still in school at that, I don't have the time to spend sitting in a theatre on a Saturday afternoon. It isn't that I don't want to, I just don't have the time.  I'm usually sitting in my favorite coffee shop writing papers or reading for class on Saturdays and Sundays.  Then, when the operas are rebroadcast on Wednesday evenings, I'm actually in class.  You can see how this causes a problem or two.  However, another gentleman suggested the performances be rebroadcast at a more suitable time for the younger audiences members, such as 1:00am.  I do agree that showing an opera in a movie theatre in the late evening would probably be better for capturing the younger demographic, though 1:00am may be a bit extreme.

Thank you to Robin Guarino who mentioned that the $22 ticket price is still pretty expensive for a student.  Twenty-two dollars is a lot of money for a someone who has a negative income.  If I'm going to spend that much money on an arts event, I'd rather spend it on a live, in house performance.  Mr. Kuechle did touch on the idea that going to the opera is still an event for the younger audiences.  Again, this is something with which I agree, to an extent.  I have to admit I still get very excited to watch an opera in house because I really enjoy the live aspect.  Personally, I would much rather go to the actual opera house rather than watch a broadcast because I can choose what to look at.  With the broadcast, I only get to look at what the HD Director chose as the appropriate shot.  While that allows me to have an intimate view of a duet, I don't get to see how the singers are relating to the rest of the set or the other singers on stage.

Ms. Guarino discussed how today's audiences are much more sophisticated than they were fifty years ago.  We expect the sets to be more realistic.  We expect a consumptive Violetta to be slender with a sense of fragility and not like she spends her time sitting on her recamier, eating bonbons. What does that mean for the opera industry as a whole?  Will this sort of expected realism lend itself to an increase in smaller opera houses that allow for a more intimate setting giving the audience an up close look at the action?  Or will we trend towards grandiose spectacle.  I hope for the sake of everyone's pocketbook that we do not become excessive.  How will the conservatories and music schools react to the need for stronger actors?  Will there be an increase in acting class requirements, or will these additional acting classes be substitutes for other classes?  Truth be told, acting classes may be more beneficial than most advanced theory classes. How would that affect the staff and faculty associated with teaching such classes -- will they be paid more; will the schools hire more individuals to teach?  

If the nation's conservatories and music schools are truly invested in the success of their students, they will provide adequate stage training through acting classes, opera scene workshops and on stage roles.  Singers who possess the ability to physically communicate the ideas and emotions in the text of an aria or song have a better advantage than their counterparts.  I am not implying that every singer will perform at the Met during an HD broadcast. However, in this transitive time, as more houses are starting their own HD programs, it is imperative that singers be prepared to do what is expected of them.  The ultimate goal should be artistry rather than technical perfection.  Emotion is not perfect, but it is real.  In the quest for realism, in an industry that is based on survival of the fittest, it would be in every artist's interest to become a stronger actor.

--Caro

Should We Stay or Should We Go?

While I stayed home and watched television on my computer Thursday night, I viewed several commercials promoting my activities of choice for the evening.  PNC Bank was advertising its new “Virtual Wallet.”  In the commercial is poses the question:  Go see a movie and spend $12 or stay home and watch hulu.com and save $12.  The other commercial was advertising Direct TV.  The ad featured a pretty girl and a good looking dude who spends the whole ad trying to get this girl to go on a date with him.  He suggests the idea of going to the movies, the ballet, rock climbing, dinner, a gallery, all of which the girl turns down.  His final suggestion is watching television.  She smiles all big like and then agrees to watch television with the poor kid.  Golly gee willikers, arts world!  This is bad!

Dear Arts Marketers, you certainly have your work cut out for you.  What’s going to happen to live performing arts if everyone stays home to watch television on a Friday night?  I think there are two options.  We can either fight it or work the trend to our advantage.  If we fight it, we’re going to have to do something drastic to get people off their couches and into the theatres.  I know art executives around the world will die a little on the inside when I suggest this, but what if we make tickets cheaper?  Perhaps we can bundle with local restaurants so both the local economy benefits.  I know ticket sales on average cover a mere 30% of the total operating budget, but we have to do something.  Arts organizations have to be the ones to change because we certainly aren’t going to be able to convince Americans to come to a show when the cheapest ticket isn’t even under $50.  We have to make the experience easier and better for the consumer or we won’t have an audience base any longer.

