Board of Directors Winter Meeting January 25 – 27, 2007 The Helmsley Park Lane New York, New York
FINAL SCHEDULE Thursday, January 25 (Note: Thursday meeting will take place at the Park Lane Hotel) • 2:00pm to 5:00pm – National Advisory Council Working Group (closed meeting) • Evening Performances
Friday, January 26 (Note: Friday meetings will take place at the Park Lane Hotel) • 1:30pm to 3:30pm - Artistic Services Committee • 3:30pm to 5:30pm - Meeting of the Information Services Committee • Evening Performances
Saturday, January 27 (Note: Saturday meetings will take place at the Park Lane Hotel) • 8:30 to 9:30 - Finance Committee • 9:30 to 10:30 – Membership Committee • 10:30 to 11:30 - Governance Committee • 11:30 to 4:30 - Board of Directors Meeting (lunch will be served at 1:00 pm) • 6:00pm to 7:30pm – Board of Directors reception, hosted by Dr. Frayda Lindemann (The Sherry-Netherland, 781 Fifth Avenue at 59th Street) • Evening Performances
Hotel Unless otherwise noted, all meetings will take place at The Helmsley Park Lane Hotel New York (36 Central Park South, New York, NY 10019, T: 212-371-4000, F: 212-750-7279).
Performance Tickets If you ordered tickets, they will be distributed at the Committee/Board meetings.
Attire Meetings of the Board of Directors are business casual. The Board of Director’s Reception Saturday evening is business attire.
Spring Board Meeting The Spring Board meeting will be held in Miami April 24-25, during Opera Conference 2007. Mark your calendars!
OPERA AMERICA BOARD COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS (as of December 22, 2006)
NAME Artistic Info/Online Governance Finance Membership Services Services David Baile X X Patricia Beggs X X Susan Danis (Secretary) X CHAIR Brian Dickie X Anne Ewers CHAIR X Catherine French X Anthony Freud CHAIR X Peter Gelb (Vice Chairman) X David Gockley X Dennis Hanthorn X X Speight Jenkins (Vice Chairman) X X Libby Larsen X Barbara Leirvik X Frayda Lindemann X X David McIntosh (Treasurer) X CHAIR Charles MacKay EX EX EX EX EX (Chairman) OFFICIO OFFICIO OFFICIO OFFICIO OFFICIO Christopher Mattaliano X Janice Mayer X X Erie Mills X X Allen Moyer X Peter Russell X X Marc Scorca EX EX EX EX EX (President/CEO) OFFICIO OFFICIO OFFICIO OFFICIO OFFICIO Karen Stone X X Robert Swedberg X X Diane Wondisford (Vice Chairman) CHAIR
MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS January 25 – 27, 2007 The Helmsley Park Lane New York, New York
AGENDA
I. Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of October 1, 2006 Tab 1
II. Report of the Chairman Tab 2 Report of the President Discussion Topic: New Efforts to Reach New Audiences
III. Finance Report Tab 3
IV. Committee Reports Tab 4 • Governance • Membership • Artistic Services • Information/Online Services
V. Other Reports Tab 5 • Education • External Affairs • Government Affairs • Information Technologies • Marketing/Public Affairs
VI. Other Business
VII. Next Meetings Tab 6
VIII. Adjournment
MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING SUNDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2006 THE FAIRMONT CHICAGO CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
Board Members Present: David Baile, Patricia Beggs, Patricia Compton, Susan Danis, Brian Dickie, Anne Ewers, Catherine French, Anthony Freud, Speight Jenkins, Barbara Leirvik, Frayda Lindemann, Charles MacKay, Janice Mayer, David McIntosh, Erie Mills, William Powers, Karen Stone, Diane Wondisford.
Board Members Absent: Peter Gelb, David Gockley, Dennis Hanthorn, Libby Larsen, Christopher Mattaliano, Allen Moyer, Peter Russell, Robert Swedberg.
Staff Present: Marc A. Scorca, Debra Harrison, Diana Hossack, Peter McDowell, Kelley Rourke, Amy Smitherman, Kevin Sobczyk, and Waddy Tompson.
By Invitation: Micheline McKay (Opera.ca)
Charles MacKay opened the meeting by welcoming everyone to Chicago. He introduced new member, Frayda Lindemann, and expressed his pleasure at having another opera trustee on the Board. He also introduced Anthony Freud, well known to many Board members as the former Chairman of Opera Europa. Charles congratulated Anthony on his appointment as General Director of Houston Grand Opera and wished him success in his new position.
Charles thanked Brian Dickie for welcoming OPERA America to his adopted city and Bill Mason, in absentia, for hosting such a lovely Board dinner at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
I. Approval of the Minutes of the meeting of the meeting of May 3, 2006. The Minutes were approved unanimously.
II. Finance Report Charles explained that the order of the agenda would be changed to accommodate the early departure of OPERA America treasurer, David McIntosh. David summarized the meeting of the Finance Committee. The audit has been completed and documents that Fiscal Year 2006 ended with a modest surplus. The very early 2007 projections indicate another balanced budget. Certain expenses will be higher than anticipated, but at this point it appears that other expenses will be reduced to compensate. Revenue targets remain the same.
In terms of the reports, Committee members are in agreement that the finance reports for the Board can be simplified. The Committee will continue to review detailed reports, but a simple summary of variances and clear projections should be enough for Board members to understand OPERA America’s financial position. Committee members also
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asked for the introduction of a few charts that examine key operating indicators over several years. This will enable Board members to assess long-term trends in OPERA America’s revenue and expenses.
The Investment Advisory Committee will be convened in order to review and assess the performance of OPERA America’s Opera Fund endowment. A report will be made at the next Board meeting. The Opera Center endowment is invested with the same managers and according to the same guidelines.
In terms of the Opera Center, members of the Finance Committee reviewed a first draft of a project and operating budget that accompanies the early fundraising proposals that are currently in development.
Charles thanked David for his report and asked for a motion to accept the Finance Report. A motion was made, seconded, and the report was accepted unanimously.
III. Report of the Chairman Charles commented on the amount of new and experimental activity being undertaken to build audiences. He noted a collective consciousness about the need to do something different. He expressed his hope to hear more from members during the meeting about the innovative activity they are implementing at their companies and their reactions to experiments being conducted elsewhere. Charles asked Marc to present the Report of the President.
Report of the President Marc informed the Board that since the last Board meeting, Debra Harrison and Diana Hossack announced they are leaving OPERA America. Debra has accepted the position of General Manager of Arizona Opera – where she has already begun working. Diana has enrolled in an executive M.B.A. program in Phoenix and will leave OPERA America in mid- November. Marc introduced Amy Smitherman and Peter McDowell, the new Director of Finance and Operations and new Director of Programs, respectively. Marc continued with an announcement that Waddy Thompson, OPERA America’s Director of External Affairs since the relocation to New York in December, will be leaving for an exciting new job in New York. A search is under way for his successor.
Members of the staff made a presentation about numerous OPERA America services that illustrated the number and geographic distribution of opera companies that have participated in these services.
Marc introduced a rudimentary repertoire analysis tool that was developed over the summer by an intern. The report consolidates the entire repertoire of North American professional opera companies over a ten year period and assigns a ranking to each opera based on the rarity of productions. The tool allows for a comparative analysis among seasons and among opera companies in terms of the works that have been produced. There was extensive discussion about the increasing challenge in selling tickets to operas other than the most well-known.
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Kevin Sobczyk introduced and demonstrated OPERA America’s new enterprise level database, Opera Source, and explained the benefits to members that emerge from this new service. He emphasized the capacity of the new database as well as the technical and logistical demands on the staff to complete the project. Diana Hossack described the steps that will be taken to populate the new database with the most current information from our member organizations, beginning with the data contained in OPERA America’s Career Guide for Singers.
Charles asked if any other arts service organizations have gone to this level of sophistication. Marc explained that other associations have advanced different pieces of data management in similar ways. Some, for example, enable members to complete the equivalent of the Professional Opera Survey online. Anthony Freud explained that the Opera Europa database permits members to update their own records. The system is not geared to serve individual members or affiliate members. A challenge associated with the new database is habituating members to updating their own records.
Charles asked whether data entry is a tremendous upcoming burden. Kevin explained that we have begun the database with records from other sources. These records are not absolutely up-to-date, however, so member participation is essential. Debra explained that the work for members will be no greater than in the past when they filled out surveys and returned them to OPERA America via mail, fax, or email. Kevin responded to a question from Brian Dickie and explained that more data, such as production and performance dates, will be entered by members at a future date when new parts of the system have been completed.
Janice Mayer asked whether Affiliate and Business member information is included in the database. Kevin explained that at the moment, Opera Source has career training information. It is not yet ready to be used as a general member look-up. Brian Dickie asked about the accuracy of information in Opera Base. Marc explained that OPERA America no longer supplies information, although Mike Gibb is able to secure most of the information on his own. Opera America’s new password protection system opens the possibility of increased sharing of information with Opera Europa.
Charles commended Kevin and the staff on their hard work and expressed his eagerness to use the new Opera Source database.
IV. Discussion Topic: New Efforts to Reach New Audiences Charles referenced his opening remarks about the level of inventiveness and experimentation across the field – from new ticket pricing to revamped subscription offers that breathe new life into Danny Newman’s honored philosophies. Companies are now producing plazacasts, digital transmissions, and open houses. He asked members of the Board to share information about any new strategies or technologies they are using to enrich the opera-going experience and develop new audiences. Marc noted that this new level of experimentation appears to be in reaction to the realization that the decline in attendance after 9/11 was not a cyclical decline, but rather a larger systemic change in the way people participate in entertainment activities.
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There was extended discussion about audience attraction to new activities and the value of digital transmissions as a 21st Century extension of the Met’s radio broadcasts. Everyone agreed that the live performance experience can never be duplicated. Indeed, engaging with other people at a performance may help to counterbalance the isolation that comes from being tied to computers. Diane Wondisford mentioned the need to consider innovations like podcasts as part of audience enrichment activities. A lot of ancillary activities are well attended, but participants do not necessarily emerge as ticket buyers. Frayda Lindemann stressed the importance of follow-up activities with people who have been attracted to one-time events like the digital transmission of the Met’s opening night performance to Times Square. Diane Wondisford described the special and exciting quality of the Times Square event. No one had details on the Met’s new program to transmit performances in high definition to movie theaters across the country. Erie Mills stressed the need to include education activities in order to help people move from these special events to regular performances.
V. Committee Reports A. Governance Committee Anne Ewers presented the Governance Report. She recapped the purpose of the National Trustee Council, thanked Board members who have nominated members to this important group, and invited other Board members with an interest in designating a Trustee to participate to contact Marc.
The National Advisory Council is the next group OPERA America will form in January. A pool of candidates for the Council has already been approved by the Board. Marc will select from this group to constitute the first Council. Members of the Advisory Council will provide OPERA America with insight into the field from different perspectives than are represented on the Board of Directors. Issues they identify for discussion and suggestions for programs will be reviewed by the Board.
The OPERA America Board will have at least five openings for new members in the spring. Several Board members are required by the by-laws to rotate off the Board, in addition to the retirement of Trish Compton from Opera North next month (October). Recommendations of the Governance Committee will be brought forward at the spring Board meeting.
B. Membership Committee Susan Danis presented the Membership Report. Referring back to Kevin’s presentation about Opera Source, Susan summarized the benefits to individual members, especially singers, and explained the challenges in transferring our membership services to an electronic format. Marketing of Opera Source will begin in January. No recruitment has taken place this fall in anticipation of the introduction of Opera Source, although renewals have proceeded according to schedule. Concurrently with the development of Opera Source membership benefits have been simplified.
Light Opera of Oklahoma submitted an application for Professional Company membership. The company meets OPERA America’s requirements. The Committee
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recommends the acceptance of the application. A motion to accept Light Opera of Oklahoma was made, seconded, and approved unanimously.
There was an extended discussion about the emergence of a number of smaller opera companies in cities that have a major opera company. Marc noted that most cities have numerous dance companies and theater companies, but that opera companies generally have had a “monopoly” position. Some of these smaller companies have specific niches in terms of repertoire, venues, language of performance, and other criteria. Karen Stone noted that some of these smaller companies perform standard repertoire, but at a lower level of quality. While multiple opera companies may help to build audiences, productions of poor quality may leave new attendees with a negative impression of opera. This topic will be featured in a session at the Annual Conference in Miami where, coincidentally, a new small company, Miami Lyric Opera, is performing.
Opera.ca Report Micheline McKay and David Baile presented a report on Opera.ca. Micheline described the work of the Canadian Arts Coalition and their effort to secure a major infusion of federal money into the Canada Council. Once secured, the focus will turn to working with Canada Council to determine strategies for awarding this money to arts organizations.
Raising endowment support and/or additional long-term support for the Canadian Opera Creation Program/Canadian Opera Fund is a high priority. Awards from the Canadian Opera Fund will be lower this year since Canada Council has not awarded additional annual support for the program.
The annual meeting of Opera.ca will take place in Toronto in February.
C. Artistic Services Diane Wondisford presented the Artistic Services report. She reported that we have received a record number of Opera Fund applications within the audience development category. OPERA America has received a grant of $10,000 from the City of New York to support a series of job training seminars for artists who are currently working in, or would like to work in, the opera field. There will be two evening seminars each month through the winter with specific topics. Panelists will be drawn from the rich expertise available in New York.
OPERA America staff have been working to track the audition dates and locations of members who come to New York in the fall to hear singers. Visitors will be welcomed and invited to see the OPERA America office. If there are enough visitors in New York at any one time, OPERA America will organize one or two receptions. In all cases, OPERA America staff will bring membership enrollment information to auditions for distribution to singers.
Opera Source was also a focus of discussion for the Artistic Services Committee. This new database will advance a core commitment of the committee to encourage the career development of aspiring artists.
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D. Information/Online Services Anthony Freud led the report of the Information/Online Services Committee. After speaking about Opera Source, the committee focused on several important topics. Staff have developed plans for a complete redesign of Opera America’s Newsline. The new magazine will be a quarterly and will be launched in the fall of 2007. With the increased volume of information being delivered electronically, the magazine will focus on more thoughtful articles that are not time-sensitive. Staff have suggested that the name of the new magazine be, Opera America, which the committee felt was a very good suggestion. Kelley Rourke reported on improvements to the Season Schedule database and progress in the establishment of a score library in the OPERA America office. In this regard, listening equipment has been purchased and all Opera Fund applicants have been asked to submit copies of the scores of the operas being created. Kelley also reported on a relationship between OPERA America and Princeton University’s CPANDA project through which many of the old Central Opera Service publications are being digitized. These electronic files will be available to the public through CPANDA and will be used by OPERA America staff.
VI. Other Reports Charles asked members of the Board if there were questions about any of the other reports in the Board book.
Marc reported on plans for the European Opera Days conference being co-sponsored by Opera Europa. The meeting takes place February 16, 17 and 18 in Paris. More information is contained in the Board book. Several OPERA America members will attend.
VII. Other Business Marc made a presentation to Diana Hossack on the occasion of her official departure from OPERA America. After more than ten years of service to the organization, Diana is moving to Phoenix where where is already enrolled in an Executive M.B.A. program. Marc praised Diana for establishing the Singer Services Program and other artistic programs, for her stewardship of the Annual Conference, and for her leadership as Managing Director in recent years. Marc reiterated his words of congratulatinos to Debra Harrison who already has commenced her work at Arizona Opera as General Manager.
Micheline McKay and David Baile made a presentation to Debra and Diana in recognition of their service to Opera.ca members.
VIII. Next Meetings The next meetings of the Board of Directors take place in New York (January 25 to 27) and in Miami (April 24 and 25) in conjunction with the Annual Conference.
IX. Adjourment After Charles reviewed the details of the Board Dinner being hosted by OPERA America at the Cliffdwellers Club, he called for a motion to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 4:30pm. I/October 1, 2006 Board Minutes 6
News “Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD” Makes its Debut
Marks Debut with Sold-Out Movie Theaters Across U.S., Canada, Europe, and Japan. Met’s new English-language production of The Magic Flute will be transmitted live to global theater audience of 30,000; encore broadcast scheduled at 70 movie theaters in the U.S. on January 23.
New York, NY (December 30, 2006)—This holiday season, music lovers all over the world will experience the spectacle of live opera in their hometown movie theaters with the Metropolitan Opera’s transmission of its new English-language production of The Magic Flute on Saturday, December 30. The Magic Flute is the first broadcast of “Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD,” a groundbreaking series of opera performances to be transmitted live, in high-definition, into movie theaters in North America, Europe and Japan. Playing in approximately 150 movie theaters around the world, and in two large Kabuki theaters in Japan, the Flute broadcast is anticipated to reach a global audience of nearly 30,000 people. Prior to the transmission, 48 of the 60 theaters in the United States were sold out, not including walk-up sales today.
Future live transmissions from the Met are Bellini’s I Puritani starring Anna Netrebko (January 6), Tan Dun’s The First Emperor starring Plácido Domingo (January 13), Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin starring Renée Fleming and Dmitri Hvorostovsky (February 24), Rossini’s The Barber of Seville starring Juan Diego Flórez, Joyce DiDonato, and Peter Mattei (March 24), and Puccini’s Il Trittico featuring a stellar ensemble cast (April 28).
“This is an historic moment for us,” said Peter Gelb, the Met’s General Manager. “We’re harnessing digital technology to make the spectacle of live grand opera more broadly available. It’s part of the Met’s new efforts to propel opera back into the mainstream.”
A proven box office success, The Magic Flute is estimated to approach a total audience capacity of over 90% today, averaged across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Norway, and Japan. Distributed in the U.S. by National CineMedia, 48 out of 60 theaters sold out for the matinee broadcast, including venues in Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Miami and Washington, D.C. (12,200 tickets; 82% total capacity).
“We are thrilled that opera fans have responded so positively to this new concept. Tickets for the other operas in the series are selling at a good pace as well, and in fact there are already several sold-out locations for the January 6th performance of I Puritani,” said Tom Galley, National CineMedia’s chief operations and technology officer.
Distributed in the United Kingdom by City Screen, all 7 participating theaters sold out (1,569 tickets; 100% total capacity). Distributed in Canada by Cineplex Entertainment, 6 out of 28 Canadian theaters were sold out in advance of the transmission (4,200 tickets; 50% total capacity). In Norway, The World Opera Project sold out its historic World Theatre in Tromsø (220 tickets; 100% total capacity).
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In Japan, Shochiku Co. is presenting The Magic Flute in Tokyo’s Kabuki-za kabuki theater and Kyoto’s Minami-za kabuki theaters, with a combined capacity of 3,500 on a delayed basis on December 31, New Year’s Eve, because of the 14-hour time difference between New York and Tokyo.
National CineMedia has announced an encore broadcast of The Magic Flute on January 23 in over 70 movie theaters nationwide. Danish cinema partner Nordisk Film will present taped performances of the entire series in theaters in Copenhagen and Aarhus, beginning January 7. New U.S. cinema partner, Emerging Pictures, will present taped performances of the entire series in select markets, including Tucson, AZ; Lincoln, NE; Key West, FL; and Martha’s Vineyard, MA. For more information on ticket sales for all participating venues, please visit http://www.metoperafamily.org/hdlive.
As the series progresses, additional theaters will be added. By the time The First Emperor is transmitted on Saturday, January 13, “Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD” will have the potential to reach over 40,000 audience members around the world per transmission.
“Although nothing is comparable to being at the Met for a live performance, these larger-than- life big-screen transmissions provide an alternative experience for our national and international constituency,” said Mr. Gelb, noting that it will be possible for approximately 250,000 people to attend the movie theater version of live opera during the course of the season, significantly extending the Met’s live audience.
The movie-theater initiative is made possible by new technology and is dependent upon movie theaters that have recently been outfitted with high-definition projection systems and satellite reception dishes. High definition provides a detailed image that is roughly equivalent to film.
Inside the Met, ten high-definition cameras are situated in various positions, including backstage, capturing the spectacle of the live performances and the behind-the-scenes action, including live dressing room interviews. Utilizing Dolby surround-sound, the high-definition images are transmitted into the digitally equipped movie theaters via five signals routed through four satellites, rivaling the logistics of a major sporting event broadcast.
“I have been told that large opera houses do not take chances,” added Niels Windfeld Lund from The World Opera. “I am also told that nothing really great could happen as far north as Tromsø, Norway. Our partnership with the MET disproves these claims, and I am excited to be a part of this adventurous project."
