The New York City Opera (NYCO) recently announced it had filed for bankruptcy. The mayor of New York, Fiorello LaGuardia at the time of its opening in 1944 had seen the institution as being "the people's opera."
According to the NYCO website, it boasted an ambitious mandate, but one that appeared achievable and practical:
"Many innovations that define New York City Opera’s identity and mission—promoting accessibility through the use of supertitles, prioritizing affordable ticket prices, nurturing young American artists, championing 20th-century opera and American works, and presenting groundbreaking productions."
So where did it all go wrong, if they tried to appeal to the average person or more specifically, to the middle class? Staging productions of Bluebeard's Castle and Anna Nicole (based on the late Anna Nicole Smith's life), made opera contemporary and relevant again. What can't be ignored and this was addressed by the World Socialist Website, is that the funding of operatic institutions heavily depends on the philanthropy of the wealthy and upper class.
If the wealthy had to choose, which they did, they would rather support productions promoting the heavyweights of opera - Verdi, Puccini, Mozart among others. Even the behaviour of tourists should be examined. If you had 3 days in New York, you would likely hit the more popular sites - The Empire State Building, the MOMA, Statue of Liberty, a Broadway Show...and if you had a three hour window, the Metropolitan Opera. Don't get me wrong, I don't think the big players should monopolize the time of every tourist. There is something to be said about going off the beaten path and discovering something new or different. It's too bad the NYCO is no longer one of them.
According to the NYCO website, it boasted an ambitious mandate, but one that appeared achievable and practical:
"Many innovations that define New York City Opera’s identity and mission—promoting accessibility through the use of supertitles, prioritizing affordable ticket prices, nurturing young American artists, championing 20th-century opera and American works, and presenting groundbreaking productions."
So where did it all go wrong, if they tried to appeal to the average person or more specifically, to the middle class? Staging productions of Bluebeard's Castle and Anna Nicole (based on the late Anna Nicole Smith's life), made opera contemporary and relevant again. What can't be ignored and this was addressed by the World Socialist Website, is that the funding of operatic institutions heavily depends on the philanthropy of the wealthy and upper class.
If the wealthy had to choose, which they did, they would rather support productions promoting the heavyweights of opera - Verdi, Puccini, Mozart among others. Even the behaviour of tourists should be examined. If you had 3 days in New York, you would likely hit the more popular sites - The Empire State Building, the MOMA, Statue of Liberty, a Broadway Show...and if you had a three hour window, the Metropolitan Opera. Don't get me wrong, I don't think the big players should monopolize the time of every tourist. There is something to be said about going off the beaten path and discovering something new or different. It's too bad the NYCO is no longer one of them.
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