Our other option is work the trend to our advantage.  So people want to stay at home on Friday night, so what?  Why not stream live for a fee?  Indiana University streams their operas live.  You can even watch them after the show has stopped running.  The best part is that it’s free!  Now, I realize that it isn’t fiscally responsible or commercially practical to provide this service for free.  However, with the dawning of the internet capable television, such as this one from Sony , we can stream right into the consumers living room!  I know companies like the Metropolitan Opera have their own channel, but it’s only available on the computer and you have to pay for a subscription.  What if we created some sort of arts channel that was like Pay per View and the consumer could watch live and archived concerts, operas, and plays at their leisure? 

If we want to continue to exist, arts organizations must be relevant.  I know this is difficult because relevancy often requires more money than arts organizations have to spend.  Remember small progress is still progress.  Long live the arts!

--C

And now for something not written by the Old Dead White Guys Society

TalkOperaWorld.com recently posted an article announcing that 33 American opera companies of varying sizes will produce operas written by American composers over the next two seasons (2010-2011 and 2011-2012).  Nine of those productions will be world premieres.   Some of the companies included are Opera Southwest in Albuquerque, NM, Opera Memphis, Cincinnati Opera, New York City Opera, Portland Opera, Chicago Opera Theatre, Opera Roanoke, Sarasota Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Florida Grand Opera, and The Santa Fe Opera.  The best part about this is the list will only continue to grow as repertoire announcements for the 2011 – 2012 season come out in the next few months.

Marc A. Scorca, President and CEO of OPERA America, the national service organization for opera, was quoted to say, “Over the last two decades, an American opera repertoire has become firmly established and American composers continue to have a tremendous impact on our art form.  We are delighted to see their work being performed on stages of all sizes throughout the United States.” 

Not only does OPERA America keep tabs on the repertoire being performed throughout the United States, it encourages the creation and production of new operatic works with The Opera Fund.  The Opera Fund awards grants to opera companies to assist with the expenses that are associated with developing new works.  The Opera Fund has also provided companies with grants to help revive productions.  Since it began, The Opera Fund has awarded nearly $11 million dollars to American opera companies.

How exciting to be a part of a musical genre that celebrates new works, even encourages them!  By supporting the creation of contemporary operas, we are keeping the art form relevant.  Way to go OPERA America and American opera companies.  Keep up the good work!

--Carolyne

Let's Go to the Opera...at the Movies?

So if you could go to the opera for the exact same price as seeing James Cameron’s Avatar, would you?  I know I would, but I have a bias.  Stephen Evans, a British movie producer, is trying to turn opera into a cinematic works. Before you say anything, this is different from the live broadcasts the Metropolitan Opera and other large opera companies are doing or the dvd recordings of Met productions.  Evans is adapting Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s comedic opera Cosí fan tutte into a film called First Night.  From my understanding, it is similar to a play within a play as there will be an additional plot surrounding the original plot of Cosí. 

Evans has a history of adapting older theatrical works into cinematic pieces.  Twenty years ago he produced Shakespeare’s Henry V, beating the odds the skeptics bet against him.  Actually, the film was nominated for two Oscars, and it’s still making money!  Take that, skeptics!  In addition to Henry V, he has also produced film adaptations of Shakespeare’s The Twelfth Night and Much Ado About Nothing.

Evans’ plan for First Night is to produce a romantic comedy with a Mozart soundtrack.  I’m interested to see how this turns out.  According to The Observer article a wealthy businessman who assembles a troupe of singers to put on a production of Cosí fan tutte in his home.  The recently finished film was shown with much success at a test screening a couple weeks ago.

The consumer enthusiasm hasn’t stopped some of the industry’s largest giants from voicing their concerns.  They’re leery about this film because it’s about opera.  However, Evans doesn’t think it’s going to be a problem.  He was quoted to say, “People who didn't know opera were more excited than the people who did. The music is so wonderful, so lyrical. People uninterested in opera found themselves loving the music."

So will this inspire people to go to their local opera company and purchase tickets?  I cannot say whether it will or not, but I’m glad the opera industry now has another vehicle in which to reach potential audiences.  Viva l’opera!