Each of the high-definition transmissions are also being broadcast live over the Toll Brothers- Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network and in the U.S. on “Metropolitan Opera Radio on Sirius,” the Met’s new 24-hour satellite radio channel broadcasting live and rare historical performances. The Met’s radio audience totals more than 2.5 million listeners in North America, and millions more abroad. Following a thirty-day period, a recorded version of these performances will be presented on television in the U.S. by Thirteen/WNET New York’s Great Performances on PBS beginning in January 2007.
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About the Met’s cinema partners
National CineMedia, LLC is a venture of AMC Entertainment Inc., Cinemark USA, Inc. and Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC), three of the world's leading theatrical exhibition companies. The company develops pre-feature entertainment; cinema and lobby advertising products; comprehensive meeting and event services; and alternative forms of entertainment content for distribution across the approximately 13,000 screens operated by its owner theater circuits and other theater affiliates. Over 11,000 of these screens are part of NCM’s Digital Content Network (DCN), one of the world's largest in-theater digital distribution networks. The network provides content and advertising to 150 U.S. markets, including 49 of the top 50, reaching an estimated 525 million movie patrons annually. For additional information, please go to www.ncm.com or www.BigScreenConcerts.com.
Cineplex Entertainment LP owns, leases, or has a joint venture interest in 132 theaters with 1,309 screens and is the largest motion picture exhibitor in Canada. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, the Partnership operates theaters with the following six top-tier brands: Cineplex Odeon, Galaxy and Famous Players (including Coliseum, Colossus and SilverCity). Proudly Canadian, the units of Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund, which owns approximately 59.7% of Cineplex Entertainment LP, are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund (symbol CGX.UN). More information can be found at www.cineplex.com.
City Screen is the UK's leading independent exhibitor and fourth largest operator with a network of 18 'Picturehouse'-branded cinemas in major university cities across the country. With a strong presence in London, and a further 20 cinemas under contract for programming services and marketing support, City Screen leads the arthouse cinema market. City Screen strongly believes in digital technology as a means to modernise and diversify programming. In October 2006 the company became the first exhibitor in Europe to deploy a live HD satellite network across its entire circuit, and has already successfully undertaken live event and other alternative digital programming across the chain. Visit www.picturehouses.co.uk for more details.
Founded in 1895 and starting off with Kabuki theaters, Shochiku now has established itself as a leading motion picture/theater producer, distributor, and exhibitor. Shochiku have produced Yasujiro Ozu, Hiroshi Shimizu, Keisuke Kinoshita, Kenji Mizoguchi, Akira Kurosawa, Nagisa Ohshima, Takeshi Kitano, and keeps on introducing many talented directors inside and outside of Japan. Recent productions include "The Twilight Samurai" by Yoji Yamada, which was presented in competition at the 53rd Berlin International Film Festival and was also nominated for the 76th Academy Award as Best Foreign Language Film. Shochiku also acts in the Japanese film industry as an active independent distributor, and as for the exhibition side, Shochiku holds five theater lines, encompassing all of Japan. It holds its own video label and distribution system, and is involved in TV production. In 2003, Shochiku focuses on Yasujiro Ozu's 100th anniversary of his birth, having special screenings and retrospectives around the world.
The World Opera, anchored in Tromsø, Norway, being the Northernmost Opera house in the world—300 miles above the Arctic Circle, is planned to be a full scale opera house with a special explorative approach, thus being a space where traditions for how to do things within opera as a whole will be challenged through own opera productions and distribution of other opera productions in cooperation with other opera houses around the world, all in order to keep the question open about how to make an opera in the best way, as a fruitful challenge for realizing it in 3 different ways all using modern technology: on site physical workshops in different places around the world; virtual workshops with people placed in different places yet connected to each II/Reaching New Audiences 3
other working on joint opera productions; and full performances on site in Tromsø and other places in the world as well as creating a virtual worldwide opera house.
Nordisk Film is the leading producer and distributor of electronic entertainment in the Nordic region and employs 1200 people in the four countries. Nordisk Film incorporates all parts of the value chain of the electronic entertainment world: development, production, marketing and distribution. On the threshold of our 100th anniversary, Nordisk Film is well on its way to becoming the creative powerhouse of the Nordic region. Our chain of cinemas is highly profiled, strategically located to cover all major cities in Denmark, and has state-of-the-art equipment throughout. Nordisk Film Cinemas consist of sixteen modern cinemas in Denmark - and one in Norway - with a total of 110 screens and more than 16.716 seats. Approximately every second cinema ticket in Denmark is sold by Nordisk Film Cinemas. Nordisk Film is part of Egmont, one of Scandinavia’s leading media groups.
Emerging Pictures is a filmed entertainment company for the digital age. Representing the fusion of independent film methodology and the latest digital technology, Emerging Pictures will be a major supplier of original content to traditional media outlets and a pioneer in aggregating content for future delivery systems, including its own network of digital theaters that are being created inside of existing arts institutions—Emerging Cinemas. The use of digital technologies creates cost efficiencies in distribution and exhibition that will enable Emerging Cinema outlets to present specialized content such as international film festival presentations, first run independent/international films, high definition productions of concerts, operas, live theater, documentaries, as well as children's programming and other educational programs.
About the Met
Under the leadership of new General Manager Peter Gelb, the Met has launched many initiatives to connect the company with a larger audience. They include: a first-ever free Open House that offered the public an opportunity to attend the final dress rehearsal of Madama Butterfly; an extensive Madama Butterfly transit advertising campaign in New York City during the month of September; $15 tickets (formerly $26) in the Family Circle section; the new Agnes Varis and Karl Leichtman Rush Ticket program that offers 200 orchestra seats deeply discounted to $20 for weekday performances, available at the box office two hours before curtain; the new Arnold and Marie Schwartz Gallery Met exhibiting contemporary art; a groundbreaking commissioning program in partnership with the Lincoln Center Theater that provides renowned composers and playwrights the resources to create and develop new works at the Met and Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater; and dynamic new content on the web site, the house program, and the Saturday matinee radio broadcasts heard over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network.
The Met recently announced the use of advanced distribution platforms and state-of-the-art technology to attract new audiences and reach millions of opera fans around the world. On September 25, “Metropolitan Opera Radio on Sirius” launched as a 24-hour satellite radio channel broadcasting live and rare historical performances. The Met presents free live streaming of performances from its website once every week with support from RealNetworks®.
Press Release courtesy of The Metropolitan Opera website.
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Mozart, Now Singing At a Theater Near You By Campbell Robertson; Nick Bunkley Contributed Reporting From Livonia, Mich.; Kyle Whitmire From Huntsville, Ala.; Libby Sander From Lincolnshire, Ill.; And Michael Parrish From Burbank, Calif. The New York Times (Published: January 1, 2007)
In movie theaters across the United States on Saturday, people did an odd thing during the main attraction: They clapped. They clapped between scenes and when certain characters left the screen.
''I did at the beginning too,'' said Walter Perron, 88, a retired chemist who was at the Walter Reade Theater in Manhattan. ''And then I thought: Who am I clapping for?''
But habits die hard. The show was a live broadcast, in high definition, of Mozart's ''Magic Flute'' at the Metropolitan Opera, the first of six productions to be broadcast from the Met through April.
''The Magic Flute'' played at 100 theaters, most of them scattered throughout the United States and Canada, with seven in Britain, two in Japan and one in Norway. Though the box office receipts are not all in yet, the broadcasts seemed to be a success, with an average audience capacity of 90 percent, the Met's press office said. Forty-eight of the 60 American theaters were sold out in advance, including those in Boston; Phoenix; Louisville, Ky.; Pittsburgh; and New Brunswick, N.J. Six of the 28 Canadian theaters were sold out, as were all of the locations showing it in Britain, as well as the theater in Norway.
The production selected first for broadcast was in many ways the surest bet. The director Julie Taymor's take on ''The Magic Flute'' played to sold-out houses when it was initially presented at the Metropolitan Opera in 2004. To capitalize on that success, the Met, under Ms. Taymor's guidance, fashioned a 100-minute version in English (down from three hours in German) as a more child-friendly production. Did the broadcasts, as envisioned, attract people new to opera? Hard to say. Interviews at several theaters around the country suggest that the average viewer was already familiar with opera, if not an aficionado. But none of the viewers had had the chance to munch on popcorn at a local cinema in the presence of a live, Met-level performance of the aria ''Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön.''
''This is a good opportunity to see opera without a lot of stress,'' said Erika Homann, who was at a sold-out theater in Livonia, Mich., just outside Detroit, with her husband, their 8-year-old son, 5-year-old daughter and 11-year-old niece.
Audiences tended to be middle-aged or older, though many parents, like Ms. Homann, brought young children. Several viewers said that they had attended productions by local opera companies but had never gone to the Met, which was a plane ride, hotel and $100-plus ticket away. These performances cost $18 a person.
''I have been dying to go to the Met for years,'' said Leighanne Duaro, 47, of Hazel Green, Ala., who was at a theater in nearby Huntsville with her two children, ages 18 and 22, and her sister. ''This is the closest thing you can get to going to the Met, to see the production and not be there.''
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The broadcasts did not all go off without a hitch. A theater in Jacksonville, Fla., canceled the showing because of technical problems. Viewers in Lincolnshire, Ill., a suburb of Chicago, had to move at the last minute to another screen in the theater complex.
The broadcast in Burbank, Calif., was plagued with stops and starts, sound problems and, at one point, a screen going completely blank. But though an usher offered refunds, most of the audience stayed to the end, making jokes whenever another glitch occurred and cheering during the curtain calls.
''I think it was just the most incredible thing I've ever experienced,'' said Shawnet Sweets, 45, who works in the box office of the Los Angeles Opera. ''Even with the technical difficulties it was O.K., because that happens in live productions. There's always a mishap.''
There is a difference between seeing opera onstage and on screen, several attendees said. The camera chose the viewpoints and often closed in on a particular character rather than panning to show the whole scene.
''One thing I wished I could have seen more of was how the sets worked,'' said Martha Edwards, 63, who was at the theater in Lincolnshire.
But even those who had nits to pick were quick to add that they enjoyed the show and were planning to buy tickets to future broadcasts. (''The Magic Flute'' will be rebroadcast, though not live; also on the schedule are Bellini's ''I Puritani,'' Tan Dun's ''First Emperor,'' Tchaikovsky's ''Eugene Onegin,'' Rossini's ''Barber of Seville'' and Puccini's ''Trittico.'')
Some viewers even questioned why the Met hadn't tried this already, praising the idea and lamenting the dwindling audience for opera. Few put it better than William T. Robinson III, a 66-year-old retired music teacher, at the theater in Huntsville.
''If you go to many classical performances, you see that a lot of them are senior citizens, baldheaded and white,'' said Mr. Robinson, who is black and was wearing a hat. ''I think there is a need to create a new audience and get more minorities to come to these kind of activities.
''Otherwise,'' he added, ''how are you going to get to the Metropolitan Opera from way down here in Huntsville, Alabama?''
Article courtesy of The New York Times website.
II/Reaching New Audiences 6
Hot-Selling Met Broadcasts May Shake Up Opera Daring Move May Inspire, Limit Smaller Companies
By Pierre Ruhe The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Published on: 01/06/2007)
With last Saturday's "Magic Flute," the Metropolitan Opera's "Live in High Definition" series is up and running and, after one show, appears to be a nationwide hit — with local implications for the lyric art.
Today's live broadcast of Bellini's "I Puritani" looks likely to sell out in the two participating theaters in metro Atlanta. You can almost imagine a coming-attractions ad of the future: "Nothing goes with a bel canto tale of politics, love and madness among English Puritans like a bucket of popcorn and a liter of Coke."
And the big picture? The Met's bold initiative — six select operas, performed live in New York and simultaneously beamed into high-definition movie theaters across the country — raises so many possibilities, it's tough to know where to start.
Although these Met broadcasts have been characterized as "good for opera lovers everywhere," it's a Darwinian rule that an individual acts on his or her own behalf rather than for the good of the species. In other words, what's good for the Met isn't necessarily good for opera as a genre.
Atlanta has a bitter history with the Met invading its home turf and stealing its local opera fans and funding. A century ago, when the Met first visited the South on tour, it was boosting its own finances and reputation and, yes, planting seeds of interest in a region that didn't have the socioeconomic infrastructure to nurture homegrown opera.
In time, however, smaller local troupes, including what's now called Atlanta Opera, struggled to grow under the broad, dark shade of the Met's annual tours. In this winner-take-all system, the New York titan was cashing in.
Only after those Met tours ended, in the mid-1980s, could a local Atlanta company hope to attract the crowds and raise enough money to put on viable opera.
Throughout most of the 20th century, the Met administrators and artists could congratulate themselves on bringing opera to the poor hicks out in the cultural wilderness — which, by one definition, is a city without an impressive opera company. High-minded charity, like prophesies, can be self-fulfilling.
So have times changed? The Met is the only opera company in America that could pull off these "Live in HD" broadcasts — in terms of balancing artistry, star power, financial muscle, genuine audience interest and media buzz. (Last week's "Magic Flute" sold out the two participating theaters in suburban Atlanta; 48 of the 60 U.S. theaters carrying the screening sold out, according to the Met.)
On the plus side, will seeing Met productions (the good ones, anyway) push regional opera companies, like Atlanta's, to improve their own game? Better singers, more creative productions, more compelling theater? I can imagine an opera patron who sees Julie Taymor's wickedly
II/Reaching New Audiences 7
imaginative costumes for the Met's "Magic Flute" and comes to expect that level of artistry from all opera companies. A good consumer is an informed consumer.
In a way, it seems the Met is always doing the spadework for our local opera. The Met performed in the Fox Theatre and Atlanta Civic Center before the Atlanta Opera moved in. Now the Met's "Live in HD" series is being broadcast into suburban movie theaters (the required technology is typically available only in newly built multiplexes) just as the Atlanta Opera is planning its fall move from the civic center to the suburban Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.
What's the upshot? Will more people buy tickets for Atlanta Opera shows after getting a taste of "Live in HD" — a springtime flood of new patrons? Will some prefer to catch a few Met movie- theater shows each season, on a laid-back Saturday afternoon, and make that their primary opera fix for the year?
More broadly, will the unforgiving cameras of high-definition broadcasts reward good looks over heavenly voices and thus erode opera's greatest glory? (This might be happening already: The Met's season-opener, "Madama Butterfly," was broadcast on the Jumbotrons at Times Square and starred a soprano who looked the part of the waifish geisha but who lacked the required vocal stamina; for this week's HD broadcast of "I Puritani," Russian glamour girl Anna Netrebko will certainly keep everyone's eyes on her, but can she deliver the tragic heroine's lyric coloratura?)
Any consequences, for good and bad, likely won't be immediately apparent. But it seems pretty clear that with last Saturday's "Magic Flute," we stepped through some kind of portal certain to influence opera's future. Where will it lead?
I Puritani "Live in HD" broadcast at 1:30 p.m. by the Metropolitan Opera, starring soprano Anna Netrebko. Regal Hollywood 24 (3265 N.E. Expressway Access, Chamblee; 770-936-5737); Discover Mills 18 (5900 Sugarloaf Parkway, Lawrenceville; 678-847-9265). More information: www.fathomevents.com
Article courtesy of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution website.
II/Reaching New Audiences 8 Board of Director's Meeting
January 27, 2007
Finance and Operations Report
Finance Documents Balance Sheet Revenue/Expense Projection Revenue Budget Projections Expense Budget Projections Budget Revisions Notes
Graphs Professional Company Member Dues Other Membership Categories Conference Income/Expense Conference Income
Investment Report State Street Global Advisors December Statement
III/Finance & Operations 1 Finance and Operations Report January 2007
Operations
Water Damage On Saturday, January 13, a staff member entered the office to find it “raining inside”. The maintenance staff of the building discovered a toilet on the 17th floor had broken and overflowed.
OPERA America’s server room/copier room, kitchen, library and women’s bathroom are damaged. So far, the loss has been four computer monitors, half of the library bookshelves, the carpeting, the copier, and several boxes of publications. We photographed the damage for our insurance claim. It will be necessary to rebuild several walls due to concerns about mold. Insurance adjusters and restoration specialists are still investigating the damage. On Thursday, January 18, an insurance adjustor from Travelers inspected the damage and measured the area to begin the repairs. The new copier was installed Monday, January 22. Eddie, OPERA America’s librarian, is researching new library grade shelving units.
Information Resources and Systems OPERA America is into the last stages of the modernization of information resources. We have completed part two; the transition of our web site from an information disseminator to an interactive data processing tool. This past May, the company worked with Larry Larson & Associates to develop an enterprise database, Opera Source. (See IT report)
The final stage of the modernization of information resources will begin this summer with a conversion of our website to take advantage of new technologies. The upgrade will align our site with Microsoft’s new operating system VISTA.
OPERA America is in the process of replacing the printers in the office. We have already replaced one printer and will be replacing the other two, one by Q4 of FY07, the other in Q1 of FY08.
All server related hardware is performing normally. The new hard drives and tape back up are functioning as expected.
Microsoft will be releasing a new business version of Windows named Vista in Q1 of ’07. OPERA America will NOT be upgrading to this version for at least one year. An evaluation period is required to see if the upgrade is justified and whether or not the new version will in any way benefit staff productivity. New hardware would be needed for
III/Finance & Operations 2 several staff members in order to run Vista due to the high system requirements that Microsoft has instituted.
A new version of Microsoft Office will be released in Q1 of ’07 as well. An evaluation period is necessary for this, but the requirements of moving the OPERA America offices to this new version will not be nearly as challenging. The upgrade is a minor one in comparison to Windows Vista. A decision and timetable for this will be in place by Q2 ’07.
Phone The current phone system, while being outdated, is functioning as expected. OPERA America is hopeful that it can hold out until the new Opera Center.
Finance
Investment Advisory Committee On December 11, the Investment Advisory Committee met with State Street Global Advisors at the OPERA America offices to review the current benchmarks for The Opera Fund and NY Opera Center endowment. The Opera Center endowment will mirror the benchmarks set for The Opera Fund endowment.
The committee decided to stay with a 60/40 split between Equities/REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) and Fixed Income/Cash. The committee decided to keep the current fixed asset benchmarks. The committee will review the bond market returns at the next meeting during the summer. The other fixed assets (TIPS and Cash) benchmarks will remain the same.
The Equities/REIT was the center of the discussion. In hope of maximizing returns, the committee decided to reduce the amount invested in Small Caps and increase the amount invested in international markets by five percent. The Large Cap percentage will remain the same. However, the committee will reevaluate this at the next meeting. The REIT Benchmark will remain the same.
Audit The situation with OPERA America’s audit firm continues to deteriorate. The most recent event was the delay in receiving the bound audits, causing delays in getting this information to foundations.
FY08 Budget OPERA America has begun the budget process for FY08. We are currently forecasting a 3% increase in expenses and a modest increase in income. If OPERA America needs to upgrade to Windows Vista, IT will require a larger than usual budget increase. The 2008
III/Finance & Operations 3 National Arts Convention is also presenting a challenge in budgeting since this will be the first united Convention.
FY07 Budget Changes The creation of Opera Source has resulted in a reallocation among budget lines. The most significant, in terms of the budget, is moving print publications to online databases. Funds that had been the budget for Career Guide for Singers, Audition Connection and Season Schedule are reallocated to Opera Source.
Income Foundation revenue for OPERA America is up 2.86% from the board-approved. We have been conservative in accounting for any additional foundation revenue. The only loss of revenue is the American Express grant. American Express is revising its philanthropic program in the arts. To be conservative, we have removed the revenue from the budget. We have received several new grants that have helped to offset of the loss of the America Express grant.
After looking at several prior years’ conference registration revenues, the budgeted amount was reduced.
As a result of these changes, income is projected to be down 1% from the approved FY07 budget.
Expenses Overall expenses are down by 2.38%. If we continue at this level, we should have a modest surplus by the end of the year. Lower expenses have occurred mainly due to staff transitions this year and are not a trend for the years to come. Increased expenses associated with the delayed transition of Newsline have been offset by the lower printing costs for all other publications that OPERA America produces.
