Nonprofit Management Case Collection

NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT CASE COLLECTION

SEATTLE OPERA: COMING OF AGE*

Mahmoud Salem

University of San Francisco College of Professional Studies Institute for Nonprofit Organization Management 2130 Fulton Street San Francisco, CA 94117-1047

CS-0021

SEATTLE OPERA: COMING OF AGE*

Mahmoud Salem

Case Abstract

From 1966-1971 the Seattle Opera carved its identity. During those years, Seattle Opera walked a tight rope between the requirements of artistic excellence and those of administrative efficiency and financial stability, all of which are needed to build overall organizational legitimacy. This case illustrates the nature of that challenge, the methods of addressing it, and the critical importance of leadership credibility in facing it.

*To use this case more effectively, it is recommended that the class start with the case entitled "Seattle Opera: The Formative Years" (Item No. CS-0020-S-SP-92).

PLEASE NOTE: The material contained in this case does not necessarily represent actual people or conditions.

SEATTLE OPERA: COMING OF AGE

On July 29, 1967, only three years after its inception, a letter was sent to many local organizations declaring that Seattle Opera had come of age (see Illustration 1). It was almost boasting, for the young company had actually left its mark with phenomenal speed. By the end of this short period, Seattle Opera had become a nationally recognized company. Glynn Ross, its general director, too, had acquired wide acclaim and was subject to national honor. Locally, the company has become a well-accepted organization.

This period was generally characterized by a high degree of innovation, experimentation, expansion, and extremely active promotional efforts. The company attracted an intensive wave of national publicity. It was the period in which Seattle Opera carved its image.

The Third Season: 1966-1967. During this season, "Opera in English" was first introduced to the Seattle audience at popular prices. While three performances of each production were presented in the international language, one performance was presented in English, opening opera to all those who were held back by the problem of language. On its first page, the Christian Science Monitor referred to this innovation on the inception of the "National Series,

That night only, using the same sets, costumes, chorus, and orchestra, General Director Glynn Ross will insert a different conductor, and a different cast singing in a different tongue--English.

This cost-cutting production could result in an annual subscription series that would raise the curtain on opera regularly for young people, families, and opera-in-English lovers.

The concept lifts the curtain, too, on new opportunities for rising opera talent.

Performers for Seattle's one-night, pop-price English performance will be drawn from the casts of the New York City, San Francisco, and Chicago Lyric Opera companies.1

The four productions presented that year were Barber of Seville, Cavalleria-Rusticana and I Pagliacci, Turandot, and Lakme. The highest-paid opera singer at the time, Joan Sutherland, performed her first Lakme, bringing acclaim both to herself and to the opera company. Famous Metropolitan Opera tenor, Giovanni Martinelli, at the age of eight-one, was persuaded by Glynn Ross to play the role of the emperor in Puccini's Turandot. It was his last opera appearance--another first and a great draw for Seattle Opera. Also, Igor Stravinsky, eighty-five, was invited out of retirement that season to conduct his Histoire du Soldat. Again, this was a very clever publicity-getter. Commenting on these publicity-oriented activities, a leading member of Seattle Opera said, "We build into many of our productions features that are suitable for promotion and publicity. We do that at the time of selecting the production."2

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In that same year, innovation was extended to set design. Saul Steinberg, whose metaphysical satirical cartoons appeared in the New Yorker, devised the sets for Histoire du Soldat, and a Jesuit priest, Reverend L.E. Lubbers, created junk sculpture to be used in the Seattle Teen Fair as well as in the coming year's production of Fidelio. These efforts attracted notices from Variety, the New York Times, Times Magazine, and the Christian Science Monitor.

The audience expanded and the subscription list increased by 1,710. Ticket income grew by $114,349, as did government support by $56,261—two important indications of mounting local and national support.

The Fourth Season: 1967-1968. Seattle Opera was in full swing. The hiring of four work-study students from the University of Washington was to affect the image of Seattle Opera for years to come. These so-called "whiz-kids" formed a creative "think-tank" for the opera. They were behind many of the promotional ideas that distinctly characterized this, including buttons on lapels declaring "Opera Lives," bumper stickers shouting "Bravo, Opera," as well as sky-writing, street banners, and art billboards. Even on the side of a rock band's van, a Seattle Opera poster assured passersby that "Opera is Alive and Well in Seattle."