--C

Arts Funding IS Jobs Funding

About a month ago, an award winning lighting designer by the name of Jeffery Salzberg posted a facebook note entitled “Arts Are Jobs, Too.” Though I am not friends with Mr. Salzberg, nor do we have any facebook friends in common, and yes, I checked, this note was pretty hard to miss. The main point of the note was sparked from a dinner party Mr. Salzberg attended where a fellow artist made the following comment, “I care about arts funding, too, but jobs are more important.”

Yes, an artist actually said that. I’m going to pretend that the artist who would have the audacity to say something like that is not faring too well with his or her career and as a result doesn’t have an arts job, but instead is working retail at a Babies R Us. However, that is an issue for another blog. Mr. Salzberg went on to say how we artists “need to stop thinking of ourselves as charity cases.” He’s right. This would be a good place to insert a cliché about helping oneself, something about believing in oneself, or keeping the faith. You pick whichever one is pertinent to you and keep reading, please.

The final thought Mr. Salzberg left his readers with is “Arts funding is jobs funding.” Again, he’s right. Now, you neither need a degree in the arts nor in rocket science to know why he’s right, but in case you cannot logically put it together, I’ll help you. Also, it’s probably not your fault you don’t understand, it’s not on the standardized tests.

First, we’re going to look at some governmental things. I just did a quick search on U.S. Census Bureau’s North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) webpage. According to the 2007 NAICS report, there are 43 industries with the word “arts” in their title. When I searched the word “music” I came up with 104 industries. “Theater” produced 46 industries. “Dance” had 40 different industries. So by looking up arts, music, theater and dance, I found 235 arts related industries. Also, there is an entire industry sector devoted to “Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation.” NAICS has 61 defined industries under the sector of Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation. That means there are 174 industries in different sectors that are related to the arts. Out of the 19,720 total industries, 1.3% of them are arts related. That’s a pretty decent market share for such a specialized industry.

Second, I’m going bring up the timeless argument of how the arts support the economy. Dinner and show. Need I say more? Well, I’m going to. So you’re a single guy (or girl) and you have a date Friday night. You want to make a good impression on her (or him), so you think you’ll take him (or her) to a show. That makes you look deep and cultured and mature. Then you think to yourself, “Self, I can’t really get to know someone on a date if I’m just going sit in a dark theatre for two hours and not talk to him (or her). Dear Self, what should I do?” Then in a stroke of pure brilliance, you think, “I’ll take her (or him) to dinner first!” That way you and your date can actually have a discussion. Plus you can figure out if he’s (or she’s) attractive in fluorescent lighting. Now you’re on the right track. And, of course, after the show you’re going to go out for coffee or some other libation and talk about how awesome (or terrible) the show was – and a great date was had by all.

My third and final point is really a testament to your intelligence. Do you think arts productions and movies and concerts happen by magic? Do you think people put on shows just for kicks? If you answered yes to one or both of these questions, you just tested positive for ignorance. Arts organizations have to pay their employees just like private companies. We need marketers, accountants, CEOs, and IT people to run the offices. And we need carpenters, seamstresses, painters, electricians, and inventors (props people) to create our stages. Then the artists who have been practicing for months will put the finishing touches on our products. The final products you see in the concert halls and theatres do not just happen overnight and for nothing. People and money are behind them, just like the coffee you drink every morning.

Please remember, when you fund the arts you are funding people, businesses, and the economy. Money spent on the arts is not money wasted, but money invested in the advancement of our society.

--C

Confessional

Dear Fellow Global Citizens,

I have a few confessions for you.

I love cliches. Though they are overused and somewhat unoriginal, cliches are based on truth or a socially accepted wrong idea at the very least. I once had an undergraduate professor tell me my writing was too colloquial – too conversational. That same semester I was praised for my witty insights and colloquial nature by a different professor. It just goes to show you it takes all kinds to make this world. Side bar: I will be colloquial here, but I’ll try to steer clear of the cliches.

I spend far too much time thinking about things I can’t really do anything about like the English language. It makes no sense, and it’s my native language! For instance take the predominant word that is opposite of win and the word that indicates selection: lose and choose. These words both have same “oo” vowel sound, but one has two o’s, while the other only has one. The past tense of choose is chose, which looks like it should be pronounced like lose, but it isn’t. Or perhaps lose should be pronounced like chose. And the past tense of lose is lost. There’s no verb tense of choose that is chost. Also, let’s look at the word loose, which means relaxed, not tight, free, etc. It has the double o that choose has, but it’s not pronounced the same way. No wonder people have so much difficulty learning the English language. It’s messed up.