III/Finance & Operations 4 Opera America Balance Sheet - Detailed YTD As of 12/31/2006
Beginning Year Prior Year Balance Current Year YTD % Change Assets Current Assets Cash & Cash Equivalents Cash 412,244 20,042 205,303 Certificates of Deposit 395,985 397,000 199,000 Money Market Account 254,585 261,913 251,081 PEW Research 157,318 160,303 113,701 NMLC 39,015 34,515 33,015 NPAC 2,879 27,290 12 Total Cash & Cash Equivalents 1,262,027 901,063 802,112 -10.98%
Accounts Receivable Member Dues Receivable 17,179 122,637 58,278 Accounts Receivable 258,199 212,349 118,171 A/R M!W!O! 37,411 0 0 A/R Hoiles NYC Relocation 250,000 625,000 250,000 Grants Receivable 18,795 183,437 94,869 Total Accounts Receivable 581,585 1,143,423 521,319 -54.41%
Investments Opera Fund 5,523,337 5,578,015 6,169,020 NYC Opera Center 0 246,737 330,598 Total Investments 5,523,337 5,824,752 6,499,618 11.59%
Inventory Other Assets 0 35,541 34,813 Total Inventory 0 35,541 34,813 -2.05%
Prepaid expenses Prepaid Expenses 50,718 54,214 14,229 Total Prepaid expenses 50,718 54,214 14,229 -73.75%
Total Current Assets 7,417,667 7,958,993 7,872,090 -1.09%
Furniture equipment and leasehold improvements Furniture & Equipment 46,023 66,522 52,021 Total Furniture equipment and 46,023 66,522 52,021 -21.80%
Other Assets Security Deposit 72,641 65,835 65,835 A/R Hoiles NYC Relocation 1,611,669 1,171,300 1,171,300 Total Other Assets 1,684,310 1,237,135 1,237,135 0.00%
Total Assets 9,148,000 9,262,650 9,161,247 -1.09%
Liabilities Accts Payable 97,959 155,334 28,282 Accrued Vacation 21,194 23,467 10,042 Grants Payable 168,413 168,492 140,992 Deferred Income 18,880 50,544 50,544 Fiscal Agent Liabilities 196,848 222,108 146,751 Total Liabilities 503,293 619,945 376,612 -39.25%
Net Assets Beginning Net Assets 8,848,270 8,692,706 8,692,706 Change in Net Assets (203,564) (50,000) 12,589 Total Net Assets 8,644,706 8,642,706 8,705,296 0.72%
Total Liabilities and Net Assets 9,148,000 9,312,650 9,081,908 -2.48% Opera America Revenue/Expense Projections As of 12/31/2006
REVENUE EXPENSES
Membership 780,000 Membership 291,488 General Operating 156,500 MRK/PR/GVT. Affairs 137,945 New York Relocation/Opera Center 434,820 Information Service 98,161 Corporate 125,000 Conferences/Meetings 322,357 Foundation 251,662 Publications 195,279 Government 103,000 Resource Development/Trustee 286,863 Opera Fund Income 259,742 Artistic Initiatives 333,150 Earned Income 323,000 Education 146,102 General/Finance 388,380 New York Relocation 154,109 Opera Source 75,342
2,433,724 2,429,176
SURPLUS/(DEFICIT) 4,548 Opera America Revenue Budget Projections As of 12/31/2006
FY 07 Dec. FY 07 Approved YTD % of FY 06 Actual Projection Budget Change note
Membership Professional Companies 643,191 640,000 635,000 13 International Companies 4,085 4,000 4,000 Affiliate/Business/Individual 113,225 136,000 136,000 760,501 780,000 775,000 0.65%
General Operating Annual Fund 119,470 150,000 150,000 Getty Foundation 6,500 6,500 6,500 New York Operating 426,000 434,820 449,820 16 551,970 591,320 606,320 -2.47%
Corporate Conference Sponsorships 57,490 60,000 60,000 TARGET - Opera World 15,000 55,000 35,000 11 Regional Workshop Sponsor (Kansas C 15,000 10,000 10,000 87,490 125,000 105,000 19.05%
Foundations HEARST - M!W!O! Assessment Grant 7,207 14,996 14,996 HEWLETT - Bay Area Initiative 35,000 35,000 35,000 MELLON - Technology Program 115,000 115,000 115,000 AMEX 35,215 0 25,000 17 PEW - Research Initiative 16,666 16,666 16,666 NY Artistic Programming Support 0 50,000 15,000 14 NY Special Events Support 0 10,000 20,000 18 Career Guide Grant 0 0 3,000 19 Opera Source Funding 0 10,000 0 15 209,088 251,662 244,662 2.86%
Government NEA - Organizational Capacity 100,000 95,000 95,000 NEA - Army Base Project 107,913 8,000 0 12 NEA - Cornerstones 11,125 219,038 103,000 95,000 8.42%
Earned Income Opera Fund Draw 218,634 259,742 259,742 Conference & Workshops 155,604 183,000 205,670 M!W!O! - Workshop Fees 9,976 15,000 20,000 Publication Sales, Advertising 22,641 15,000 28,000 20 National Performing Arts Convention 25,000 25,000 25,000 Consultations Fees 7,979 7,500 7,500 Interest Income 16,557 12,000 15,000 Ambassador Travel 20,355 65,000 100,000 21 Misc Income 36,152 500 0 512,898 582,742 660,912 -11.83%
TOTAL REVENUES 2,340,985 2,433,724 2,486,894 -2.14% Opera America Expense Budget Projections As of 12/31/2006 FY 07 Dec. FY 07 Approved YTD % of Projection Budget Change note
Membership Membership 291,488 291,488 0.00%
Public Relations/Marketing Public Affairs 92,939 92,939 Public Relations/Marketing 45,006 45,006 137,945 137,945 0.00%
Development Resource Development 271,873 283,567 1 Trustee/Volunteer Resource Center 14,990 14,991 286,863 298,557 -3.92%
Information Services Information Service 98,161 124,780 Publications 195,279 219,815 293,440 344,595 -14.85% 2-7
Education Education 83,421 74,064 Opera World 0 62,313 Opera Learning Ctr. 62,681 0 146,102 136,377 7.13% 9
Artistic Programs Artistic Initiatives 309,029 308,864 Singer Programs 0 79,746 Opera Source 75,342 0 Technical Production 24,121 22,178 408,492 410,788 -0.56%
Conferences Conferences and Workshops 322,357 305,808 5.41% 8,10
General Operating NY Relocation 154,109 154,108 Finance 147,602 160,699 1 General 240,778 247,941 542,489 562,748 -3.60%
Total Expenses 2,429,176 2,488,307 -2.38% Opera America Budget Revisions As of 12/31/2006 REDUCED EXPENSES Change 1 Reduction of salaries, due to staff transitions 24,886 2 Professional Company Directory Savings - The expense was reduced because of a savings in the printing and shipping 8,770 3 Annual Field Report - See above note 2 4,068 4 Technical Production Director - See above note 2 2,903 5 Professional Opera Survey - The expense was reduced because of a savings in the contractor fees 1,500 6 North America Works - See above note 2 1,799
TOTAL EXPENSE REDUCTIONS 43,926
ADDED EXPENSES Change 7 Delay reduction in issues of FY07 Newsline 18,659 8 Adjust Annual Conference 07 Expenses 2,035 9 Add GAV FY07 Expenses to Complete Project - See note 19 5,200 Consultant on AMGA and AFM Electronic Media 3,000 Register - This project was not included in the budget at the start of FY07 7,679 To create a new program to automate the Human Resources Survey 10,284 Advertising 1,376 Technical Production Department 1,528 Technical Production Workshop 415 10 Convention - All of these expenses will be reimbursed to Opera America, however this reimbursement may not occur until 16,548
TOTAL INCREASE EXPENSES 66,724
ADDED REVENUE Change 11 Increase Target to include $20,000 not used in FY06 20,000 12 Add GAV FY07 Revenues to Complete Project. 3. The NEA Great American Voices program will now wrap-up in FY07, increased expenses offset this increase in revenues. 8,000 13 Increase Company Member dues. We currently see a 1% increase in company member dues payments. 5,000 14 Received a larger grant for NY Artistic Programming Support 35,000 15 The Lissner Foundation grant for the support of Opera Source 10,000
TOTAL ADDED REVENUES 78,000
REDUCED REVENUES Change 16 Reduced NY Draw. We are conservatively budgeting that we will be able to reduce the NY draw by $15,000, due to the staff transitions 15,000 17 Removed the AMEX grant, due to AMEX program changes 25,000 18 Reduce NY Special Events funding. We received $10,000 from the Department of Cultural Affairs Special Events, we will not secure additional funding in FY07. 10,000 19 Removed Career Guide funding since the project has been absorbed by Opera Source 3,000 20 Reduced the publications sales since Career Guide for Singers in now Opera Source. Career Guide for Singers was Opera America's largest publication sale. 13,000 21 There were several cancellations in the Salzburg Ambassador Trip. 35,000
TOTAL REDUCED REVENUES 101,000 Professional Company Member dues
690000
670000
650000
630000
610000
590000
570000
550000 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Projected 2007 Other Membership Categories
200000
180000
160000
140000
120000
100000
80000
60000
40000
20000
0 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Projected 2007 Conference Income/Expense Including Sponsorships
350000
300000
250000
200000 Expense Income 150000
100000
50000
0 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Projected 2007 Conference Income
200000
180000
160000
140000
120000
Registration 100000 Exhibitors Sponsors
80000
60000
40000
20000
0 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Projected 2007
GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE REPORT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS JANUARY 2007
1. Nominating Report 2. National Advisory Council Working Group 3. National Trustee Council Report (Part 1 and Part 2) 4. National Opera Trustee Recognition Program Proposal
IV-A/Governance 1 NOMINATING REPORT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS The OPERA America by-laws allow for a Board of up to 27 members, including at least 18 General Directors and at least 6 members-at-large, including the President/CEO.
This year, several Board positions are open as a result of required rotations, retirements, and resignations, as follows:
• Patricia Compton has retired from Opera North, effective October 1, 2006. She has resigned from the OPERA America Board. • William Powers resigned from Berkshire Opera at the end of December, 2006 and has resigned from the OPERA America Board. • The OPERA America by-laws require rotation after the completion of two complete 3- year terms. Accordingly, Patty Beggs, Speight Jenkins, David McIntosh, and Janice Mayer are required to leave the Board at the end of April. • Susan Danis, Anne Ewers, Barbara Leirvik, and Erie Mills have completed one 3-year term and are eligible for renewal to a second 3-year term.
Assuming that the Board members who are eligible for renewal are willing to serve for another 3-year term, the OPERA America Board of Directors includes 14 General Directors and 6 Members-at-Large. At the Annual Business Meeting in April, we can elect between 4 and 6 General Directors and up to 2 Members-at-Large.
Current Board
1. Charles MacKay Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Level 2 2. Peter Gelb The Metropolitan Opera Level 1 3. Diane Wondisford Music Theatre Group Level 4 4. Susan Danis Sarasota Opera Level 2 5. David Baile Opera Atelier Level 3 6. Brian Dickie Chicago Opera Theater Level 3 7. Anne Ewers Utah Symphony and Opera Level 1 8. Catherine French Member-at-Large 9. Anthony Freud Houston Grand Opera Level 1 10. David Gockley San Francisco Opera Level 1 11. Dennis Hanthorn Atlanta Opera Level 2 12. Libby Larsen Member-at-Large 13. Barbara Leirvik Member-at-Large 14. Frayda Lindemann Member-at-Large 15. Christopher Mattaliano Portland Opera Level 2 16. Erie Mills Member-at-Large 17. Allen Moyer Member-at-Large 18. Peter Russell Opera Colorado Level 2 19. Karen Stone Dallas Opera Level 1 20. Robert Swedberg Orlando Opera Level 3 21. Marc A. Scorca President/CEO ex officio
IV-A/Governance 2
OFFICERS With the required rotation of Speight Jenkins and David McIntosh, OPERA America loses two officers, as follows:
• Chairman Charles MacKay Currently in the middle of a 2-year term that expires in 2008. • Vice Chairman Peter Gelb Eligible for election to another 1-year term. • Vice Chairman Diane Wondisford Eligible for election to another 1-year term. • Vice Chairman Open • Treasurer Open • Secretary Susan Danis Eligible for election to another 1-year term.
IV-A/Governance 3
January 9, 2007
TO: National Advisory Council Working Group
FR: Marc A. Scorca
RE: Meeting of January 25, 2007
Thank you for agreeing to participate in our exploratory discussion about establishing a National Advisory Council for OPERA America. This is to confirm that the meeting will take place on Thursday, January 25, 2006, from 2:00pm to 5:00pm at the Park Lane Hotel ( 36 Central Park South).
The meeting agenda will be structured to address two separate objectives:
1. Defining the dynamics of an effective National Advisory Council, including such questions as size, composition, frequency of meetings, and connection to the OPERA America Board, among others.
2. Beginning the list of subjects that should be discussed by such an Advisory Council. Indeed, the list of subjects to be discussed may have a bearing on the experts who are invited to join the Council as members, special guests, and/or presenters as well as on the format of meetings.
Several OPERA America Board members will attend the meeting to serve as links to the full Board which will meet on January 27. The discussion, including recommendations, will be summarized in a document that will be circulated to you before being distributed to the OPERA America Board in association with its spring meeting.
I look forward to hearing your suggestions and thank you in advance for helping to launch this new and important enhancement to OPERA America’s service to the field. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me at 212-796-8620, ext. 211 with any questions or suggestions you may have, or via e-mail at [email protected].
cc: Charles MacKay, Chairman Diane Wondisford, Vice Chairman
IV-A/Governance 4
NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL WORKING GROUP Meeting of January 25, 2007, 2:00pm to 5:00pm Park Lane Hotel, 36 Central Park South Participant List (as of January 9, 2007)
Alberta Arthurs, arts consultant T: 646-345-0049; E: [email protected] 329 West 108th Street, PHC Robert Marx, foundation director New York, NY 10025 Fan Fox & Leslie Samuels Foundation T: 212-865-4139; E: [email protected] 350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 4301 New York, NY 10118 Harolyn Blackwell, soprano T: 212-239-3030; E: [email protected] 780 West End Avenue, #8D New York, NY 10025 Diane Paulus, stage director T: 212-222-3341; E: [email protected] 535 West 110th Street, #8B New York, NY 10025 John Conklin, scenic designer and NYU T: 212-749-4619; E: [email protected] faculty 285 Riverside Drive Mikki Shepard, consultant New York, NY 10025 228 West 137th Street T: 212-865-7542; [email protected] New York, NY 10020 T: 212-281-4404; E: [email protected] Stan Davis, author and consultant 120 Seaver Street, #B301 Alec Treuhaft, artist manager Brookline, MA 02445 IMG Artists, LLC T: 617-232-1423; E: [email protected] Carnegie Hall Tower 152 West 57th Street, 5th Floor Robin Guarino, stage director and Juilliard New York, NY 10019 faculty T: 212-994-3500; [email protected] 327 Central Park West, #14E New York, NY 10025
From OPERA America
Charles MacKay, Chairman Diane Wondisford, Vice Chairman Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Music-Theatre Group 210 Hazel Avenue 30 West 26th Street, Ste. 1001 Saint Louis, MO 63119-7910 New York, NY 10010-2011 T: 314-961-0171; E: [email protected] T: 212-366-5260 x16; E: [email protected]
IV-A/Governance 5
REPORT OF THE MEETING OF THE NATIONAL TRUSTEE COUNCIL September 29-30, 2006 Chicago, Illinois
In September, members of the National Trustees Council met in conjunction with the OPERA America Board for the fall 2006 meeting. In its second year, fourteen trustees representing opera companies from all levels of the field gathered in Chicago. The Council’s purpose is to strengthen the leadership network among American opera trustees through formal discussions and informal exchange of best practices. Through the Council, OPERA America gains a deeper understanding of the crucial governance issues challenging the field of opera and ways in which the organization can respond to these issues.
Marc Scorca, President and CEO of OPERA America, opened the meeting with a review of the role of a Trustee as a guarantor of opera in a community and guardian of the public’s trust. The Board of Trustees often provides stability in times of change in artistic and management leadership and helps to maintain an appropriate balance between long-term planning and short- term action. The agenda of the meeting covered a wide range of Trustees’ responsibilities including discussion of the urgent issues facing opera as an art form and as a business, with focus on ways each trustee can strengthen board/staff relations and the performance of other board members.
A positive indication for the future of opera is rooted in its very nature as a multimedia art form, offering a visual and sensory spectacle in a multi-media world. A record number of applications to OPERA America’s Opera Fund in support of new works reflects another area of positive growth, as well as the near universal use of translation systems. Translation systems were a technological advance that dramatically changed the field of opera; what the next major technology advance that will be is an important unanswered question. Opera companies cannot offer the on-demand and free Internet access to performances that the public has come to expect in other forms of entertainment, although many companies are experimenting with new methods of reaching the public to develop new audiences.
Although surveys indicate general stability, each company faces challenges in some or many areas. In pre-meeting conversations there were three general areas of interest: • Board relations in three categories: relationships among board members; relationships with the general director, and relationships with other staff. • Identification of best practices in various areas, including short-term financial management, long-term endowment building, and strategic investment in important projects. • Specific goals and accomplishments of each trustee.
At the beginning of the meeting, facilitator David McIntosh asked Council members to share additional questions or the urgent issues for discussion at the meeting.
IV-A/Governance 6
Although a variety of governance issues, including trustee orientation, and roles and responsibilities were key topics, some general issues recurred during the two days of discussion, including: • Marketing, with emphasis on building audiences, retaining subscriptions, and developing a national opera “brand”, • Education, including balancing programs for the opera novice versus the veteran opera lover, opera in the schools, and young adult/professional opera “clubs”; • Long term financial stability and the potential of identifying new funding streams.
Other issues raised for discussion included: • How to implement a strategic plan and not allow it to just “sit on a shelf”? • What are ideal committee and board sizes and structures; what is the role of the Executive Committee? How does a company prepare for leadership succession at the Board level? How to recruit a balanced Board? How to maintain enthusiasm and loyalty among Board members? • Orientation of new board members. Who conducts the orientation? How are board members recruited? • How to insure long-term financial success? Strategies for endowments? New sources of funding other than special events? Do companies have and enforce minimum giving requirements? • Budgeting using a revenue-driven model versus a cost-driven budget? • How to best market the unique experience of seeing an opera? • Determining accountability between the board and the CEO? • How to retain valued trustees while rotating trustees? • New ideas in education? Online learning to educate audiences? Marc suggested that each of the above questions be considered in light of governance implications. He explained that it is easy for Board members to begin reaching into areas of management that are the responsibility of the paid staff.
He also noted that many introductory comments touched on an important point he has come to appreciate from his many visits to opera companies. Board members frequently make decisions – especially budget decisions -- without taking into account their personal role/responsibility in successfully accomplishing those plans. Board members have to understand the link between group decisions and personal action.
Board Orientation and Recruitment Intensive board orientation was seen as playing an important role in developing enthusiastic and dedicated board members. There were several ideas as to how to best accomplish successful orientation, such as assigning new board members with an experienced “mentor.” Samples of orientation materials were presented by Waddy Thompson of the OPERA America staff.
Clearly defining a board member’s roles and responsibilities in the course of recruitment was identified as an important precursor to effective orientation. Frequently, the details of service on an opera board are glossed over in the rush to secure the participation of a prospective board member. Being clear – with a written document – about board member responsibilities is important in establishing clarity from the beginning of a relationship.
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Similarly, it is important to be very honest with prospective candidates about the financial condition of the company. New board members can be alienated immediately if they are lured into service on a board with descriptions of exciting programs, only to be confronted with accumulated deficits and cash flow problems when they attend their first meeting. They same can be said of important management, staff, or volunteer leadership issues.
There was agreement that thorough orientation can be overlooked in light of pressing organizational issues, but that emphasis must be placed on this aspect of governance if board members are to establish successful and long-lasting relationships with opera companies. At previous meetings it was suggested that OPERA America develop an orientation check list and provide industry reports that could be included in every new board members orientation material.
Minimum Giving and its Impact on Creating a Balanced Board Communicating clear giving expectations must be a part of board member recruitment and orientation. Most of the companies represented have a minimum gift for board members. It ranges from $500 to $10,000.
A lengthy discussion followed about how to recruit a diverse board with a high gift minimum? (Note: Diversity may be defined for the purpose of the discussion as pertaining to: race, age, professional background, and community contacts.) Some companies waive the minimum for in- kind support or community representation. That was followed by the question of who has the authority to waive the giving requirement? In many cases it was the Board Chair. It was suggested that it could be the finance committee or the governance committee. There was no clear consensus on this question, although there was general agreement that it is a very sensitive subject. (Note: Some opera companies have a clear category of Board membership and specific number of such members called, “Community Representatives” for whom the giving requirement is raised – although all members are asked to make even a symbolic contribution.)