Speaking the language of the times, one student came up with this catchy advertisement for a production: "What is La Boheme? Four old-time hippies in an attic. Lots of sounds, sights, emotions. Yeah, even sickness and yeah, love-sickness. La Boheme is one of the few real old-time happenings." Another advertisement referred to the tale of "Two kids in real trouble, real trouble with their families--Romeo and Juliet."

During the fourth season, a front-page article in the Wall Street Journal3 highlighted these activities by the Seattle Opera. Glynn Ross claimed that the appearance of such an article and similar ones was not accidental, rather it was the result of careful planning on the part of the organization.

The significance of these activities was that they helped shape the image of Seattle Opera and its productions as being relevant to the times, youth-oriented, and non-snobbish. That year about fifteen hundred young people purchased season tickets, and the company had its highest subscription list ever: 11,300.

The season featured Othello, Romeo and Juliet, The Crucible, Fidelio, and Don Giovanni. Among the most famous stars who performed was Franco Corelli who sang Romeo. It was in this year that Seattle Opera also initiated its National Artist Series, becoming the only opera company besides the Metropolitan to put singers on an annual salary. According to the Seattle Opera, the program was ". . . designed to give young American singers with developing national reputations the opportunity to get out of the job-hunting rat-race and to devote themselves for at least a year to serious study and preparation."

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With national acclaim coming to the Seattle Opera, local recognition was correspondingly on the rise. Commenting on the year's productions, Wayne Johnson of the Seattle Times, said that "there was not a single clinker in Seattle Opera's 1967-1968 season."4 Local editorials praised the young company in the Seattle Times and the Everett Herald. Seattle Magazine called Glynn Ross the "Hip Huckster of Grand Opera" in a long article focusing on him and the company. Furthermore, Glynn Ross was himself invited to write articles for local as well as national newspapers and magazines.

The Fifth Season: 1968-1969. This season offered four international and one national English performance of each of five productions, Aida, Andrea Chenier, Der Rosenkavalier, Tosca, and L'Elisir D'Amore. However, the most remarkable accomplishment of this season was the multimedia production of "The Lively Arts." The show, designed for school children, combined sculpture, dance, film, musical theater, as well as "psychedelic lighting" in a number of works such as Mantra, The Tempest, and The Eggs. More than forty-eight thousand students were exposed to "The Lively Arts" in public schools in and around Seattle. The multimedia program received substantial recognition. Locally, the Tacoma News Tribune noted, "The hour-long program . . . showed students that the performing arts can be fun."5 The Seattle Times added, "The idea behind 'The Lively Arts' program is a happy one, namely, to give the students a bright, up-beat sampling of various art forms--music, dance, and musical theater. The Opera Association has assembled an impressive array of local talent for the show and has mounted the production with considerable skill and professional expertise."6 On the national level, both Raymond Ericson of the New York Times and Kimmis Hendrick of the Christian Science Monitor highlighted the program in articles entitled respectively "Seattle Goes Psychedelic" and "Seattle Opera: A Musical Uprising." Furthermore, the Metropolitan Opera News did a large feature story on Seattle Opera, using a full-page, caption, "Opera is Alive and Well in Seattle." An article by the local U.P.I. representative, "Opera--Hippest Scene in Town," was also carried by several newspapers throughout the United States. Finally, Craft Horizon did a large article on the new forms of opera in Seattle.

The Seattle Opera initiated its "Market Spreading Plan" that same year through the implementation of a touring program. A Tosca production was offered in Spokane, Washington, and Missoula, Montana. (On tour, the Seattle Opera usually provided the sets, costumes, technical crew, and the leading singers, while the local community provided the orchestra and the chorus.) The touring program, as well as the children's programs, was an example of Seattle Opera's efforts towards a greater diffusion of the art form.

By the end of the season, it had become increasingly clear that the main goal of Seattle Opera was to bring about national recognition, through innovation in all possible areas such as eye-catching publicity and attention-getting productions. It was equally clear that progress towards that goal was to be made in terms of "relevance" and "communication," the most important youthful ideals of the time. Glynn Ross called for

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Bridging the gap between the generations—between the Opera House and Eagle Auditorium (site of rock and light shows)—with representations that are meaningful to young people and that utilize the new concepts in theater arts.

In addition to national recognition, Seattle Opera was beginning to enjoy a feeling of indispensability in the community, and not just from an artistic point of view. In June 1969, Wayne Johnson of the Seattle Times referring to this point said, "Anyone who thinks the Opera's effect on Seattle is limited to artistic matters should run those figures through his mind again. Any business that turns almost $800,000 a year is also an important economic factor in the community."

