CommentSept06 - Page: 1 of 1

We heard from a reader recently who argued that one of our Commentaries was unnecessarily harsh on a small opera company which, it was reported, cancelled two of its shows because of low ticket sales, high production costs, and the unfamiliarity of the operas chosen.

We attributed the slow ticket sales to the company’s decision to select two operas that were less known to the public than others.

On almost all counts we were right. On the first three, we simply reported what a local paper had written, based on its conversation with a spokesperson for the company. We attributed the bad selection, however, to a possible lack of concern of the artistic staff for the audience’s tastes and advised, accordingly, that this was always a risky route to follow. The remainder of our Commentary was an effort to help smaller companies by reminding everyone how important audience tastes are to a successful production.

On that final and fourth point we may have been wrong and, as was pointed out to us, had we called the company in question we would have learned that from the company’s perspective, at least, lack of concern was not the case at all. In fact, we were told the company routinely polls its audience members to ask what they would like to see performed. In the case we wrote about, a decision was made to perform two other operas on a last minute basis because the opera that was originally chosen was performed by another company just prior, and that that performance drew from the same audience base.

We apologize to Rogue Opera for making the leap in our February, 2006 Commentary” “Ten things a company can do to minimize failures and please its audience.” Based on what Rogue Opera has told us, audience preferences are uppermost in the minds of the staff. In the case we wrote about, scheduling didn’t give the company much leeway. As for lack of concern for what the audience might like, that, apparently, wasn’t the case at all here.

We sometimes take for granted the hard work and service opera companies provide in their programs aimed at reaching out to new, younger audiences, especially the educational outreach so many companies provide to our schools. It’s not an easy undertaking – but one that is desperately needed now.

When I was a young boy opera was always close – even though I didn’t know it. And it wasn’t just close to me; it was close to every young boy and girl who enjoyed Saturday morning and pre-show movie matinee cartoons that we eagerly anticipated. Opera saturated a child’s environment. I’m not certain it was a conscious effort on behalf of studios -- maybe it was just that opera provided the musical complexity that something as simple as a children’s cartoon needed for the wild chases or special zany moments that would befuddle a songwriter actually trying to write a score for them. Whatever the reason, the music was there in abundance and it formed a subconscious base that triggered a comfortable familiarization with it the older we got and heard it in a different context.

I wonder how many children today have that same experience. I haven’t heard much in the way of music in any of the electronic games young people play. And from the cartoons I have seen, the music has sort of morphed into a kind of mechanized series of sounds made to emphasize the effect of blood gushing. How sad.

Opera, as we knew it as children, is gone from that place where it once enjoyed relative dominance, and the outreach programs companies now engage in are, in many cases, the only chance young people will get to know what it is they are listening to. OperaOnline.us has called in the past for the opera community, as a whole, to rally around this cause and add to its standard fare, something that can be adopted nationally, that will also reach out to young people, in a forum young people are most comfortable with – video.

I saw an example of how effective this can be when attending a recent “Bose” radio promotional show in a local mall store. The video, ostensibly meant to demonstrate to the audience the “Bose” radio sound, in addition to a series of inspirational images of young people excelling in their various pursuits (gymnastics, dance), used as a backup score Puccini’s aria “Nessun Dorma” from “Turandot.” It was quite moving and very effective, and for many in the younger audience who watch this promotional tool, no doubt, it may have been the first they heard anything like it. We need more of that. The full sound of some of the most musically pleasing and best of opera, seen and heard in a context that tells a story that interests younger people, can be a potent supplement to the piano recitals that demonstrate vocal skill, but can leave many others dry.

Recently Julie Bosman, writing for the New York Times, noted the Met's increasing interest in going outside the box to attract a new audience while maintaining the one it presently has. It's a subject we have written about often here. Bosman noted the difficulty of the Met's task, writing, "marketing opera to a wider audience, particularly a younger one, is likely to be a challenging task." Here at OperaOnline.us we think differently. We think its a fairly simple task, and one that is incredibly untapped. May we suggest to Mr. Gelb that he visit a "Bose" store and ask to see their promotional video. With his background he will likely uderstand perfectly clearly what needs to be done.

When touring or trying to attract younger audiences every tool in the opera kit should be used to attract interest. It just makes sense to focus on young, fit singers performing pleasing arias. But equally important, the medium of video is another ally that may be overlooked, even though it could be one of the strongest employed. If you want to get young people to attend and try opera, reach out to them in a forum they understand -- and for now, at least, that forum may not be the front doors of an opera house; it might be, instead, a five minute video shown at the begining of a popular movie. It can be done; it should be done.