Other Fundraising Questions Most companies also expect every board member to support all the activities of the company, beyond the minimum annual contribution through special events, auctions, etc.
One company strives to raise trustee giving beyond the minimum by soliciting special challenge grants from specific board members that can be matched only with increased giving from other board members.
“Who does the asking?” was a big question. The general feeling was that the Board chair was the best person to ask board members, although some felt the development chair should be the person to make the “ask”. The overall feeling was that whoever seems to be the best person should do the asking (friendship, business and general knowledge of the person.) One company sends out invoices near the beginning of the fiscal year. While this may be an efficient way to solicit contributions, it deprives the company of the opportunity to request an increased gift over and above the minimum requirement. The strategy of using special board “challenge grants” was raised, again, as a way to increase the level of board member contributions. (Increased gifts made in relation to a one-time challenge may be difficult to sustain from year-to-year. It was also noted that repeated use of this strategy can lead to donor fatigue.)
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Vision Statement/Company Brand Members were asked if they, as advocates for the company, had developed an “elevator” speech -- a short, articulate description of the purpose/vision/value of the company that can be delivered in 30 seconds. If the company has such a statement, does every board member know it? Could every board member explain what it means at a deeper level? No companies have done this but thought it was an excellent idea.
This led to a discussion of opera as an elitist art form, with the suggestion that elitism can mean many different things – some of which are positive and some of which are negative in terms of building an audience and donor base for opera. (Marc Scorca noted that companies have to be cautious to ensure that various company messages don’t fight with one another. Sometimes, a company can produce marketing material that declares, “Opera is for everyone!” and, at the same time, have a performance program filled with photographs of older people in evening clothes.)
There was considerable discussion of creating a national “brand” for opera. In many cities, one opera company has occupied a “monopoly” position for many years. Recently, many cities have experienced the formation of smaller, niche opera companies that perform a particular kind of repertoire, in unique venues, using local singers. These companies have the potential to build audience for the art form as they attract new attenders. Is there one brand that can promote the entire range of opera offerings?
OPERA America Services Members of the Council wanted to know more about benefits offered by OPERA America. Generally, members knew about the Annual Conference and some of the organization’s research capacity, but were not aware of most services, including the Distance Learning Program.
One of OPERA America’s chief operating principles is that no company should ever expend resources solving a problem that another company has already addressed. OA staff provides an unequalled resource on best practices in a wide arena of subjects, and members are encouraged to contact OA for information on any issue.
Marc explained the Field Services offered by OPERA America, supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. Smaller companies (budgets under $3 million) can request a 2-day consultation with an expert from the field in any area of administration for only a modest fee. Large companies can request Board consultations or assistance with strategic planning -- which are somewhat more expensive, but sill less expensive that outside consultants who may not have as much familiarity with the opera world.
Next Steps Members of the Council suggested that subsequent meetings be chaired by a member of the Council with support and background work undertaken by OPERA America. As appropriate, working groups may be established to prepare a presentation for future sessions on pre-assigned topics.
Future regional meetings should have content for trustees who will find it easier to participate closer to home. It would also be helpful for current members of the National Trustee Council to learn more about OPERA America programs through regional meetings.
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Other suggestions included establishing reciprocal access to performance tickets for members of the National Trustee Council who would like to attend performances at the companies of other members.
Possible discussion items for the next meeting and/or Annual Conference sessions include: • Leading the company beyond the founders • Marketing and branding, especially a national opera brand • The board chairman/general director relationship
Details of the next meeting – which will take place in association with OPERA America’s Annual Conference – will be announced in January.
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NATIONAL TRUSTEE COUNCIL Summary Presentation at OPERA America Board of Directors Meeting Sunday, October 1, 2006
David McIntosh: I was struck by how passionate participating trustees are about their companies and also about their role. These trustees, and I don’t think it’s just the people we’re working with but that there are thousands across the country, are invested in their opera companies for the sake of legacy, for the sake of community and for the sake of the people they are working with. These are people who feel they are doing something both challenging and important. I don’t know if anyone ever read the book Flow, where it says people are at their happiest when they are engaged in a challenge that they can rise to; if you are doing something that is too easy, you are unhappy, if you are doing something that is too difficult, it’s hopeless, but if you are doing something significant, where you are making a difference, that is the time of your life. I got the sense that these trustees were experiencing that. Some of their companies are in strong shape, some of them are in major turnarounds, and some of them are sitting on the edge waiting and hoping that something doesn’t go wrong.
I think we have started something really important in terms of OPERA America’s overall mission. We have broadened our scope so that we are not just here to support the general directors but to support the art form in North America. That really does mean broadening who’s in our discussions. I can see a future where OPERA America has as many connections and as much to do with the trustees of our opera companies as we do with management. It will be a good thing because we will be able to help the trustees do their long term jobs better and have a better understanding of how to get involved in appropriate ways. No one really trains trustees and there are no books about how to be a great board member; people learn that from other board members. We can help them both be better teachers and we can help people from one community to another.
We are also, over time, going to be able to help boards work better with company management. Knowing as many of you in this room as I do, that is not a problem for you in your companies; most of you have very long-standing, high understanding relationships with your boards and it’s productive. That is not true of everyone. These relationships are like marriages and, to the extent that we can help people make these more productive and learn to rely on each other for the right things, better things are going to come for these companies.
I found several things engaging and positive in our meeting. The most significant one, that we should all feel good about, is that this group is focused. If we stopped calling them tomorrow to set up meetings, they’d be doing it themselves. They’re off and running, but they are also very keen to be working with us. The second good sign is that they are saying “Let’s take ownership of this ourselves. We don’t need you to chair the committees anymore, let’s do it on a rotating basis.” They want to talk about topics in depth to the extent that they actually have subcommittees work on things in preparation for the next meeting. So, instead of just getting
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together and saying “Hey, what’s on your mind,” they’re actually talking about collecting information and preparing. There will be some call on OPERA America to support them. What they would like to do is to keep functioning with this same small group of 15-20 people but they would also like to see as many trustees as possible show up at the conferences.
I know that these people will be great ambassadors for getting others to attend. We have had cases where we have tried to get other trustees involved without success and they have asked for the trustee’s number and offered to get in touch with them. This group is going to grow, which is really encouraging. They would like to set up various sessions at the conference, some of which would involve both trustees and management to talk about responsibilities and relationships. So, while it’s too early to say that the world has changed, we are far enough along to say that it is going to change.
Trish Compton: One of the things that I was struck by was the trustees wanting to know more about what OPERA America is, what services we offer, and what our purpose is. Several things were noted for their next meeting. One very good idea was having trustee representatives at our regional meetings. They really want to be involved in OPERA America’s ability to serve the opera field. They were excited about being able to share their experiences in a safe setting; that they could talk to each other and that there was no difficulty in expressing their problems and challenges and also their successes. They want to see other company’s performances. They thought that it would be really important to know about other companies and how they’re performing. Maybe OPERA America can establish reciprocal ticket privileges for trustees.
They talked a lot about trying to come up with a “brand” for opera to be used in their companies. They had big questions about how we are connecting with our audience, which was an underlying thread in a lot of the things that we talked about. They want to come to the next session ready to report on what actions that they have taken on the situations we have talked about. To reiterate what David said, the power and energy of the group is really amazing.
Waddy Thompson: It was amazing that everybody felt very comfortable instantaneously; they were very open and had no reservations about sharing. One thing that I found very striking was that, other than a short conversation about board member gifts, there was no talk about fundraising. Usually, when board members get together, they talk about what they can do to get more money from their friends or foundations, but that wasn’t the case here. However, no matter what the subject was, it kept coming back to branding and marketing. They were seeing that as the central thing locally but also wanting to know if there is a national opera brand such as NASCAR or the NFL. That seemed to be the hot topic in everyone’s book.
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NATIONAL OPERA TRUSTEE RECOGNITION PROGRAM Program Description - 1/2/07* Draft *
OPERA America is pleased to announce the establishment of a national opera trustee recognition program. The program grows from a deep belief that the health of an opera company is determined in large measure by the effectiveness of its board members and, especially, the exceptional and sustained involvement of individual trustees who respond to the unique needs and/or special opportunities of their opera companies.
The national opera trustee recognition program seeks to acknowledge the service of extraordinary trustees whose efforts help to ensure the health of opera companies and availability of opera performances for future generations. The goals of the program include:
• Provide local and national recognition to Board members who have demonstrated exceptional service to their companies; and • Affirm and strengthen the relationship between outstanding trustees and their opera companies; and • Develop models of excellence for the entire field
The National Opera Trustee Recognition Program will combine personal recognition of Board members at an Awards Dinner to be held each year in New York with local and national acknowledgment through press releases, articles in print and electronic newsletters, and sessions at OPERA America Annual Conferences.
Program Elements
• OPERA America will invite each professional company member to nominate an individual whose volunteer leadership service to the company has been exceptional. • Nominations will be reviewed in the context of established selection criteria by a committee of OPERA America’s National Trustee Council. Winners will be selected by this committee. • Each winner will be presented with an award that bears the name of the winner, the nominating opera company, and OPERA America. • Profiles of the winners and descriptions of their service to their opera companies will appear in OPERA America’s magazine and electronic newsletter, reach nearly 15,000 recipients. Press releases will be distributed to the media in the winners’ communities of residence and nationally. • Awards will be re-presented, on request, to honorees in front of a local audience at an appropriate event planned by the nominating opera company. • Past award recipients will be invited to attend each year’s awards event in New York as a permanent reminder of the field’s appreciation for their service.
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Selection Criteria
• Exceptional leadership through the period of a company’s leadership transition. • Outstanding service through the completion of a special project such as construction of a new building or completion of an endowment campaign. • Sustained effective leadership over a period of years as a Board President or Chairman or Committee Chairman. • Remarkable generosity that helped an opera company sustain creativity and excellence artistically and managerially.
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MEMBERSHIP REPORT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS FISCAL YEAR 2007 (JANUARY 2007)
Professional Company Membership PCM Dues Report We have collected $363,925 in dues to date with an additional $270,075 (43% of total Company Member dues of $634,000) outstanding. At this point last year 68% of a total of $602,547 of Company Member dues were outstanding. We have neither collected dues nor established receivables for 60 companies for FY07. We will follow up with these companies individually following the Board meeting. As a result of increased budgets, Level 3 and Level 4 companies are on average paying 1% more in dues, which will increase OPERA America’s overall FY07 dues collection. Applications for Membership Opera Providence has submitted an application for Professional Company Membership. According to our bylaws, a Professional Company must: 1. Be a nonprofit corporation whose repertory consists primarily of opera, or whose driving commitment to music is demonstrated by its repertory and through its relationships to local, state, and national funding agencies and to local, state, and national service organizations. 2. Produce and perform, before a paying audience, at least two performances each of two fully staged productions during the current season and each of the immediately preceding three seasons. 3. Employ at least one full-time general/artistic/music director plus a professional manager on a full-time or seasonal basis. 4. To the extent of composer intent, employ an orchestra for its productions. 5. Utilize paid, professional artists for at least some part of its productions. 6. Have an annual operating budget of at least $100,000. Annual audited financial statements or reviews are required for Professional Company Membership. Please note that the Board may choose to waive one unmet criterion. Opera Providence Incorporated in 1991 as Ocean State Lyric Opera Company, the company changed its name to Opera Providence in 2002 and is the only opera company in Rhode Island. Opera Providence has seen substantial artistic growth since 2003. For the past three years, it has presented a free outdoor concert series, “Opera on the Hill,” to an audience of over four thousand. The 2006-2007 season includes two performances each of Maria de Buenos Aries, a Spanish tango operetta, Don Pasquale, and Michelangelo, a world premiere of a new work written by Rhode Island composer Enrico Garzilli, as well as one performance of The Bug Opera, a new opera for families. Last year’s season included two performances each of three operas (Cavelleria Rusticana, Suor Angelica, and Hansel & Gretel), as well as concerts. The prior two seasons did not meet the Company Membership requirement of two main stage performances of two productions. See page two of the Opera Providence application for the events and concerts held during those seasons.
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Opera Providence is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation and has submitted documentation to verify this, as well as Form 990s from 2004 and 2005. Annual operating income for FY06 was $239,694 and expenses were $228,433 making Opera Providence a Level IV company, should it be accepted into membership. The projected operating expenses for FY07 are $388,000. Opera Providence is led by full time Executive Director Loriana De Crescenza and is a current affiliate member. Part time staff include Timothy Steele, music director, and Amy Del Santo, operations manager. Representatives of Opera Providence have attended four Opera Conferences in the past six years and the company has expressed interest in participating in a field services consultation. Opera Providence remunerates orchestral musicians and artists in both leading and supporting roles.
Alan Mann, artistic director of Mississippi Opera, has provided a letter of support. Opera Providence has shown substantial interest in becoming an OPERA America Professional Company Member. The company has overcome artistic and financial hardship and is in a period of growth. It anticipates taking part in OPERA America programs and using our studies and materials to assist them with long-range planning and board development. Although the company did not present two performances of two productions for all of the past three seasons, the Membership department feels that, at this pivotal point in Opera Providence’s development, the company could benefit from OPERA America’s full services, and recommends that the Board approve the application for Company Membership. The full application will be available for review at the Membership Committee meeting.
Membership Overview OPERA America’s services to members have improved over the course of the past year. Our relocation to New York allowed us to offer personal service to members by providing meeting space and a guest office. We held networking events, workshops, and meetings in our office. We are reaching out to individual staff at opera companies by giving all company staff access to Newsline and other online resources, and OPERA America is providing information to more opera company trustees than ever with our trustee designee program. Membership categories and benefits have been restructured to accommodate specific needs, specifically through the creation of the Educational Producing Affiliate Membership category and the development of Opera Source.
Over the course of this year membership numbers remained fairly constant, with slight increases in Affiliate/Educational Producing/Career Services and a decrease in Business Membership. Membership will call lapsed Business Members to invite them to renew and to ask how we can better serve this group. Individual membership remained fairly constant, but with decreased “stand alone” singer subscribers. In the next months the promotion of Opera Source should result in substantial increases throughout Individual Membership.
As of December 15, 2006 OPERA America’s membership included the following: 138 Company Members, of which $ 115 are U.S. Company Members $ 19 are Opera.ca Company Members $ 4 are International Company Members (2 Australia, 1 Japan, 1 Chile)
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1576 Individual Members, of whom $ 865 are Basic Members (433 with the Singer subscription, 107 with the New Works subscription, 78 with the Tech/Prod subscription, 83 with the Education subscription) *25% of the Basic Members are Annual Fund donors. $ 398 have the Singers' Subscription without Basic Membership $ 14 have the Tech/Production Subscription without Basic Membership $ 25 have the Composer/Librettist Subscription without Basic Membership $ 2 have the Education Subscription without Basic Membership $ 272 are Trustee Designees
103 Affiliate Members, of which $ 95 are U.S. Affiliate Members (67 Producing/Presenting Organizations, 14 Educational Institutions, 14 Foundations/Guilds). $ 7 are Opera.ca Affiliate Members (4 Producing/Presenting, 1 Educational Institutions, 2 Foundation). $ 1 is an International Affiliate Member.
19 Educational Producing Affiliate Members
59 Library Members/Career Services Subscribers, of which $ 56 are U.S. $ 2 are Opera.ca $ 1 is International
65 Business Members, of which • 56 are U.S. Business Members (19 Artist Managers, 11 Publishers, 7 Production Service Providers, 7 Consultants, 3 Administrative Service Providers, 8 Artistic Service Providers, 1 Tour Provider). • 8 are Opera.ca Business Members. • 1 is an International Business Member.
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Comparative Report: Membership Category Jan 2007 Aug 2006 (last meeting) Jan 2006 (YTD) Company Members 138 137 138 Business Members 65 65 74 Affiliate Members 103 128 176 (includes libraries) Educational Producing Affiliates 19 11 N/A Library Members/Career Service 59 48 N/A Center Subscription Basic/Premium Members 865 898 764 *includes Annual Fund Singer Subscribers (stand alone) 398 392 547 Tech/Prod Subscribers (stand 14 13 9 alone) Composer/Librettist Subscribers 25 21 6 (stand alone) Education Subscribers (stand 2 3 0 alone) Trustee Designees 272 194 162
Total 1959 1910 1876
The number of Affiliate Members reported in January 2006 included educational institutions and libraries, which are now split between Affiliate Members, Educational Producing Affiliates, or Career Service Subscriptions in the August 2006 and January 2007 columns. As more educational institutions come up for renewal, they are choosing to become Educational Producing Affiliates or Career Service Center Subscribers. Total membership in these categories went from 176 in January 2006 to 181 in January 2007. Singer, Tech/Prod, Composer/Librettist, and Education Subscribers are now all “Opera Source subscribers”, but are broken out for purposes of comparison in this report. Future reports will most likely combine these subscriptions into one column of Opera Source Subscribers. Below are the Membership department’s plans for improving the number of Subscribers (see Marketing Opera Source).
Changes to Membership Categories The October board report detailed numerous changes to OPERA America’s membership categories, prices, and benefits. These changes stemmed from OPERA America’s move from print to electronic distribution of benefits, and from our desire to better serve our members by specifically addressing their needs.
Organizational Membership Changes to organizational membership, for example, included a new category for educational institutions that produce opera: Educational Producing Affiliate Membership (dues $350). In addition to standard Affiliate Member benefits, these members are invited to participate in the Opera Conference New Works Sampler and Production Showcases and to join us for an
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annual meeting to discuss singer training and producing opera in an educational setting. The Membership department will be asking the directors of the opera programs at these universities and conservatories to help recruit their students and alumni as Opera Source Subscribers/Professional Members.
The Career Service Center Subscription is the other new category of organizational membership. Former Library Members were converted to the Career Service Center Subscription. OPERA America currently has 59 Career Service Center Subscribers (including libraries and educational institutions). All Career Service Center Subscribers have usernames and passwords to access Opera Source, which they can share with their patrons, students, and faculty.
Peter McDowell, director of programs, recently attended a NETMCDO (Network of Music Center Development Officers) conference in New York City. He shared information on Opera Source and our Singer Career Network, including the Perspectives publications for singers, and distributed our new membership brochures to attendees. Membership will follow-up immediately with those that attended this meeting, inviting them to join as Career Service Center Subscribers and encouraging them to promote the Perspectives series to their students.
Individual Membership Changes to membership for individual members were based on the development of Opera Source, the comprehensive online career resource for administrators, singers, technical/production professionals, teachers, and all other creative and performing opera artists (details on the creation and benefits of Opera Source are described elsewhere in this Board book).
Former Singer, Technical/Production, Composer/Librettist, and Education Subscribers of OPERA America have been converted to Opera Source Subscribers. Membership communicated the changes to these members via two e-mails. The first e-mail (sent December 15) announced the beta test of Opera Source, instructed members how to access it, and asked for feedback. The second e-mail (sent January 5) announced the addition of the “Auditions and Opportunities” feature (which replaces the printed Audition Connection) and again reminded them how to log in to access the online benefits. The second e-mail also described the three “e-newsletters” that members will now receive: ArtistLink, MediaLink, and NewsLink (formerly Broadcast News). These e-newsletters are described elsewhere in the Board book.
Communication/E-distribution issues OPERA America is working to resolve some of the problems that have stemmed from the new distribution process, including e-mail addresses that bounce back and password assignment to new members.
Marketing Opera Source As of this report, Membership has not directly promoted the Opera Source Subscription. There has, however, been a surge in new and renewing membership, as well as queries from potential members, since the January 1 launch of Opera Source, at which time the resource
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was listed on OPERA America’s home page, and was featured in NewsLink, our free e- newsletter that is distributed to over 15,000 opera enthusiasts. Now that Opera Source is fully functional and has a critical mass of data and opportunities, Membership has the following marketing plans: E-mail campaigns January 12: e-mail past Career Guide purchasers and lapsed OPERA America singer members (approximately 3,000), promoting individual Opera Source subscription. This e- mail especially highlights the fact that Opera Source is like the online Career Guide for Singers—but better—always up-to-date, with more information, and less expensive! January 22: e-mail YAP program directors—either ask them to forward to their young artists, or ask directly for their lists.
Monthly: e-mail the non-member organizations that have updated their own Opera Source record. Encourage them to join as organizational members. Follow-up soon after with mailing including OPERA America organizational brochure.
Print campaigns Advertise Opera Source in Classical Singer.