The Sixth Season: 1969-1970. This was opera's most experimental programming season since its inception. It proved, however, to be also its worst season, especially in terms of traditional measures of success. Ticket income decreased by $48,827 and total attendance dropped to 47,000. The latter was a decrease of 11,750 or 62 percent of the potential capacity— the lowest percentage ever and representing a 20 percent decrease from the previous season. The number of subscribers also decreased to 8600 or 21 percent of the total for the previous season.

In the mean time, Seattle experienced one of the nation's highest unemployment rates, the result of a general economic slump caused primarily by gigantic cutbacks in the aerospace industry. Residents left the state at the rate of several thousands each month.7 Seattle Opera, a part of the community, could not avoid being affected by this economic reality.

A more direct reason for the decline in attendance, however, was to be found in the programming for that year: Die Fledermaus, Turandot, Of Mice and Men, La Forza del Destino, and Salome. A leading figure of Seattle Opera explained,

We had no popular operas, and no box office stars but Birgit Nilsson. This was the first time we deviated from Glynn Ross's formula of one and a half star operas and one and a half popular operas per season. It was a rather experimental season. We started it by presenting the German Die Fledermaus, totally in English which apparently turned many people off. Then we repeated Turandot, which we had just presented only two years ago. We did that because it was the only way to get Birgit Nilsson to perform for us. Then we presented the world premier of a totally new work Of Mice and Men, of which many people were skeptical. It turned out to be an overwhelming success and brought us a lot of national acclaim. Actually this was one of our best seasons artistically, although it didn't turn out as well at the box office. Yet, in many ways, it was responsible for our great box office success in the coming year which turned out to be our best year. Many people apparently affected by the national publicity generated, especially from Of Mice and Men, were afraid to miss out on the 1970-1971 season, too.8

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Yet a board member of this period took a different view. He reminisced about the change in strategy.

It was the tendency of Glynn Ross in the preceding season, 1968-1969 to produce publicity-seeking shows oriented to the hippies that resulted in the 1969-1970 season's disaster.

Who wants to see a rock band under the name of opera? My God, they were producing Stravinsky with a rock band!

What do you expect? A company that is supposed to produce the most classic and elegant of art forms, was prostituting itself for the hippies, in the name of relevance. All to get some publicity. Hippies get more publicity than straights, you know. And Glynn knew that.

So we got publicity, we got a few more students in the audience, a little over a thousand in 1968-1969. And we got our worst season in 1969-1970. We lost well over two thousand subscribers. In the final analysis, Seattle Opera lost.

That is why Glynn was forced again to return to "sensible" programming and have a 1970-1971 season of "real opera." And, of course, it paid off. We had our best year.9

Another knowledgeable insider and witness to this period agreed, saying that the attempt to attract a student audience the previous season had been ill-conceived.

Many of those who were lost in the 1969-1970 season were students who were lured into subscription by phony publicity. They didn't like what they saw, or rather what they made believe they would see, left disenchanted, and never returned again.

In a sense, it was similar to churches trying to attract youth by giving rock concerts, a fad that soon loses momentum. In Seattle Opera, whatever youth they attracted in the 1968-1969 season, they were in essence cheating, by showing them things that are not opera and telling them this is opera.

Just how long could this go on? Eventually, the kids saw opera as it is. They couldn't find that claimed-to-be-link between a psychedelic show like Mantra, and a classic opera like Tosca.

It's fake advertising. That is what it is. That's the way I see it. And you can go only that far with this cosmetics-commercials mentality.10

Despite the conflicting interpretations of the 1969-1970 season's eclipse, there seemed to have been general agreement on these points: Salem--Coming of Age Page 6

1. It was an experimental season to a large degree. 2. It was characterized by innovation in various areas as was the preceding season. 3. It attracted national publicity and recognition. 4. It was the prelude to Seattle Opera's best year since its inception, 1970-1971.

Beyond the regular season, Seattle Opera continued its touring program. Its La Boheme was made part of the regular subscription series of the Spokane Symphony Society. The touring programs furthered the Seattle Opera's identification with its "bringing opera to the people" theme. It also furthered Seattle Opera's claim of being an asset to the community, the "community" being redefined in broader terms to include the state of Washington and often the whole Pacific Northwest. A local journal, Northwest Explorer, referred to the 1969-1970 Spokane tour this way:

Normally, in this country, opera is produced in only large metropolitan areas. When a city of lesser magnitude is favored with a performance, it is usually by a self-contained touring opera company. The production of Tosca, in Spokane was the first time that a well-established metropolitan opera company had combined with local organizations to create a production that was as much a product of the local community as of the opera company.11

The local identification was carefully maintained by Seattle Opera despite its growing national eminence. The reason, in part, was repeated many times by Glynn Ross.