I am writing this blog post instead of writing any of my four papers. I spent most of the afternoon reading Seth Godin’s Unleashing the Ideavirus for my Direct Marketing book report. Though the book was published ten years ago, rendering some of the references outdated and obsolete, the general premise of the book is great! It talks about how we shouldn’t be marketing at people, but instead using our customers to market for us. Word of mouth market can be so potent. Why not try to get a little control on it and use it for our benefit? I’m sure there will be more on this subject once I write the report.

I don’t really know what I want to do with my life anymore. For the past three and a half years I was convinced I would go to grad school and get my masters degree in arts administration and then slowly work up the ranks in the artistic department of a major opera company in the United States until I become the director of artistic operations. Now that I’ve been in grad school for a year, I’m not sure if that is what I want. I have so many different things that I could do. My latest career idea is to become an au pair in Belgium or France. It would be a great way to see the world and learn a new language. I realize that this last confession sounds like mindless drivel. However, this indecisiveness about my future will likely shape future posts. Perhaps I’ll write something about the process of becoming an au pair. Or maybe I’ll discuss the viability of L3C’s, a relatively new business classification. I just thought I would warn you, fair readers.

Thanks for reading. Let me know your thoughts.

C-

Le Cénacle

This blog is inspired by the 19^th century intellectual group called “Le Cénacle.” The primary purpose of Le Cénacle was to revive the old monarchial spirit, the spirit of mediaeval mystery, spiritual submission in French literature. It first formed around the Deschampes brothers and their Muse Française. Le Cénacle first formed around the Deschamps brothers and their Muse Française. Emile Deschamps translated Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet, wrote some libretti, and produced two plays. Antoni Deschamps wrote the first known literary work inspired by absinthe: Adversus Absynthium, 1847. In 1827 the Cénacle moved to Victor Hugo’s house in the rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs. Over the years memebership included Alfred de Vigny, Alfred de Musset, Prosper Mérimée, Dumas Pere, Victor Hugo, Alphonse de Lamartine, Sainte-Beuve, Théophile Gautier*, Gérard de Nerval* , Petrus Borel*. (These last three were more bohemian Romantics and were known as the Petit Cénacle.) The response that surrounded Hugo’s Hernani (1830) was overwhelming and ended the battle of the Romantics which ceased the conventions of Classicism.

So now that you’ve had your history lesson for the day, let’s talk about why I’m really here. I’ve been blogging/journaling for years, and it’s high time I start writing something consequential as opposed to my normal quibbling. Frankly, the world does not care about my views on the latest celebrity sex scandal, or the lack of sex or scandal in my own life. And truthfully, what’s to say you care about anything I have to say? Well, the fact that you read through a history lesson about a group of intellectuals during the French Romantic period and you’re still reading is a decent indicator that you’re willing to hear me out.

Excuse me while I digress to the matter at hand: why I am writing. I have ideas and thoughts. And presently I have few outlets in which to discuss said thoughts and ideas. I’m a master’s student studying arts administration in a Midwestern city, and over the past nine months I’ve discovered that my opinions are worth less than nothing. They’re almost a toxic asset (Ha! Look at me apply the little accounting knowledge I have.). Too bad I don’t get a bailout. That doesn’t mean what I have to say isn’t important. It just provides evidence against the true ideals of academia. Why have discussion based classes when a professor renders any opinions other than his/her own as moot? It seems to defeat the purpose.

So much for an elevator speech… My Intro professor would be so disappointed. At least she’d approve of the mission, or at least I hope she would. You never can tell with her.

The mission of Le Cénacle is to create an open forum for discussion of both socially relevant and irrelevant topics. I encourage discussion, and dissenting opinions are welcome. I can’t guarantee this blog will be life changing or that everything I post will have any meaning to you. The mission allows for a wide range of topics to be discussed, spanning anywhere from opera to cooking to fly-fishing, to sweat shops in Malaysia. As they say, the world is my oyster. I plan on making a pearl with it.