Postcard to singers. This will be mailed to the singers that do not respond to the January 12 e- mail (past Career Guide purchasers, lapsed OA singer members) as well as various lists we have compiled from companies. Possibly will purchase National Association of Teachers of Singing list.
Other methods OPERA America is specially placed to spread the word of our great resources by communicating with educational institutions, opera companies, and young artist program directors. This fall, the Artistic Services and Membership departments visited New York auditions held by about thirty companies. We welcomed them to New York and they distributed our Individual Membership brochures to the hundreds of auditioning singers. On January 16th, Rebecca Ackerman and Peter McDowell met with Gayletha Nichols and Melanie Rosa, executive director, and administrator of the Metropolitan Opera’s National Council Auditions to discuss how we can work together to distribute OPERA America materials (primarily the membership brochure) to the thousands of singers that audition for them yearly.
In the next year, we anticipate taking advantage of our connections in the field to help recruit members and distribute OPERA America’s resources regularly. The creation of the individual membership brochure and visits to auditions are important steps forward in this process.
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General recruitment Exhibiting Rebecca Ackerman and Megan Young will attend the USITT conference in Phoenix, AZ in March. This is an opportunity to highlight Opera Source to technical/production professionals, add more technical/production opportunities to Opera Source, and meet potential Business Members.
Workshops and events Anne Choe, artistic services manager, is managing a singer workshop in San Francisco this weekend. As of the writing of this report, we have acquired 28 new members through workshop registration (which includes an Opera Source subscription). The artistic services series, Making Connections, is another program that includes membership in registration and heightens awareness for OPERA America to New York area artists.
Publications sales We should send a reminder about the Perspectives series to all Educational Producing Members and Career Service Center subscribers, letting them know that they can receive a bulk order discount on our Perspectives series.
- submitted by Rebecca Ackerman, Membership Manager
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Opera.ca An update to the OPERA America Board of Directors
18 January 2007
Highlights:
9 Continued advocacy and lobbying at the federal level respecting increased funding to the arts across the country, through the Canada Council for the Arts
9 Annual meeting of Opera.ca members to be held February 7-9, 2007
9 Canadian Opera Fund fundraising initiative getting underway
Opera.ca activities (according to our strategic directions)
Advocacy
Opera.ca continues to play a leadership role in the Canadian Arts Coalition. Micheline McKay is the co- chair and Bob McPhee is one of the Coalition’s principal spokespeople. Both Opera.ca, and our members played key roles in a November Advocacy Week where representatives of the arts community met with over 70 MPs, including a half-dozen Cabinet Ministers. Looking forward, there will be a reception on Parliament Hill on 27 March, in conjunction with recognition of the Canada Council’s 50th anniversary.
We were surprised, and very pleased with the all-party pre-budget recommendation (December ’06) that funding be increased to $300 million for the Canada Council. This development was in response to a series of public calls for action, including an appearance before the Committee by both David Baile and Micheline McKay. While this recommendation is welcome news, we note that this is only a recommendation, which the Minister of Finance may choose to consider, or not consider. (Please see Appendix 1 for Opera.ca response.)
Programs
Annual meeting
Opera.ca’s next annual meeting of members will take place February 7-9, 2007 in Toronto. Hosted by the Canadian Opera Company, the theme of the meeting will be Celebrating the past, looking towards the future, a salute to the 50th anniversary of the Canada Council for the Arts. It will be the Canadian opera sector’s first opportunity to see the country’s first purpose-built opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. (Please see Appendix 2 for overview of program)
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Canadian Opera Creation Program
Delivery and support of the Canadian Opera Creation Program, with the collaboration of OPERA America, continues to dominate Opera.ca’s program offerings. This year, 6 awards were offered in the development category of Repertoire Development. The projects funded are:
2006-2007 Canadian Opera Creation Program Award Recipients Award Company Project Collaborator amount Manitoba Opera Transit of Venus $20,000 Opera Ontario Tyendinaga Woodland Cultural Centre $25,000 Queen of Puddings Iñes de Toronto $17,000 Soundstreams Pimooteewin (The Journey) $20,000 Tapestry New Opera Works Sanctuary Song $15,000 Vancouver Opera Lillian Alling $20,000 Total $117,000
Canadian panelists for this round were Valdine Anderson, Dean Burry, Howard Chang and Francois Racine.
Maria Antonakos is working effectively with Opera.ca in fundraising efforts around the Canadian Opera Fund. We are seeking and using strategic opportunities to introduce prospective donors to the Canadian Opera Creation Program and Canadian Opera Fund. For instance, Opera.ca is co-hosting a reception at the opening of Frobisher (Estacio/Murrell); similarly the reception celebrating the Canada Council’s 50th anniversary also focuses on Canadian creation. (See attached program ad).
Discussions continue with the Canada Council for the Arts around their investment in the Canadian Opera Fund.
Banff Opera Colloquium II
Planning has begun for the next Banff Opera Colloquium. A working group will convene in Toronto on February 10 to consider and develop the program. A joint initiative of the Banff Centre and Opera.ca, the theme being explored is Opera Artists of Tomorrow. The Colloquium will be held August 10-12, 2007 in Banff.
Membership
The Board of Opera.ca approved the application of Opera New Brunswick as a professional company member.
As noted in previous reports, Opera.ca needs to grow its membership in the area of affiliates and individuals. We will be using the upcoming meeting of Opera.ca to introduce our services, and those of OPERA America, to potential new members.
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Governance and operations
The nominating committee of Opera.ca is finalizing a report to the annual general meeting. Positive conversations are underway with a number of individuals we expect to join the board. These new members will help the association better understand and connect to training organizations and singers, a trend consistent with developments at Opera.ca. We are also seeking potential members to work with us on the Canadian Opera Fund.
December saw Opera.ca complete two major operating grant applications, one for annual operating from the Canada Council for the Arts, the second for Supplementary Operating, the process through which the additional $50 million provided to the Canada Council for the Arts will be distributed. (Please see Appendix 3 for a copy of letter from Chair W.R. (Bob) McPhee.
Opera.ca is acquiring a new database program designed to support efforts in various streams of activity from membership fulfillment to advocacy and fundraising. This will be an intensive administrative effort, but it’s expected to yield big improvements in efficiency.
Micheline McKay 18 January 2007
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Opera.ca welcomes recommendations of Standing Committee on Finance: Increase funding to the Canada Council to $300 million over two years
(8 December 2006) This morning, the House of Commons Standing Committee released its pre-budget recommendations.
In its report, the Committee recommends that
The federal government increase funds to the arts and cultural sector. In particular, funding increases should be considered for the Canada Council for the Arts, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the Canadian Television Fund and Telefilm Canada. Funding for the Canada Council for the Arts should reach $300 million over two years.
The Committee also discussed the importance of predictable, stable, long-term funding, a longstanding issue, and challenge, for opera companies of all sizes.
“Opera.ca is encouraged with this recommendation,” said David Baile, General Manager of Opera Atelier, who appeared before the Committee on behalf of Opera.ca. “Canada’s opera companies play key roles in communities across this country, and we are heartened by the Committee’s members’ recognition that increased funding to the arts is critical to our ability to contribute to the vitality of cities and towns across Canada.” The Committee also discussed the importance of predictable, stable, long- term funding, a longstanding issue, and challenge, for opera companies of all sizes.
Opera company board members, managers and artists across the country were part of the Canadian Arts Coalition’s advocacy week in November, which saw arts supporters and artists meet with over 70 MPs in their constituencies. The COC’s Amy Muszynksi and Opera.ca Chair and Calgary Opera GD were among the 15 regional captains who made this effort possible. Thank you!
These recommendations confirm that MPs are increasingly aware of the contribution of the arts to their ridings. We thank each and every individual who has made the effort to connect with their Member of Parliament.
For more information contact:
Micheline McKay Executive Director [email protected] www.opera.ca www.canadianartscoalition.ca www.lacoalitioncanadiennedesarts.ca
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Appendix 2
Opera.ca Annual Meeting of Members 7-9 February 2007
Session Descriptions (Note: Development track, organized by Maria Antonakos, Jane Hargraft, Helen Moore-Parkhouse being developed separately)
Lady Macbeth of Mtsenk
COC Opening reception: Gregoire Legendre to thank COC
Opening remarks
Bob McPhee, Micheline McKay, Richard Bradshaw (confirmed)
Keynote session
Celebrating our past while looking forward Thursday, 8 Feb 2007, 10.30 -12
Opera in Canada has come into its own in the past 50 years. When the Canada Council was formed, there was one opera company in Canada, the COC; now the field is burgeoning, with opera companies, producers and artists stretching the boundaries and breaking new ground in keeping the artform relevant. So, what will opera look like in Canada as we look to the future? What will be our contribution to the broader international opera scene.
Michel Benachetz (Confirmed), Producer, Ex-Machina, Micheal Koerner (confirmed) Bob McPhee (confirmed) Robert Everett-Green (Invited and considering it)
Moderator: Anne Marie Jean, ED, Culture Montreal
Catered sandwich lunch
Development track starts over lunch
Opera.ca/OPERA America Open House Thursday, 1.30-3.30
Meet our staff and learn about our priorities and services Demonstration of OPERA America’s new Opera Source
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Closed meeting,
Opera.ca Annual General Meeting, open to company delegates only 1.30 – 2.00
Opera.ca General Directors, with Canada Council Thursday, 8 Feb 2.00 to 3.30
(Bob Sirman confirmed)
Tales from the House Thursday, 8 Feb 2007, 3.30 -4.30
An irreverent look at the building of Canada’s first opera house
Rob Lamb and others to be determined by COC
5.00 -6.30 Opera.ca reception: celebrate CC 50th … wide open (Excerpt of Swoon (Rolfe/Chatterton))
What today’s wired generation means for opera Friday, 9 Feb 2007 9.15-10.15
Walk down any street, ride a bus, go the gym and you’ll see people wired to their i-pod or MP3 player. Marketers seek to suggest the concept of ‘home theatre’ is as good, if not better, than the real thing. How does the ‘crackberry’ generation embrace live performance, or do they? How do we use technology to reach them?
Mark Steinmetz, CBC Radio Two, (confirmed) Caroline Holllway, COC Moderator: Nathalie Bonjour
Forging synergies with unlikely allies Finding ways to get our message out to audiences and the public demands imagination, new relationships and new ways of reaching our public. This session will take a look at new models for achieving this, focusing largely on our relationship to the media.
Panelists Janet Hurley, Toronto Star, Confirmed Michael Johnson, Confirmed
Moderator: TBD
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Working lunch: Embracing diversity in opera
Panelists: John Hess James Rolfe, Confirmed Michael GreyEyes
Moderator: Lawrence Cherney
Manitoba Opera Workshop: Transit of Venus
Larry Desrochers to fill in details: Victor Davies and Maureen Hunter present
Closing Remarks
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Appendix 3
1 December 2006
Peer Assessment Committee (PAC) Opera/Music Theatre Program Canada Council for the Arts 350 Albert Street, PO Box 1047 Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5V8
Dear Committee Members,
On behalf of the Opera.ca board and its members, I wish to express the confidence in, and importance accorded to, Opera.ca, the national association for opera in Canada. Opera.ca is guided by clear priorities and a set of strategic priorities, established in 2003. From my vantage point as Chair, based in Calgary, these serve the sector well.
We’ve clearly stated that increased public operating funding is a priority for the sector. Appreciating that we can’t do it alone, Opera.ca has demonstrated leadership and persistence in working to sustain the momentum of the Canadian Arts Coalition. We’ve been integrally involved from both a staff and member perspective, with opera companies and individuals across the country stepping forward to articulate and advance the message of the CAC. The message is: make permanent the supplementary funding just granted to the Canada Council, and augment it by an additional $100 million in operating on an ongoing, stable basis. Much of this activity has been coordinated out of the Opera.ca office and it speaks specifically to our strategic direction of a leadership in arts advocacy and a healthy relationship with other arts service organizations.
Enhanced and stronger communications from Opera.ca to members and among members is another of our strategic directions. We are pleased that last year’s PAC recognized Opera.ca’s success in providing effective networking opportunities for the sector. We are particularly encouraged by the results of the Banff Opera Colloquium in this regard, especially the positive response from board members who participated. Both Bruce Wright, Chair Vancouver Opera, and Nick Zelenczuk, Executive Committee, Opera Atelier, have indicated a willingness to be involved in the planning for the next one, Banff Opera Colloquium 2007.
We feel we’ve also made some progress in broader communication out to members at all levels, and have increased regularity of electronic news vehicles. HighNotes! is now a monthly e-news letter, rather than periodic. That being said though, this is an area where we see the need for continued improvement. To that end, a Communications Committee has been struck, and we are working through communications initiatives and tools on step-by-step basis. Our new Membership and Communications Coordinator, Sandra Cina, is on board and she is working to strengthen the infrastructure in this area. (Enhanced activity in this area is made possible through an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant.)
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Our strategic directions also call for a fully realized program of member services, with a focus on creation. Unquestionably, the Canadian Opera Creation Program is the centre-piece of this strategic activity. This program, made possible through the support of the Canada Council of the Arts and our collaboration with OPERA America, has contributed to increasing momentum throughout the country. It is discussed thoroughly in the application. At Opera.ca, we carry through our focus on creation in other areas. For instance, HighNotes! includes a special section on Canadian opera creation in each issue. At the upcoming annual meeting of members, we will include a workshop and discussion around a new opera commissioned and planned by Manitoba Opera, Transit of Venus (Davis/Hunter). Banff Opera Colloquium 2007 is planning to explore themes around repertoire and the choices companies make in this regard. Canadian creation will obviously be a discussion strand. Finally, but certainly not least, Opera.ca is ‘walking the walk’ so to speak and with the support of fundraiser Maria Antonakos, we are engaged in a fundraising effort to sustain the Canadian Opera Fund.
In another program area, we are beginning to focus on professional development for Opera.ca members. The Banff Opera Colloquium is obviously one element of this activity. In addition, we are creating a special program strand for Development and Marketing Directors at the upcoming Opera.ca annual meeting in Toronto, February 2007. Identified as a major need in the Genovese Vanderhoof 2004 study on the Canadian opera sector’s readiness for the Canadian Opera Fund, this new track is being developed by Maria Antonakos, Jane Hargraft, Canadian Opera Company and Patrick Corrigan, Pacific Opera Victoria.
Organizationally, Opera.ca faces a couple of challenges, both of which we are addressing: Opera.ca’s board has served it well since its creation in 2000. As the organization moves forward in membership development and fundraising though, we need to broaden its scope. This point was also raised by last year’s PAC. A governance and nominating committee, which I chair this year, is addressing this issue. We’ve established a skills and attributes matrix for the board, and this Committee is now considering a number of potential candidates. The people we are approaching are patrons, singers and the leadership of young artist development programs. These names will go forward for election at our February AGM. Opera.ca will need to secure new office space for January 2008. Recognizing the challenge of finding suitable space in Toronto, and the benefits of being located in the hub of artistic activity, particularly ASO activity, we are hopeful we will find suitable, affordable in the same area, if not building, we currently operate in.
In conclusion, I wish to acknowledge and thank the Canada Council for the Arts in its ongoing support of Opera.ca and the entire Canadian opera sector. We enjoy a productive and constructive relationship, which we all believe serves the field well.
Sincerely,
W.R. McPhee General Director, Calgary Opera Association Chair, Opera.ca
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OPERA’S EUROPEAN HERITAGE Friday 16 February 2007
It was a performance on the stage of La Monnaie in Brussels in 1830, of Auber’s La muette de Portici with its refrain of ‘Amour sacré de la patrie’, which gave the signal for the Belgian revolution which led to the country’s independence.
Early in the 21st century, the fledgling opera company of the New National Theatre Tokyo chose to adopt the four-centuries-old European model of presenting opera. Japan will be celebrating European Opera Days with a presence in Paris.
But opera’s true heritage goes back 2,500 years to the birth of democracy in ancient Greece. The Athenians of the 5th century BC celebrated their identity as a community with festive performances which brought together music, song, speech, dance and spectacle. Greek drama was the precursor and inspiration for opera.
The rebirth of opera in the courts of renaissance Italy four centuries ago benefited from the rivalry of sovereign princes and independent cities. Visitors from all over Europe liked what they saw and took it home with them. Germans especially, with their profusion of independent courts, created a network of opera and a habit which survives to this day. Leipzig, without a resident court, founded the first town theatre opera company. Catherine the Great imported Italian opera to St Petersburg.
National Opera was a phenomenon of the 19th century. Great buildings, like Garnier’s Académie National de la Musique, opened in 1875, dominated their surroundings. The public subscription to build the National Theatre in Prague in 1881 (and then to rebuild it in 1883 after it had been destroyed by fire) was a statement about the emerging Czech nation. In many European countries, the national opera house became a symbol of a country’s aspirations.
Public subsidy during the 20th century secured opera’s place at the centre of European culture, and made its performances accessible to a much wider audience. At the same time, the growth of recordings and radio helped its further dissemination. The appetite for opera now reaches far beyond the traditional centres. Spain has enjoyed a renaissance of interest since the death of Franco in 1975. The Nordic countries have built themselves magnificent new opera houses to inaugurate the 21st century. Opera festivals abound in the most unlikely and remote locations.
Opera has become the art form which speaks, or rather sings, across the boundaries of language and nationhood. It is a part of European society which unites the continent, yet reaches beyond it. Through opera, Europe talks to the world.
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Afternoon Programme
13.00 Registration at Opéra Bastille
14.00 Amphithéâtre Welcome French Minister of Culture Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres and Gerard Mortier, Director of l’Opéra national de Paris, welcome the delegates to the conference
14.45 Amphithéâtre Keynote address by Jacques Attali Prominent writer, economist and educationalist Jacques Attali launches the conference with a challenging address about the place of music in society
15.30 Tea/coffee break
16.00 Amphithéâtre Opera, mirror of Europe’s diverse identity President of the European Union José Manuel Barroso launches the debate about opera as an agent for cohesion and progress within a multicultural and multilingual Europe. With supporting contributions from Francesco Ernani, Sovrintendente of the Rome Opera and Vice-President of Opera Europa; Bernard Foccroulle. General Director of La Monnaie/De Munt and President of Opera Europa; Federico Mayor Zaragoza, President of Fedora; and Gerard Mortier
17.30 End of afternoon sessions
Opera Performances
19.00 Opéra Bastille La Juive Première of new production by Pierre Audi
20.00 Palais Garnier Bluebeard’s Castle/Diary of One who Vanished Final performance of new production by La Fura dels Baus
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WORKING FOR AND WITH NEW PUBLICS Saturday 17 February 2007
How extensive is the public for opera? How much larger might it be?
Tens of millions of people experience opera every year, yet that remains a fraction of the number who might enjoy it. Public subsidy, a largely 20th century phenomenon, helped to make opera accessible to a wider public. The technology of the 21st century has the power to multiply that audience. How realistic is that growth?
To what extent do Education systems throughout Europe help or hinder the participation in and appreciation of culture generally and opera in particular? Does the process begin in schools; or in the adult community; or is it a function of the market place for leisure activities? Does opera compete with popular music, cinema and television; or might it form an alliance with them?
Saturday’s morning workshops present an outstanding current example of opera written for children, and examine innovative ways of showing opera on screen and via the internet. They also analyse the views of audiences in nine diverse European cities, and directly ask both young artists and the young public what their views are.
In the afternoon’s plenary session, we ask the question: where is tomorrow’s audience coming from? We seek answers from opera professionals and from representatives of the media and the public, and we hope to formulate some practical proposals for action.