If we were to abandon that identification at this time, we'd lose a great asset. For it is our sprouting in Seattle that makes us all the more surprising. Nobody expected it. Seeing us in this relative light gives us a decisive advantage, say, against a new opera company in New York, where the resources and the limelight are.12

Not only was Seattle Opera distinguished because it survived in a relatively obscure city, but "Seattle" was becoming increasingly identified with the company. "Opera Flourishing in the Fourth City" was a title of a major Los Angeles Times article that reflected this point. The reference in the article was to New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle, the four cities where what were considered the leading opera companies at that time existed.

By this time local-national identification was closely interconnected, with the organization's prestige growing simultaneously both ways. The National Artists' Program exemplified this phenomenon. It was designed to benefit local singers, to decrease the company's dependency on "imported" stars, and to attract local grants. Yet, it was soon to have a positive impact nationally. Not only did it attract national publicity and funding, but some of its stars were soon to be contracted by the Metropolitan Opera and other prestigious companies in the United States and Europe, bringing greater artistic legitimacy to Seattle Opera. Salem--Coming of Age Page 7

An example, in reverse, was the Seattle Opera's initiation of O.P.E.R.A. AMERICA in 1971, an organization of opera directors in the United States designed to give opera a national voice and greater artistic and administrative efficiency. On the one hand, this was the first major act of leadership over other opera companies that Seattle Opera had undertaken. On the other hand, it brought cost-savings to Seattle Opera locally and greater freedom of repertoire choice through cooperation with the other companies. This meant greater and more flexible exposure to opera repertoire by the Seattle audience. It also meant growing eminence for Seattle Opera relative to other art organizations in town. This, in turn, attracted more funds and volunteers and thus helped ensure the company's legitimacy and survival.

Largely because of the company's experimentation and innovation, reports on Seattle Opera as an organization, by principal critics of principal cities increased dramatically ( Schonberg's "Out in Seattle Opera Lives" in the New York Times and "High Marks for Seattle Opera" in the San Francisco Chronicle). In addition, articles appeared in Dallas, Houston, Toronto, and even in Germany. Moreover, the Metropolitan Opera News of September, 1969, devoted its entire issue to Seattle Opera, making only the second such tribute to an opera company in the publication's history.

The Seventh Season: 1970-1971. The 1970-1971 season signaled a return to conservative programming, but it did not signal an end to innovative and bold programming. Actually, it included both types of programming and the combination garnered even greater national acclaim. Indeed, a season that boasted both Joan Sutherland and the rock group, The Who, was inevitably an astute publicity-getter. The season proved to be a landmark in the history of Seattle Opera. While the Metropolitan was losing attendance, Seattle Opera's attendance increased 139 percent over that of the previous season. This explosion, in a traditionally slow-growing art form was all the more noticeable because of the continuing economic difficulty of Seattle at that particular period.

Seattle, at the moment is having trouble. Its economy is closely allied with the Boeing plant, and Boeing is suffering from cutbacks. The rate of unemployment in Seattle is much higher than the national average. Yet, people continue to support the opera, money comes in, and Ross is not crying poor.13

During this season, four international, one national performance and a student matinee of each of five productions were offered. They were Madame Butterfly, Tales of Hoffman, Marriage of Figaro, Don Carlos, and Carmen. The season also featured a host of popular stars, in addition to Sutherland and The Who, including Norman Treigle, Jean Fenn, and Marcella Reale. Twenty-five performances of the staged premiere of the rock opera Tommy were presented.

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Efforts to reach out into the community accelerated this season. Calvary premiered in a Bellevue, Washington church. Amahl and the Night Visitors was performed in Shelton, Washington. An open-to-the-public performance of Carmen took place after the regular season through the support of the City of Seattle. Ten performances of a children's opera were staged with the cooperation of Seattle Junior Programs and the University of Washington. Moreover, eleven performances of a small, multi-media work were presented. Lastly, twenty-four performances of another multi-media work premiered under the auspices of the Washington State Cultural Enrichment Program.