Morning Programme of parallel sessions
09.30 Amphithéâtre Le petit chaperon rouge Georges Aperghis’s operatic version of Little Red Riding Hood for children and adults, staged by Ensemble Reflex (performance starts at 10.00 and lasts 45 minutes)
Studio Discover an opera: Cardillac TV film (lasting approximately 1 hour) based on André Engel’s production for l’Opéra de Paris, using a new format dedicated to those who consider that ‘opera is often too long, complex and difficult’. Introduced by its co-producers, Gabrielle Babin Gugenheim, Directrice de l’Unité de programmes Spectacles at ARTE France, and François Duplat, Producer for Bel Air Media
Foyer Charenton European Audience Mapping Illustrated report on the results of the survey conducted by Gérard Doublet into audiences at opera houses in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bologna, Brussels, Cardiff, Oslo, Paris, Strasbourg and Vilnius, followed by discussion
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Salon de la Presse Don Giovanni on interactive DVD The Accademia of Teatro alla Scala in Milan’s project La Musica fa Scuola demonstrated by its creative team of Umberto Bellodi and Christian Silva
11.00 Coffee break
11.30 Amphithéâtre Workshop with Georges Aperghis The composer of Le petit chaperon rouge explains his aims and methods in conjunction with the artists of Ensemble Reflex
Studio Opera beyond the opera house Debate on opera’s future on TV, DVD, internet and other arenas, led by Pierre- Olivier Bardet, producer for Idéale Audience of Kenneth Branagh’s new film of The Magic Flute; Peter Maniura, Head of Music and Arts at the BBC; Claudio Orazi, Sovrintendente of l’Arena di Verona; and Serge Toubiana, Directeur Général of la Cinémathèque Française
Foyer Panoramique Attracting young adults to the opera Open debate chaired by Kasper Bech Holten, Director of the Royal Opera in Copenhagen, who will interact with contributions from young delegates from across Europe and from Juan Ángel Vela del Campo, writer and columnist for El Païs in Madrid
Foyer Charenton Artists of the future and the Audience A selection of young Opera Ambassadors from different countries, moderated by Anthony Heidweller, Artistic Director of Opera Yo!, shares its ideals, fears and experiences with the audience
13.00 Lunch break Lunch sponsored by ?????
Afternoon programme
14.40 Amphithéâtre Opera is it Short film about the educational work of RESEO
15.00 Amphithéâtre Where is tomorrow’s audience? Richard Morrison, Chief Music Critic of The Times in London, leads a debate involving opera and media professionals, including Cathy Milliken Director of Education for the Berliner Philharmoniker, about the prospects for opera in tomorrow’s market place, with the aim of initiating some plans of action across Europe
16.30 End of afternoon’s plenary session
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17.00 Studio Opera Europa General Assembly Agenda and documents available to Opera Europa members
Foyer Charenton Introduction to Don Giovanni Gerard Mortier introduces l’Opéra de Paris’s production by Michael Haneke
Opera Performances
19.30 Opéra Bastille Don Giovanni Final performance this season of Michael Haneke’s production
19.30 Théâtre des Champs-Elysées Riccardo Primo Concert performance of Handel’s opera conducted by Paul Goodwin
20.00 Amphithéâtre Brundibár Guest performance by Prague Children’s Opera of Hans Krása’s opera, first performed in 1943 by Jewish children from a Prague orphanage in the concentration camp at Terezin
21.00 Studio The Magic Flute Screening of Kenneth Branagh’s new film of Mozart’s opera
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THE FUTURE OF OPERA Sunday 18 February 2007
Four centuries old, where lies the future of this mythological hybrid beast – opera?
Despite its magnificent heritage, opera is not a collection of masterpieces to be looked after by the curator of a museum. It belongs in the theatre, where it comes alive through the reinterpretation of contemporary artists. Because it is a live event experienced in the company of an audience, its outcome cannot be entirely predicted.
In the culture of the 21st century, opera must compete with an increasing variety of entertainments. Film came to dominate popular taste in the 20th century. The worldwide internet has created new forms of individual access in the 21st century. Much new music is amplified. Opera needs to come to terms with these changes, to confront them or embrace them. Some leading practitioners – composers, directors, filmmakers, creative producers – will show their response to these challenges on this last of the European Opera Days.
‘Ei blot til lyst’ – not only for pleasure – is the motto above the stage at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen. It is an enduring warning for our consumerist age. While the music and the drama must please with their beauty and excitement, they must also provoke thought and disturb the emotions. People yearn for a spiritual dimension in their lives, and in a secular society great art has the power to provide it.
Opera houses are learning to open their doors to new audiences and to reach out to new constituencies. They will find that many of the public do not share a cultural educational background, nor do they necessarily have the same attention span or the same social prejudices. Shorter operas are likely to appear. Opera will have to become as comfortable with film and video and television treatment as it did with audio recording during the 20th century.
Opera will survive if there are great artists to compose and perform it. An encouraging aspect of the European Opera Days is the collection of young Opera Ambassadors who are endorsing them. Mostly aged between 25 and 35, such artists represent the future of opera as a living art form.
The other vital ingredient for the future of opera is the renewal of audiences. Young delegates from all over Europe are joining the European Opera Days in Paris. Inspired by their commitment, we seek a bold initiative which can invest in the future of opera across national boundaries and carry it out into a brave new world.
Morning Programme of parallel sessions
09.30 Amphithéâtre Modern technology and opera Edward Gardner, Music Director designate of English National Opera; filmmaker Sally Potter (subject to late availability check) or producer Chris Shepherd; and Jan Younghusband, commissioning editor arts for UK’s Channel 4, explore the possibilities of introducing new technology to opera via an audience-driven, pan- media event made up of firsts in everything
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Studio Creating opera now An illustrated talk by Peter Eötvös, Hungarian composer of three successful and internationally performed operas
Foyer Panoramique Words, music and short operas Workshop led by theatre and opera director Deborah Warner with contributions from singer Joan Rodgers and actress and writer Fiona Shaw
Foyer Charenton Don Giovanni discussion Responses to the previous night’s performance from young delegates coordinated by RESEO
11.00 Coffee break
11.30 Amphithéâtre IMZ forum and 2 channel project Dennis Marks, who has managed both a TV arts department and an opera house, and Reiner Moritz, the world’s most experienced producer and distributor of opera on film and video, look into the future of opera. Followed by The Magic Flute on two channels, a multimedia project presented by Thomas Beck of Swiss TV and Alexander Pereira, Director of Opernhaus Zürich, where the new production of Die Zauberflöte will have premiered the previous night
Studio Community and theatre International director Graham Vick demonstrates the influence of his ground- breaking productions with different communities in unconventional spaces in Birmingham on his current and future work in mainstream opera houses.
Foyer Panoramique Commissioning Opera Debate led by Pierre Audi, Artistic Director of Netherlands Opera and of the Holland Festival; W R (Bob) McPhee, General Director of Calgary Opera and Chair Opera.ca; and Klaus Zehelein, former Intendant of Oper Stuttgart and President of the Deutscher Bühnenverein
Foyer Charenton Creating opera now Conversation with Kaija Saariaho, Finnish composer of three successful and internationally performed operas, moderated by Damien Pousset, Artistic Director of Contrechamps in Geneva
13.00 Lunch break
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Afternoon programme
14.30 Amphithéâtre Performance A response to Don Giovanni from the participants of RESEO’s creative residency workshops of the previous days
15.00 Amphithéâtre Is there a future for Opera? Keynote address by Peter Gelb, General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera New York, followed by an intervention from Marina de Brantes, Vice-President of Fedora and of AROP, and plenary debate
16.45 Amphithéâtre Closing address Jan Figel, the EC’s Cultural Commissioner, concludes the conference and looks to the future (availability still subject to confirmation)
17.30 Ministère de la Culture Closing reception
Admission by invitation
19.00 End of the European Opera Days 2007
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ARTISTIC SERVICES REPORT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS JANUARY 2007
OUTLINE
1. MAJOR NEW INITIATIVES a. Opera Source b. ArtistLink c. From Print to Web d. National Singer Training Council e. Making Connections
2. ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS a. Technical/Production meeting in San Francisco in September b. San Francisco Workshop for Singers c. Audition visits and networking events d. New York Venue Directory
3. OPERA FUND
4. FUTURE AREAS OF ACTIVITY a. Visa tracker b. Awards
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ARTISTIC SERVICES REPORT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS JANUARY 2007
This area of activity is now being directed by Peter McDowell, OPERA America’s new Director of Programs. Prior to moving to New York City in November of 2006, Peter worked as Program Director at the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs where he produced and presented hundreds of free opera, music, dance, film, and theater events at various venues including the historical Chicago Cultural Center and Chicago’s brand new Millennium Park, since 1997. Peter’s first association with OPERA America was as an Administrative Fellow in 1992, when he worked in the artistic departments at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Minnesota Opera, and San Francisco Opera. Peter got his professional start in opera as a boy soprano with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in 1980.
Additional staff members in this department are Anne Choe and Megan Young, both of whom have now celebrated their first anniversaries with OPERA America.
MAJOR NEW INITIATIVES
Opera Source On January 1st, 2007, OPERA America launched Opera Source, a comprehensive career resource for administrators, singers, technical/production professionals, and teachers, as well as other creative and performing artists. Opera Source is a searchable state-of-the-art online database that replaces the annual printed version of The Career Guide for Singers and allows users to instantly identify a wealth of career development information and opportunities, all of which are constantly updated as information changes.
OPERA America board members were introduced to Opera Source via a live demonstration by our Information Technologies Manager Kevin Sobczyk at the September 2006 board meeting in Chicago.
Through Opera Source, via a password presented to them, artists and administrators who are members of OPERA America are able to browse through listings for a vast number of producing organizations, training programs, educational institutions, competitions, grants, and management organizations, all of which are active in the opera field. Each listing provides specific information with program details, and features a search tool to create personalized queries according to each user’s specific criteria.
Although Opera Source is an OPERA America membership benefit, all organizations, whether members or not, have the opportunity to list their information in the database at no cost. Organizations benefit from Opera Source by promoting their programs, companies, or institutions to the largest targeted audience and then gain the ability to identify talented, skilled, and dynamic people that can best meet their needs. Opera Source also allows member organizations to use the resource to identify potential partners for co-commissions, co- productions, and joint auditions, among others opportunities.
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ArtistLink January 2007 heralds the debut issue of ArtistLink, OPERA America’s monthly e-newsletter designed for individual creative and performing artists, for company artistic/technical/production staff, and for singer training professionals. Delivered monthly, it includes articles and opportunities similar to those previously found in Audition Connection (sent every other month), Voices (sent three times each year), and Technical/Production E-Digest. ArtistLink is part of a new family of electronic newsletters for OPERA America members: NewsLink and MediaLink are delivered on alternating weeks to all members; ArtistLink, EducationLink, and TrusteeLink are delivered monthly to artistic professionals, education professionals, and opera company trustees, respectively.
ArtistLink is offered as a member benefit to all artist members, including Opera Source-only members. Each issue of ArtistLink contains four items of general interest: (1) an article of interest to artists in the field of opera. The article will either be of a cross-disciplinary nature, involving several different types of opera artist; or, it will focus on issues relevant to singers, composers, librettists, designers, directors or technical/production staff, on a rotating monthly basis; (2) a section related to Opera Source – explaining how to best use the database and/or a list of upcoming deadlines; (3) a section of links to other articles/websites of interest to artists in the field of opera; and finally (4) upcoming OPERA America events of interest to artists, such as training workshops or Making Connections events.
Opera Source and ArtistLink from Print to Web – Pros and Cons Overwhelming responses from our members surveyed suggested that they would prefer to receive most information in an electronic, rather than in printed and mailed format. Clear advantages include the flexibility to constantly update information, as with Opera Source and to be able to provide the most timely information in our e-bulletins. And of course there is a significant savings in reallocation of resources away from printing and postage. Challenges include the task of urging organizations to update their Opera Source listings. Also, in this era of rapidly developing web competition, several other popular online singer training web resources, most notably YAPtracker, have sprung up.
Establishment of a National Singer Training Council As part of a series of revolutionary meetings which brought together academics, administrators and artists at two critical meetings in 2006, OPERA America is pleased to propose the formation of a National Singer Training Council. OPERA America sees the existence of this Council as an essential tool to harness the resources of organizations and individuals key to the career of a singer to identify and act upon commonly held goals.
In this new era of collaboration, representatives of opera companies, universities, conservatories, young artist training programs, and individual voice teachers will work together to help eliminate treacherous gaps that threaten the healthy career of a singer at different ages. Up until now, no holistic approach has been possible since each partner has existed within their own sphere. Now the Council is agreeing upon a set of core beliefs that will help singers through critical stages of their career.
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In the past year, OPERA America has convened several meetings with the intention of identifying and actively responding to issues related to the training of opera singers. The most recent meeting held on October 14-15 in New York was the most inclusive and advanced session to date and laid the foundation for a National Singer Training Council.
Projects of the Council include: • Encouraging and facilitating communication and collaboration at the local level among opera companies and their training programs, academic institutions, and high school music programs. • Writing articles highlighting industry concerns for a variety of professional journals, including those of OPERA America, NATS, NOA, ACDA, and others. • Designing sessions for conferences at appropriate associations, including OPERA America, NATS, NASM, NOA, and others. • Creating guidelines and incentives for voice teachers to visit opera companies and young artist programs. • Establishing a team of expert evaluators for opera training programs; establishing a voluntary national assessment process for singer training, especially for universities.
The Artistic Services Committee will discuss and propose criteria for membership in the National Singer Training Council. The two current suggestions for next meetings are either Saturday, March 24 or Saturday, March 31, 2007 in New York City, on the day before the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions semi-finals and finals.
Making Connections Being located in New York, a center of classical music and opera in North America, allows OPERA America to provide more services and access to our company members as well as to aspiring young artists and opera administrators via programs such as “Making Connections.”
Costing a reasonable $10 for members, and $12 for non-members, “Making Connections” is OPERA America’s newest artist development and networking program geared toward the professional development of creative and performing artists including singers, composers, librettists, designers, directors, and others who work in, or would like to work in, opera. The program consists of ten panel discussions throughout the year with influential experts from all facets of opera production. These sessions will capitalize on OPERA America’s unique ability as a convener, build on its artist development activities to date, and provide a platform for cross- disciplinary networking. Because opera is the only art form that employs artists across many disciplines, each session will connect members from at least two arts disciplines. “Making Connections” was launched on October 30, 2006. Each event features a panel discussion and a casual reception and takes place in the OPERA America office from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on the last Monday and Tuesday of the month. Attendance at the October and November sessions averaged 20-25 persons per evening.
Below is a list of sessions and the panelists. • “How Opera Producers Plan Season and Hire Artists” with Robin Thompson, Brad Woolbright, and Diane Wondisford – moderated by Nicholas Russell
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• “Building Efficient Teamwork among Designers, Directors and Tech/Productions Personnel” with Robin Guarino, Allen Moyer, and Jeff Harris – moderated by Kelley Rourke
• “Who’s in Charge of the Rehearsal?: An Effective Partnership among Conductors, Directors and Backstage Personnel” with Christopher Alden, Michael Barrett, and Djordje Nesic – moderated by Kelley Rourke
• “From Backstage to Center Stage: Collegiality among Singers and Stage Management” with Jane Bunnell and Terry Ganley – moderated by Jay Lesenger
• “Finding Creative Partners and Ideal Projects” with Daron Hagen, Gardner McFall, and Stewart Wallace – moderated by Yuval Sharon
• “Words & Music: The Role of Dramaturgy in Creating Opera” with Mark Campbell, Ned Canty, and Rhoda Levine – moderated by Charles Jarden
Future Making Connections in Spring 2007 are: • “Singers and Composer: Collaborations for Artistic and Professional Advancement” • “The Ins and Outs of Artists Producing Opera” • “The Role of the Creative Artists in the Rehearsal Process” • “Building and Maintaining Your Professional Network”
ACTIVITIES AND EVENTS
Technical/Production meeting in San Francisco in September “High notes and hard hats: making a safety program work - a seminar for technical/production theater personnel” was held on September 25, 2006 at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, CA. Seminar leaders were Ray Inkel, Utah Shakespearean Festival and Paul Horpedahl, The Santa Fe Opera. In attendance were: Laura Lee Everett, University of Maryland Opera Studio; Leigh Anne Huckaby, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis; Joan Arhelger, San Francisco State University; April Busch, San Francisco Opera; Kevin Patterson, Pittsburgh Opera; Ron Allen, San Diego Opera; Chris Tani, West Bay Opera; David Grindle, Indiana University. Diana Hossack and Megan Young from OPERA America were also present.
Topics included: Safety and Health Assessments, Policies and Procedures You Really Need, Prevention and Control Methods, Effective Training for Employees, Safety Manuals That Teach, and Evaluation of Programs.
San Francisco Workshop for Singers The next workshop in the Bay Initiative, A WORKSHOP FOR SINGERS – BUILDING A CAREER: STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS, will be co-hosted by the San Francisco Opera in the War Memorial Opera House Chorus Room on January 27 & 28, 2007.
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The panelists for the workshop are: Ann Baltz, Founder and Executive Director, OperaWorks Joanne Barnes, Managing Director, Arts Management Services Elizabeth Connell Nielson, publicist Clifford "Kip" Cranna, Music Administrator, San Francisco Opera Irene Dalis, Founder and General Director, Opera San José Paul Dresher, Artistic Director, Musical Traditions, Inc. John Duykers, tenor Shane Gasbarra, Director of Artistic and Music Administration, San Francisco Opera Juliana Gondek, Professor with Great Distinction and Chair, Division of Voice Studies, University of California Los Angeles Sheri Greenawald, Director, Opera Center, San Francisco Opera Peter Kazaras, Young Artist Program Artistic Director, Seattle Opera Jay Lesenger, Artistic and General Director, Chautauqua Opera José Luis Moscovich, General Director, West Bay Opera Donald Osborne, Artist Manager, California Artists Management Eric Owens, bass Bill Palant, Vice President, Artist Manager, IMG Artists Timm Rolek, Artistic Director, Sacramento Opera Gregory Stapp, bass Marcie Stapp, vocal coach, San Francisco Conservatory of Music Diane Zola, Artistic Administrator, Houston Grand Opera
The session titles are listed below: Securing the Basic Skills In Your Backyard: Looking at the Local Landscape Choosing the Right Training Program Performing an Effective Audition The Singer/Manager Relationship Creating Winning Publicity Materials Learning a Role Inside & Out Diversifying Your Performing Portfolio with New Music Conversations with Performing Artists
There are currently 65 attendees registered for the workshop. Most of the attendees are from California and about a third of the attendees are students.
Audition related Networking Events OPERA America’s artistic staff made a point of visiting as many New York City auditions as possible, held by visiting company members from across the country. The purposes of these visits were to (1) meet and greet our members – to put a name to a face, to thank them for coming and to remind them of the resources that OPERA America offers to them in our new office; (2) to provide membership materials for singers attending the auditions; and (3) to familiarize ourselves with the various audition halls and studios used by visiting opera companies in New York City.
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As a follow up to these visits, we offered two late afternoon/early evening Artistic Networking events in our offices on November 29 and December 14th, 2006. These dates were chosen due to a high critical mass of visiting staff from member companies. The format of each evening was very casual – attendees (an average of 25 per night) came, mingled with fellow colleagues from across the country as well as with OPERA America staff. Attendees were welcomed by OPERA America’s artistic staff, were given tours of our offices and told about various services (conference room use, computer access, plans for future Opera Center etc.)
New York Venue Directory OPERA America’s new New York Venue Directory proved a useful tool for a number of companies hosting auditions. Company members were able to find new audition spaces and use it as a quick reference guide for contacts for last minute inquiries such as navigating around New York City and resolving cancellation issues.
OPERA FUND This year OPERA America and Opera.ca announced the recipients of the 2006-2007 Audience Development and Repertoire Development Awards from The Opera Fund and the Canadian Opera Creation Program. A total of $297,000 was awarded to 18 opera companies to support development of new works and audience development initiatives. Audience Development Awards provide financial assistance for audience development projects in conjunction with the production of American operatic works. Repertoire Development Awards provide financial assistance for companies’ efforts to assess and refine a work in progress or to revive a work after its recent premiere.
The panel evaluated projects based on the quality of the project concept, artistic merit, the strength of institutional partnerships, and the resources of the company, including the ability to fully evaluate the project. Audience Development Awards were evaluated on the additional criterion that the projects were an element of a well-integrated audience development effort that incorporates the full range of a company’s resources.
The final selection process was determined by two national panels. Panelists from Opera.ca included singer Valdine Anderson, composer Dean Burry, stage director François Racine, and Howard R. Jang of the Arts Club Theatre. Panelists representing the United States included trustee Betty Brooks, education specialists Debra Evans and Laura Johnson, composer Diedre Murray, and conductor Anne Manson.
With a total of forty-four applications, the adjudication process was the most highly competitive in the program’s history. Applicants represented large and small opera companies, experienced commissioners and those commissioning for the first time, as well as new works laboratories. Several works are multicultural in their inspiration and outreach. Jazz, East Indian, and Native American styles are among the musical genres being incorporated into the new works.
Projects receiving a Repertoire Development Award from either The Opera Fund or the Canadian Opera Creation Program include the following: • Manitoba Opera: Transit of Venus--$20,000 in support of workshop activities for Victor Davies and Maureen Hunter’s recently commissioned opera. The workshop will coincide with Opera.ca’s annual conference in Toronto. IV-C/Artistic Services 7
• Opera Ontario: Tyendinaga--$25,000 in support of further development of Tomas Dusatko and ElizaBeth Hill’s opera based on the life of Indian Chief Joseph Brant- Tyendinaga. Tyendinaga was previously awarded a Canadian Opera Creation Program Repertoire Development Award. • Queen of Puddings Music Theatre: Iñes de Toronto--$17,000 to support additional development and future workshops of James Rolfe and Paul Bentley’s intercultural Fado opera. The opera is being developed around the Toronto-based Portuguese/Canadian Fado singer Catarina Cardeaal. • Soundstreams Canada: Pimooteewin (The Journey)--$20,000 in support of the creation of a music drams based on the legend of the trickster in Cree mythology. The workshop will occur in November 2007 with the fully produced work premiering in February 2008. • Tapestry New Opera Works: Sanctuary Song--$15,000 to support the creation and production of Abigail Richardson and Marjorie Chan’s new work for young audiences about the relationship between an elderly elephant and her keeper. • Vancouver Opera: Lillian Alling—$20,000 in support of a full-length mainstage production based on the life of the Canadian historical figure of the same name. Lillian Alling will be premiered in 2010 as part of Vancouver Opera’s 50th Anniversary Season. Projects receiving an Audience Development Grant from either The Opera Fund or the Canadian Opera Creation Program include the following: • The Atlanta Opera: Cold Sassy Tree--$18,000 in support of an effort to attract new audiences with particular efforts focused on ninth-grade Atlanta public school students. Composed by Carlisle Floyd, Cold Sassy Tree is on the high school suggested reading list in Georgia, the native state of the novel’s author, Olive Ann Burns. • Chicago Opera Theater: A Flowering Tree--$18,000 to support COT’s plans to collaborate with neighborhood East Indian cultural centers and the Art Institute of Chicago for a showcase of Indian art and culture. A Flowering Tree is based upon an East Indian folk tale and is composed by John Adams with a libretto by Peter Sellars. • Florentine Opera: Idiot’s Delight--$3,000 to support the design of an audience development project in conjunction with the world premiere production of composer William Bolcom and librettist Arnold Weinstein’s opera. Idiot’s Delight is based upon Robert Sherwood’s original play of the same name. • Florida Grand Opera: Anna Karenina--$20,000 in support of events surrounding the world premiere of David Carlson’s opera in April 2007. FGO will host an extensive “Anna Karenina Festival” of events which will include lectures, in-school performances, recitals, film retrospectives, backstage tours, and children and family events. • Los Angeles Opera: The Fly--$13,000 to support an integrated series of initiatives designed to appeal to Los Angeles’ community of young adults and professionals affiliated with the film and entertainment industry. The Fly is composed by Howard Shore with libretto with David Henry Hwang. • The Minnesota Opera: The Grapes of Wrath--$15,000 in support of a series of marketing and education initiatives to reach non-traditional audiences that may be attracted to the real-life experiential themes of this work. The Grapes of Wrath, composed by Ricky Ian Gordon with libretto by Michael Korie, will receive its world premiere in February 2007. IV-C/Artistic Services 8
• Nashville Opera: Elmer Gantry--$17,500 to support the second phase of the company’s New Audience/New Works Initiative, the goal of which is to develop projects that speak to the unique and diverse communities of Nashville. In connection with the world premiere of Robert Aldridge and Hershel Garfein’s opera, the company plans to engage the African-American community through various strategic partnerships with other organizations. • Opera Colorado: La Curandera--$7,000 to support low-cost, accessible opera experiences for families and communities that normally do not participate in Opera Colorado’s program. La Curandera, a bilingual opera composed by Robert Xavier Rodriguez with libretto by Mary Medrick, will be presented in community venues outside of the company’s usual school tours. • Opera Omaha: Blizzard Voices--$22,500 in support of a partnership between the company and the Omaha Children’s Museum to launch a 40-performance tour of an abridged version of Blizzard Voices, a new, staged opera cantata by Paul Moravec and U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser. • Opera Omaha: Wakonda’s Dream--$17,500 to support a “Wakonda’s Dream Festival”, a series of events complementing the world premiere of Anthony Davis and Yusef Komunyakaa’s opera about a Native American family struggling to find their place in contemporary society. The festival will include poetry readings by the librettist, programs on American Indian culture, and discussions with those involved in the project. • Opera Theater of Pittsburgh: The Sound of a Voice--$7,000 to support projects surrounding the company’s production of Philip Glass and David Henry Hwang’s opera. Project activities include seminars given by the composer, vocal master classes by the cast, and workshops given by founders of the Pittsburgh Glass Center. • The Santa Fe Opera: Tea: A Mirror of Soul--$17,500 in support of the “Festival of Tea” a series of events surrounding the American premiere of Tan Dun and Xu Ying’s opera in the summer of 2007. Events include a program of musical and theatrical performances, a film series, lectures, a panel discussion, and published materials, all relating to the opera. • Seattle Opera: Amelia--$4,000 to support the company’s effort to design an audience development project in conjunction with the production of Daron Hagen and Gardner McFall’s opera Amelia. The work is an exploration of the role that aviation has played in American history and aviation’s relationship with the human experience.
The Opera Fund’s 2008 Guidelines for Repertoire Development Awards will be available in July 2007, and will be made available to OPERA America Professional Company Members and their partners.
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FUTURE AREAS OF INQUIRY
Visa Database OPERA America is creating a new online database to assist companies in compiling visa information for future use. The goal of this database is to store re-usable information about artists from abroad so that OPERA America may help companies generate the necessary paperwork as quickly as possible. Common information such as biographies, management, existing support letters, etc., will be stored here as well as previous visa applications made on that artist’s behalf. This application will be integrated into OPERA America’s current Web site structure and will be password protected. Our staff aims to have this project completed before the next board meeting.
Awards At previous board meetings, interest was expressed in ways to recognize and bring attention to achievement by operatic artists in a lasting, meaningful and ongoing way. To this end, OPERA America is soliciting feedback from board members on the possible creation of an Awards program. Not conceived as a competition, these OPERA America awards would be conferred upon deserving individuals based on the recommendations of a committee. The members of the committee would nominate artists who are worthy of recognition for a specific reason at this point in their careers. The logistics of the awards are very much up for discussion and could involve an awards ceremony and/or a hall or wall of fame. An awards program could also present fundraising opportunities to OPERA America as it moves towards the capital campaign for its Opera Center.
Design Competition In the past, OPERA America board members have expressed interest in ways to encourage and foster young talent in areas such as stage direction and design. Recently, we have heard of competitions such as the “European Opera Directing Prize” which is held every year to identify a promising young director to professionally stage a work with a major opera company. Is it worth pursuing this idea in the US as a way to help move young directors from the educational to the professional world?
- submitted by: Peter McDowell, Director of Programs Anne Choe, Artistic Services Manager Megan Young, Artistic Services Coordinator
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INFORMATION SERVICES REPORT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS JANUARY 2007
The Transition from Newsline to OPERA America The capabilities of our new Web site, along with a desire for continued improvement of services, have led OPERA America to reflect on the frequency and format of its communications to members. At the fall 2006 board meeting, board members approved a plan to replace Newsline, published 10 times each year, with a more substantial quarterly magazine called OPERA America. Since then, we have done a number of things to prepare for the September 2007 launch of the new magazine.
A newly expanded and improved portfolio of electronic publications will assist us in providing timely information to members, even as we reduce the frequency of our print publications. In January, we unveiled a new series of electronic newsletters — ArtistLink, EducationLink, and TrusteeLink — to replace existing print and electronic communications with various specialty groups. The newsletters are integrated with Opera Source to give members maximum access to information. Staff at organizational member companies can opt to receive the newsletters of interest to them; the newsletters are also available to certain categories of individual membership. OPERA America continues to provide a free biweekly newsletter to nearly 16,000 members and nonmembers; this publication, formerly called Broadcast News, has been renamed NewsLink and redesigned to harmonize with the new specialty e-newsletters. Finally, MediaLink, a digest of recent opera news stories formerly sent to PR/marketing professionals only, will now be sent to all members on a biweekly basis.
A survey of members was conducted in late 2006 to assist us in assessing what features of Newsline are most valued by readers. In addition to commenting on existing features, respondents offered suggestions for future topics and authors.
Publication manager Kate Ehle has requested bids from print vendors and design firms. While not all bids had been received at the time of this report, the current range of responses (see below for averages) leads us to believe that increases in production costs and contract fees will be offset by diminished frequency.
Annual budget Newsline OPERA America Printing $28,730.00 $30,520.00 Postage $10,000.00 $5,000.00 Contract Fees $2,175.00 $4,000.00 $40,905.00 $39,520.00
We would also incur a one-time redesign fee for a new “look” and templates. These templates would serve as a basis for Kate to lay out and design each issue of OPERA America. We anticipate the cost of the design to be around $7,500. While this is a significant up-front cost, this approach is far more cost-effective than working with a designer on a regular basis to lay out each issue.
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Publications and Marketing Materials Created Since October Board Meeting Since OPERA America’s upgrade to Adobe InDesign from Adobe PageMaker this fall, in-house design capabilities have improved tremendously; as a result, we do not have to outsource important design projects such as the conference brochure. A far more sophisticated program, Adobe InDesign offers many new excellent tools for layout and design and is also capable of handling more complex tasks. Recent publications are listed below; selected samples are included with this report.
• November/December, January, and February issues of Newsline • M!W!O! Teacher’s Manual • AC07 Exhibitor Prospectus • AC07 Registration Brochure • Making Connections promotional postcard • Singer Workshop Flier • Human Resources Survey 2006 • Professional Opera Survey Reports 2004-2005
Advertising The new display advertising sales campaign that began with this year’s September issue of Newsline continues to bring in revenue. The combined revenue from the November/December, January, and February issues of Newsline totals $3250.00 (compared to $650.00 last year for the same three issues).
Library OPERA America is the repository of a large volume of information related to the opera industry and opera repertoire, including: Central Opera Service Files, OPERA America publications (print and electronic), data collected through formal and informal surveys by OPERA America and other service organizations, opera-related periodicals, documentation from conferences and meetings convened by OPERA America and other organizations, books, scores, and recordings. However, OPERA America has historically relied more on the memory of a few long-term staff members than on a systemic catalog. As a result, we have not been always been able to fully and efficiently draw on our resources when responding to internal and external research requests.
With the January 2006 employment of Research Manager Alexa B. Antopol, who holds a Master of Library and Information Science, OPERA America demonstrated a commitment to taking its library to the next level of professionalism. Alexa and the Information Services Team are working with departments across the company to better understand our current holdings, identify and address gaps in the collection, create a searchable catalog, and appropriately preserve OPERA America publications in print and digital form. A number of specific projects are described in detail below.
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Baisley Powell Elebash Score and Recording Library OPERA America has received a $250,000 grant, payable over four years, to establish the Baisley Powell Elebash Score and Recording Library, which will be an integral part of the national Opera Center. Although OPERA America has funded nearly 300 new works, there is no collection of these works to serve as a permanent resource for our members. In addition to furnishing and endowing the library space in the Opera Center, the grant will allow us to purchase equipment appropriate for use in both our current and future space.
To date, we have purchased additional bookshelves and shifted the general interest portion of our holdings to a new area in order to create a small, semi-secluded space equipped with a table and chairs. There are also CD, DVD, and VHS players; headphones; and a video monitor available on-site, but separate from the semi-secluded space. In the near future we will purchase archival- standard boxes to organize and contain the materials, which include bound and loose print of various sizes, DVDs, and CDs; archival-standard spacers to protect the materials in the boxes from damage; and enameled steel shelf labels which can be moved and relabeled with ease to meet signage needs.
Current holdings of North American works include:
Scores Mary, Queen of Scots An American Tragedy Orpheus Descending Black Widow The Outcast Chéri Where’s Dick? A Christmas Carol Elijah and the Magic Kite CDs Elmer Gantry An American Tragedy : The Face on the Barroom Floor Before Night Falls : Excerpts The Fall of the House of Usher Burning Bright The Gardens of Adonis The Captivation of Eunice Williams Guacamayo’s Old Song and Dance Chéri : Selections Juggler of Notre Dame Darkling : Highlights Lucy’s Lapses Frau Margot : Act 2 Workshop The Making of the Representative Gertrude Stein Invents a Jump for Planet 8 Early On Mary, Queen of Scots The Grapes of Wrath : Preview Nixon in China Little Women The Outcast Lost Childhood : Excerpts The Purple Gang The Seagull Rasputin She Never Lost a Passenger : the story of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad Strawberry Fields Tornrak Twelfth Night : Act I Under the Double Moon Where’s Dick? X
Librettos A Christmas Carol Frida Gertrude Stein Invents a Jump Early On Hit the Lights Hotel Eden : A Musical Lodging Hydrogen Jukebox Mario and the Magician
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Documentation and Dissemination of Discussions of National Importance Because of the high concentration of opera professionals in New York and the frequency with which arts leaders travel to New York, OPERA America’s move has expanded its capacity to convene national leaders around various areas of interest to the opera industry. In the past, documentation of such meetings has been mixed; while they were usually recorded, transcripts and reports have been irregular and inconsistent. Beginning this fall, Kelley Rourke was identified as the organization’s “rapporteur” for such events. As such, she will attend designated “think tanks” and provide reports and articles for internal use, dissemination to participants, publication by OPERA America, and/or publication by other organizations, as appropriate. Her report on the fall meeting of the National Singer Training Council appeared in the January issue of Newsline and will be submitted to the journals of the National Opera Association and National Association of Teachers of Singers. In the week preceding the board meeting, she will attend and report on the meetings of representatives of the nascent council of Young Professionals Groups representatives, as well as OPERA America’s National Advisory Council.
Library and Digital Archive Module(s) of the Opera Source Database An additional module of the Opera Source database has been mapped out by Alexa and Kevin. This module will allow Alexa to inventory and catalog all of OPERA America’s publications; the COS publications; all of the books and media currently owned by OPERA America, including LPs, CDs, cassette tapes, VHS tapes, and DVDs; and all digital files including PDFs of OPERA America publications, digital photos and images, e-newsletters and e-bulletins, and text files. The library module will allow indicate which publications are associated with each of the various OPERA America networks, and the media will be associated with the proper companies and artists.
Alexa and Kevin will attend two METRO workshops (see below), “Planning and Managing a Digitization Project” and “Introduction to Metadata for Digital Collections,” in preparation for developing the information architecture for the digital archive portion of the module.
METRO Membership In October, the library of OPERA America became a collegial member of METRO, the Metropolitan New York Library Council. METRO supports the network of public and private libraries serving diverse communities throughout New York City and Westchester County, and offers advice from experts on many topics, especially the applications of emerging technologies to library needs; their goal is to build a stronger network of collaboration and support for libraries in their service area.
Our member benefits include discounted tuition for professional development classes and workshops in the areas of technology, management, leadership, communications, and library operations. Our benefits also include membership for individuals in special interest groups, which include a forum for library professionals who work independently to connect and share information with other (semi)solo-practitioners and a forum to share information and strategies related to many aspects of digitization. METRO has rich digitization resources, including the METRO Regional Digitization Initiative, a broad program designed to survey needs and progress in digitization in the New York and Westchester areas; and the Collaborative Digitization
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Advisory Council, an expert team comprised of METRO members, digitization consultants, and METRO staff, which provides direction for many digitization efforts.
Through METRO, member libraries can access grants to support a range of services and programs or to expand and develop their organizations. In addition to distributing available grant funding, METRO is a resource for information including eligibility criteria and application procedures for many grant programs administered by others.
Formal Surveys Marketing Benchmarking Survey/Repertoire-Ticket Sales Survey: Information Services is working with Brian Chapman to refine a marketing benchmarking survey. Similar to the Development Survey, this inquiry is designed to provide marketing professionals with more detailed information about their area of specialty than can be found in the Professional Opera Survey. Appended to this survey will be a survey of ticket sales as they relate to specific opera titles. Begun by Information Service in response to frequent member requests for the data, the survey has, thus far, not garnered significant member response.
Statistical Report on Labor Agreements: Although we have conducted many modest research projects for members engaged in labor negotiations, we have not done a comprehensive survey of the field since 1989. This spring, we will undertake such a survey. Rather than produce a static print publication, we will design an internal database that can be updated and that can produce reports as requested by participating member companies. We are working with a team of experienced artistic professionals and general directors to review the existing survey and determine any useful changes.
Future Season Survey: In February, this survey will be mailed to all company member general directors. This survey captures information regarding productions under consideration for the next five seasons for distribution to participating general directors only. The data are particularly useful to companies looking for co-producers.
Human Resources Survey, Professional Opera Survey, and Annual Field Report: The Information Services department collaborated with the Finance/Administration Department on these three important surveys and reports, each of which were distributed to members in fall 2006.
Other Research The Information Service department continues to respond to inquiries and conduct research on behalf of members. In addition, IS works with other departments to identify areas of inquiry that may benefit the industry. Research topics since the last board meeting have included:
• A study of repertoire trends at a constant sample group of 24 companies that have been in existence for 50 years or more • Data related to OPERA America: total grants awarded via OFANA, OFTEAB, and The Next Stage • Facts about OPERA America members: number of companies that own their own opera house; companies that will celebrate their 10th anniversary in 2006-2007 • Data related to orchestra and chorus agreements at member companies
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• Information related to national trends in private giving, demographics of opera ticket buyers, patronage, the operatic professions, the impact of new technologies, and the changing size and nature of audiences in the context of the social history of opera • Data related to repertoire and performance history: performance histories of specific works; North American premieres in 1983 and in 2006-2007; most-performed children’s one-act operas; operas that include the devil in their story line • Data requested by marketing departments: the effect of changing performance start times and/or changing time of year for production; success of performances offered during Thanksgiving weekend • Human resources data: sample job descriptions for specific positions; staffing levels and salary ranges for companies of a specific budget levels • Fact-checking for a variety of magazine articles • Sources for opera libretti, score rental • Information on establishing a career as an opera singer
Those requesting information have included: Drew University; Arts & Science Council (Charlotte, NC); Cincinnati Opera; Cultural Commons, a doctoral student at the University of Houston; an eighth-grade student at Bancroft Middle School in Los Angeles;The El Paso, Texas Chamber of Commerce; Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College; Minnesota Monthly magazine; Austin American-Statesman; Washington Business Journal; Liegner Management; Los Angeles Opera; Opera Carolina; Opera Colorado; Opera Theatre of Saint Louis; Pacific Opera Victoria; Portland Opera; Sarasota Opera; Daniel Snowman (writer, lecturer, broadcaster) on behalf of the BBC; St. Ann’s Warehouse/Arts at St. Ann’s; Tri- Cities Opera Guild.
Opera Conference 2007 Marketing: In the absence of a Director of Public Affairs, the Information Services team continues to play a leading role in conference marketing, including all aspects of producing the brochure, providing copy for the Web site, and composing various other print and electronic communications related to the conference.
Repertoire Focus and New Works Sampler: Saturday’s programming will focus on repertoire, and will feature Florida Grand Opera’s Young Artists performing selections from recent premieres and works-in-progress. Kelley is working with Marc Scorca to provide statistics that can serve as a starting point for the repertoire discussions; she is also partnering with Patrick Hansen of Florida Grand Opera to plan the New Works Sampler.
- submitted by: Kelley Rourke, Director of Publications and Research Katherine L. Ehle, Publications Manager Alexa (Eddie) Antopol, Research Manager
IV-D/Information-Online Services 6 EDUCATION AND AUDIENCE RESOURCES REPORT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS JANUARY 2007
SERVICES TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC
Adult Education Initiatives A. Online Learning We are continuing with our Season of Online Learning, which began last September and will continue through March, with a series of four courses offered in collaboration with member opera companies who will present the featured operas as part of their seasons. In addition to the written text, which focuses on the historical background of the piece and the composer, as well as musical analysis, each course has many interactive features including a bulletin board where the instructor can post questions, discussion topics, or interesting articles, and the participants can correspond with the instructor and each other about the topics covered. In addition, the text is accompanied by online audio clips, allowing for a detailed musical analysis of the opera.