Some organizational developments. As Seattle Opera acquired greater legitimacy locally and nationally, Glynn Ross's credibility was growing fast locally and nationally. With this came a shift of power from the board to him, with the board gradually abandoning involvement in operational details. This happened partly because of growing trust in Glynn Ross, growing isolation of his adversaries on the board and, thus, growing freedom for him to act. One board member summed it up, "you can't argue with success." Another member conceded that Ross was more capable than the board from a professional point of view. "Frankly, we couldn't keep up with Glynn. He insisted on running the organization as a professional company. Amateurism of many board members could not match either his professional knowledge or standards. We just had to go along."

On the financial side, a board member reflected, "this is where we could have caught him off balance, but he never allowed us to. He always came up with accurate projections and balanced budgets. Even when things were pretty bad in the 1969-1970 season, he was already diverting our attention to the impressive projections of 1970-1971."

In terms of organizational size, the company inevitably grew over this five-year period, yet it kept the number of its full-time employees at a minimum (see organization charts 1966-1971, illustrations 2-6). They were augmented by part-time employees, contract employees for special activities, and volunteers.

In 1970, the computer was introduced to Seattle Opera, bringing some improvement to its ticket operations and lessening the complex burdens of the volunteer corps who maintained this important function previously.

Indeed, the Seattle Opera had come of age. The national recognition accomplished through this period was to enhance the organizational prestige of Seattle Opera nationally and locally. It was to increase its ability to attract top performers, financial contribution, and invitations to perform elsewhere.

Locally, more and varied audiences, as well as funds were attracted to opera and in fact to other performing arts. A letter from a contributor to Seattle Opera, who refers to opera in Seattle as a religion, illustrates its local impact (see Illustration 7). The opera company became a Salem--Coming of Age Page 9 strong cultural force in the community, and Glynn Ross became a major cultural figure. Both seemed to have become indispensable assets to the city of Seattle.

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ILLUSTRATION 1

July 20, 1967

G. Nielson, President United Steel Workers of America Local No. 1208 3856 23rd S.W. Seattle, Wash. 98106

Dear Mr. Nielson,

As you probably already know from the local and national coverage the Seattle Opera Association has received, we are coming of age. In the past year international quality opera was seen locally by 62,000 adults and 29,000 school children.

These audiences enjoyed what they saw and heard. This attendance is an indication of the interest in opera which we have developed in the Pacific Northwest.

An entirely new cultural contribution has been created in this region by a dynamic, professional company.

Many firms, both large and small, have made their contribution to the quality of life here in Seattle through the Opera, as is clearly indicated in the enclosed program.

We would like very much to hear from you regarding your position on culturally oriented projects within your community. May we make an application to you as we have to other responsible organizations?

We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely yours,

Mr. Glynn Ross Director

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ILLUSTRATION 7

James C. Pierce 1000 Logan Building Seattle, Washington 98101

October 1, 1971

Mr. Glynn Ross Seattle Opera Association 158 Thomas Street Seattle, Washington

Dear Glynn:

Enclosed is a contribution to the Seattle Opera Association in the amount of $250 from the Colman Charity Fund. This is a family trust that, in the past, has restricted its donations to religious organizations; however, I have convinced the other family members that in Seattle, opera is also a religion, and am hopeful that we can enlarge the donation substantially in the years to come.

Best regards.

Sincerely yours,

James C. Pierce

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ENDNOTES

1. Christian Science Monitor, September 12, 1966. 2. Interview with the author, 1973. 3. Wall Street Journal, April 16, 1968. 4. Seattle Times, June 28, 1968. 5. Tacoma News Tribune, October 25, 1968. 6. Seattle Times, October 23, 1968. 7. Northwest Explorer, Winter: 1969-1970. 8. Interview with the author, 1973. 9. Interview with the author, 1973. 10. Interview with the author, 1973. 11. Seattle Post-Intelligence, June 3, 1970. 12. Interview with the author (1973). 13. From a speech to the annual meeting of Seattle Opera on June 6, 1973. Salem--Coming of Age Page 18

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Assume that you are the general director of the Seattle Opera for the years 1969-1971, what goals would you set for those years? What would your strategic plan look like?

2. Assume that you were invited to design the Seattle Opera program for the years 1969-1971, what criteria would you set for selecting the productions, the "Star Mix," the intended audiences, and the promotional strategy?

3. In what ways would you see similarities or differences in the characterization of this period of Seattle Opera development as "Coming of Age," to the life cycle of a human being? How can you use that metaphor to enhance your understanding, your implementation strategy, and your overall managing of the Seattle Opera?

Mahmoud Salem President Center for Organizational Synergy Uniondale, New York