In December we offered Don Giovanni, taught by Jonathan Dean, educational associate at Seattle Opera, in partnership with Seattle Opera, Opera Pacific, Hawaii Opera Theatre, and Opera in the Heights. Participants in the course included 57 OPERA America members, 94 opera company patrons, and 71 members of the general public. In comparison, Macbeth, which was offered in September, was taken by 15 OPERA America members, 162 opera company patrons, and 40 members of the general public. Don Giovanni was a particularly exciting, because course participants took advantage of the opportunity to interact with each other through the bulletin boards, leading to many spirited discussions.
February brings Barber of Seville with instructor Roger Pines, dramaturg at Lyric Opera of Chicago, in collaboration with Lyric Opera of Kansas City and Florentine Opera. We have pre- registration for this course at 75 participants, and expect to receive more registrations as the course start date draws near.
The season concludes in March with a new course on Samson et Dalila taught by Paul Speiser of Westminster Choir College, presented in partnership with Florida Grand Opera around their production which will be a feature of Opera Conference 2007. All conference registrants will receive the course as part of their registration. In addition, Dayton Opera will offer the course to its patrons.
We are also pleased to be working with Opera D’Oro, who provided the audio samples included in all four courses, and StreamingCulture, who provided the audio streaming services for the courses. We continue to work with Naxos of America and hope to involve them in the online learning initiatives as appropriate.
In addition to the patrons of our opera company partners, the courses are made available free of charge to OPERA America individual members, trustee designees, and National Trustee Council Members, and are open to the general public for a charge of $10 per course.
V – A/Education 1 We will soon announce the 2007-2008 Season of Online Learning, but it’s not too late to become involved. Opera companies who partner with OPERA America around this initiative have the opportunity to offer online courses to their patrons free of charge. Repertoire for each season’s courses is selected based on what companies plan to perform. Companies interested in working with us to create a new course for their patrons for an opera in their 2007-2008 season should contact Andrea Johnson.
B. OPERA America Learning Center For the past few months, the IT team has been hard at work moving the content of OperaWorld.com over to the OPERA America Web site where it will be branded as the OPERA America Learning Center. The Learning Center will house all the content previously found on OperaWorld.com including:
• Cornerstones, exploring the 20 most frequently performed operas, with background articles, photos, audio clips, and audio interviews. Recently added to Cornerstones are lesson plans for high school teachers, and web-based exploration activities for high school students. • The Bel Canto Zone, discovering the beauty of three selected bel canto operas, enhanced by interviews with creative artists. • In the Beginning, an exploration of four baroque operas. • A Living Tradition, with information about opera’s thriving tradition today, including audio interviews with creative artists and background information on three selected operas. • Viva Verdi!, featuring information on fifteen of Verdi’s lesser known operas, including streamed video segments for seven of the pieces. • Opera Insights, highlighting over 100 lesser known, and more unique operas and composers. • Online Learning courses • Recommendations for reading, listening and viewing, and links to other online arts education resources.
In the next few months we will also add a section titled Introduction to Opera, designed for those with no prior experience with the art form. The content is based on educational materials that were created for the Great American Voices project with the NEA. Included in this project will be: $ Information about operatic voice types with audio samples $ Brief historical background information about the genres of opera $ “Opera is More Than Singing,” a look into the production elements that are part of an opera $ Connecting opera to modern pop culture $ A glossary of frequently used terms $ “Debunking Myths,” which addresses stereotypes frequently associated with opera
V – A/Education 2 The web address for the Learning Center is www.operaamerica.org/audiences/learningcenter/index.html. We hope you will take time to explore all that it has to offer. In the next few months, we will be doing a small promotional campaign to build awareness of the resources in the Learning Center, which will encourage opera companies to link their education web sites to the Learning Center, and promote the Learning Center in their print-based educational materials.
MUSIC! WORDS! OPERA! A. Summer Workshops Plans are underway for the six M!W!O! workshops that will be held this coming summer.
• June 11-15, St Louis, MO; hosted by Opera Theatre of Saint Louis • July 9-13, Denver, CO; hosted by Central City Opera • July 9-13, Salt Lake City, Utah; hosted by Utah Symphony and Opera • July 30-August 3, Charlotte, NC; hosted by Opera Carolina • August 20-24, Vancouver, British Columbia; hosted by Vancouver Opera
In addition to these dedicated companies who have all hosted M!W!O! for several years, we are pleased to welcome a new M!W!O! site for this summer, Duluth Festival Opera, who will host their first workshop August 13-17.
B. Promotional Plan We are continuing with the promotional campaign that we began over the summer to introduce M!W!O! to individual teachers who may not be associated with one of our opera company partners.
• Print ads will appear in several music education publications and music education conference program books over the next two months. • The finished Teacher’s Guide to the Curriculum, has been printed, and will be sent out with each new Teacher’s Manual purchase. The Guide, which outlines the layout of the Teacher’s Manual, also contains helpful tips and recommended resources for using M!W!O! in the classroom.
While the postcards that were sent to individual teachers have not led to additional sales of the curriculum manuals as we had hoped, it provided us with valuable knowledge about our potential target audience, as well as several new contacts at music education based organizations, and will inform our discussions about the future of M!W!O! (see Core Services Section).
Although the primary focus on the promotional campaign was on introducing individual teachers to M!W!O!, a promotional effort was also undertaken to provide Level III and IV companies with detailed information about the program and encourage their participation as host sites. A few companies responded positively to the information they received, and we are following up to see whether it is feasible to bring M!W!O! teacher training workshops to these companies in 2008. For many of these companies, the primary barrier to offering the program is its cost, so we will work with these companies to assist them in developing funding proposals.
V – A/Education 3 In addition to the promotional campaign, in September, we connected with the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts, and have discussed with them the possibility of promoting M!W!O! to their community music schools, for use in an after-school, weekend, or summer music program. We are currently developing a proposal for their review before it is sent out to their membership.
C. Product Sales From January to December 2006, $7,884.65 of M!W!O! curriculum materials have been sold, with $1,639.35 of that total being purchased by individual teachers.
D. Library of Listen and Discover Units We are in the beginning stages of building a library of Listen and Discover units that have been created by opera companies, Trainers or individual teachers for operas that are not currently a part of the M!W!O! curriculum. We have contacted companies and Trainers and asked them to submit sample materials for us to evaluate. Those materials that are of a similar quality to the current Listen and Discover units will be housed in our offices for other M!W!O! companies to borrow for a royalty fee that would be paid to the creators of the material.
E. Digitalization of M!W!O! We have been working with a document scanning company that has begun the process of turning the M!W!O! materials into electronic PDF documents. This will necessitate easy re-printing when it becomes necessary, and will also allow us to have a digital record of the curriculum.
CORE SERVICES
New Since the Last Board Meeting 1. Education Survey The 2006 Opera Education Survey was distributed in September 2006 and we have received responses from 60 companies in the United States and Canada. The research findings report will be released at Opera Conference 2007.
2. 2007 Conference Education Sessions Session planning has begun for the education track for the Miami conference. By talking with Cecelia Schieve at Florida Grand Opera, and Nick Reveles, OPERA America’s Education Network Chair and Director of Education at San Diego Opera, as well as surveying the field, many exciting ideas have been generated. Featured topics for education professionals will include:
• Opera company efforts to create multilingual outreach programming and materials • Efforts by companies to present festivals and other family friendly programming • Building future audiences by evaluating education efforts • Understanding No Child Left Behind and how opera companies can work with schools within the constraints of the law
V – A/Education 4 3. EducationLink In January 2007, the first issue of EducationLink, the new arts education electronic newsletter was sent out. EducationLink combines the information previously found in ArtsEd Online, Standing Ovations, and Education Newslink, into one streamlined arts education resource. Each month, EducationLink will have a feature article on a trend in the field of arts education, education news articles, and links to online resources about arts education.
4. Partnership with Opera For Youth Opera for Youth is an organization dedicated to encouraging the creation of operas to be performed by children and adults in theatre and opera companies, to the support of composers and librettists, and to the study and publication of writings about opera and music theatre for young performers and young audiences. They have agreed to collaborate with OPERA America to provide joint services to the field of opera education and the members of both organizations. While the details of this partnership are still being worked out, one of the great resources that Opera for Youth brings to the table is an extensive bibliography of operas written both for young audiences, and for youth to perform. This exciting resource provides the opportunity for our member companies to learn about new youth operas that they could potentially present and tour. We look forward to working with Opera for Youth.
5. Future Projects We are looking for funding to bring together a group of key education thinkers to discuss the future direction of OPERA America’s education activities. The group will evaluate current projects including M!W!O!, based on the current educational environment that arts education organizations must operate in, as well as generate ideas and recommendations for future projects. OPERA America’s overall educational strategy is to offer programs and services that best meet the needs of opera companies, teachers and schools, and this meeting will help us to determine how best to accomplish that goal.
Submitted by Andrea Johnson, Manager of Education and Adult Learning Programs
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EXTERNAL AFFAIRS REPORT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS JANUARY 2007
As reported at the fall Board meeting, Waddy Thompson, Director of External Affairs since December 2005, left OPERA America at the beginning of October. Waddy created detailed reports and organized files and has remained in touch with the office offering reminders and suggestions. His successor, Bill Higgins, joined the staff on January 17.
Bill has expertise in membership and development from his prior positions at New York City Opera, the New York Philharmonic and, most recently, as Director of External Affairs at Literacy Partners in New York. His love of opera brought him back to the world of the performing arts.
Many members of the OPERA America staff provided exemplary service in sustaining core activities through the transition between Waddy and Bill.
ANNUAL FUND The FY07 Annual Fund has reached a total of $71,815 toward an overall goal of $150,000. In terms of the proportion of the overall goal, this year’s Annual Fund campaign is consistent with prior year levels.
• Very special thanks to Barbara Leirvik who continues to send personal thank you notes to all donors, supplementing the official letter from OPERA America. This important addition to our acknowledgment process helps to personalize our relationship with donors who make their homes across the country. • Board members whose gifts are made in the fall campaign have been generous in renewing and, in many cases, increasing their contributions to the Annual Fund, for which we are most grateful. • Many donors have responded to specific requests for increased generosity. • Effort will be made through the winter to renew the gifts from those donors who traditionally make their contributions at the end of the calendar year, but who have not yet done so. • Renewal of spring donors will take place prior to the Annual Conference leaving May and June for follow-up with all donors before the end of the fiscal year. • First-time contributions will be solicited in the spring from trustee designees, new members of the National Trustee Council, and participants in OPERA America’s Online Learning courses. • Contributions will be solicited electronically from the more than 16,000 recipients of Broadcast News.
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GRANTS Operating/Project Grants Received • New York State Music Fund, $50,000. This one-time grant will support composer/librettist workshops in New York City and Syracuse. • National Endowment for the Arts, $100,000, in support of OPERA America’s information services to members. This grant is for FY2008 and represents a $5,000 increase over the grant awarded for FY2007.
• National Endowment for the Arts, $15,000, in support of customized regional services in Texas. This is a consortium grant submitted in association with Fort Worth Opera and is for FY2008. The program builds on the regional activity already delivered to members in the San Francisco Bay Area and Mid-West (centered in Kansas City, Mo.). OPERA America is interested in extending customized regional services to other areas where there are clusters of member companies and affiliate members.
Proposals Submitted and Pending • Target Foundation, $35,000, in support of the continued development of OPERA America’s Web-based education resources, with emphasis on the Online Learning program. (Renewal) • Hewlett Foundation, $150,000 over three years, to support customized services to the San Francisco Bay Area. (Renewal and request for increased support) • American Express Foundation, $25,000. New foundation president, Timothy McClimon, has put all grants on hold pending the announcement of a new focus and application process. This announcement is expected in January. From a meeting in the fall with Marc Scorca, it was clear that the multi-year support of audience research was over. A proposal will be prepared as soon as new guidelines are made available. A grant from American Express has been taken out of income projections for FY07 as a precaution.
Proposals Declined • Irvine Foundation, $50,000, to extend services to Bay Area opera companies, with emphasis on the creation of a consolidated web portal for opera companies in Northern California. • Mellon Financial Corporation, $125,000 over three years, to support OPERA America services for trustees. This grant, which had verbal approval, was placed on hold when Bank of New York announced its purchase of Mellon Financial Corporation.
Proposals in Preparation • Packard Foundation, $50,000, to support expanded services to Bay Area opera companies. • Shubert Foundation, $5,000, for general operating support.
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• Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, $325,000 to $375,000 over three years, in support of OPERA America’s online services to members. This would be a renewal of long- standing support. Marc Scorca will meet with the new program officer, Susan Feder (replacing Catherince Maciariello), on February 14.
Annual Conference Sponsorship To-date, $28,500 in sponsorships has been secured from: • LTM Artists – $10,000 • TRG - $5,000 • CCS Fundraising - $2,500 • Schuler Shook - $2,500 • Fisher Dachs - $2,500 • Arts Consulting Group - $2,500 • TAYLAR - $2,500 • DCM - $1,000 • Additional sponsorships are pending ($7,000) and will be solicited. Florida Grand Opera is working to secure its obligation of $25,000 in sponsorship support.
The Opera Center • The Baisley Powell Elebash Fund has made a $250,000 contribution to support the establishment and endowment of a new score library and listening room in the current OPERA America office that will be transferred and expanded in the new Opera Center. $60,000 was received in conjunction with the award letter. • A draft proposal for $1.5 million has been submitted to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; $1 million for the Opera Center endowment (matching) and $500,000 to cover related planning costs over the next three years. • Pamela Hoiles has continued to make regular and timely payments on her pledge of $2.5 million toward OPERA America’s relocation to New York and development of the Opera Center. • Working with consultants, Claudia Wagner and Denham/Wolf, OPERA America is beginning to meet with representatives of the City of New York to secure support for eventual Opera Center construction and equipment. The goal is between $2 million and $3 million for FY2008, FY2009, and FY2010, to be determined as meetings progress. • A proposal for $500,000 is being developed for the Adams Family Foundation to endow the OPERA America general library. This proposal is being supported by Opera Memphis. Michael Ching has a close relationship with the family members who live in Memphis.
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GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS REPORT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS JANUARY 2007
It was a busy Fall in Washington! Below are some highlights on various OPERA America lobbying efforts:
DISASTER RELIEF - On September 29, 2006, Congress approved a provision to make performing arts organizations eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance as part of the FY 2007 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations bill (HR 5441). Until this provision passed, performing arts organizations were specifically excluded from receiving federal funding to assist in disaster recovery. The approval of this provision was the culmination of a five-year effort on the part of the performing arts community to change a significant inequity in FEMA disaster policy.
In order to guarantee that the new provision included all eligible performing arts organizations and facilities, FEMA contacted the cultural advocacy community to help draft guidelines. OPERA America was thrilled be a part of this effort and called on some of its members organizations for assistance. Both Sarasota Opera and Opera Memphis were extremely helpful in providing feedback to the draft language which was sent to FEMA at the end of December.
NEA FUNDING - A Dear Colleague letter written by Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) in support of a $5-$10 million increase for the NEA was recently signed by 42 Senators including nine Republicans and delivered to the former chair and ranking member of the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, which is responsible for funding the Endowment. In early December, Congress passed a "continuing resolution" which temporarily funds federal programs at their existing levels through February 15, 2007 or until all appropriations bills (including the Interior Bill which funds the NEA) have been signed. Once the continuing resolution expires, there is hope that an NEA amendment could pass as part of an "omnibus," or one large spending bill which would contain multiple appropriations bills.
NEA CAPACITY BUILDING - Per a suggestion by Marc Scorca, the national service organizations and NEA Chairman, Dana Gioia, have begun a conversation regarding capacity building or multi-year grants to arts organizations for the purpose of building arts infrastructure. In the past, the NEA awarded grants through the Challenge and Advancement programs, which had tremendous impact on arts organizations by helping to reduce deficits, leverage private and public support and build endowments. The CEOS of the national service organizations will be meeting with Dana Gioia and other representatives from the NEA in February in order to develop ideas for new capacity building programs.
Additionally, OPERA America is trying to engage its members on a number of advocacy fronts:
OPERA AMERICA PARTIPATION CAMPAIGN - In an effort to establish more relationships between OPERA America members and elected officials, OPERA America is launching a 2007 Participation Campaign. The goal of the campaign is ensure that our members are connecting with their elected officials and that elected officials are in turn 1) attending a performance 2) visiting a facility, and/or 3) attending an education/outreach event. Our objective
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is to reach 50% of Congress and we need every OPERA member to help! We are encouraging members to contact their federal representatives and request a meeting to introduce themselves, their company, and OPERA America. By educating and establishing relationships with elected officials, we can and will increase opera's presence within the federal landscape.
2007 ARTS ADVOCACY DAY - As a national co-sponsor of Arts Advocacy Day, OPERA America wants to make sure our members' are represented. We invite members to come to Washington on March 12-13, 2007 and take part in the largest organized national arts action summit. On March 13, OPERA America will be planning a member’s breakfast followed by visits to Congressional offices.
CALL FOR GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS LIASONS - OPERA America is still working to create a national government affairs network. Companies that have yet to select a staff, board, and/or volunteer government affairs liaison should email the following information to [email protected]:
Name of Staff, Board, and/or Volunteer Liaison Title Direct Phone Number Email
Below is a current list of companies who have appointed government affairs liaisons:
Amarillo Opera Nashville Opera American Opera Projects New York City Opera Arizona Opera Opera Carolina Ash Lawn Opera Festival Opera Cleveland Asheville Lyric Opera Opera Columbus Atlanta Opera Opera Company of Philadelphia Augusta Opera America Opera Memphis Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre Opera Theatre of Northern Virginia Dayton Opera San Francisco Des Moine Metro Opera Sarasota Opera Florentine Opera Seattle Opera Florida Grand Opera Tulsa Opera Fort Worth Opera Washington National Opera Houston Grand Opera Utah Symphony and Opera Mississippi Opera Association, Inc.
- submitted by Haley Gordon, Government Affairs Manager
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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES REPORT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS JANUARY 2007
I. IT Observations and Trends OPERA America completed the most focused technological shift in its existence this past year. A brand new website, several new online applications, and a massive data warehousing project all completed within a 365 day span. The entire staff is to be highly commended for its hard work during this sometimes painful transition.
This successful conversion positions OPERA America well for what the future may bring with regards to the internet and finding new avenues to connect with our members. Not only are we more timely, but we are now more accurate.
The enterprise level database (EDB) installation and launch was smooth. All code and hardware is performing as expected or better. Some changes need to be made on the network side of things due to the larger than anticipated adoption of Opera Source by members. The “Networking” section below describes what changes are being made to accommodate a larger user base.
The next steps for OPERA America are to evaluate each feature that we offer with regards to IT and to determine if and where any improvements can be made. We have been in the midst of so much change that now is the time to step back and take a hard look at what is working, what could be improved, and what needs to be re-evaluated.
An in-depth breakdown of the EDB with specific focus on Opera Source has been included with this report.
II. Hardware All server related hardware is performing normally. New hard drives and tape back up are functioning as expected.
We have begun the process of replacing the office printers. One of three printers has been replaced and the other two will follow in six month intervals.
Microsoft will be releasing a new business version of Windows named Vista in Q1 of ’07. OPERA America will NOT be upgrading to this version for at least one year. An evaluation period is required to see if the upgrade is justified and whether or not the new version will in any way benefit staff productivity. New hardware would be needed on several staff members’ desks in order to run Vista due to the high system requirements that Microsoft has instituted.
A new version of Microsoft Office will be released in Q1 of ’07 as well. An evaluation period is necessary for this, but the requirements of moving the OPERA America offices to this new version will not be nearly as challenging. The upgrade is a minor one in comparison to Windows Vista. A decision and time table for this will be in place by Q2 ’07.
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III. Network OPERA America will be upgrading to a full data T1 internet connection and the phone lines will be moved to a separate line. This will effectively triple the speed of our internet connection for outgoing and incoming connections. Opera Source and Schedule of Performances both require increased bandwidth for better performance. Because the new database resides on our server in the New York offices, our connection to the internet needs to be as fast and as stable as fiscally possible. This upgrade should occur in the beginning of February and will be handled by our phone provider, Paetec.
IV. Current Projects A. Opera Source Version 1.0 of Opera Source went live on January 1, 2007. Overall, this massive undertaking can be viewed as a success. It came in on time, and far less expensive than if the project had been handled by an outside agency. That being said, the project is not finished. All relevant input pages and searches have been completed, but small revisions need to be made. Due to the compressed nature of the timeline associated with this project, some original features were not included and others could be improved. This will be an ongoing project for the foreseeable future.
The next big step is to evaluate how the tools and information are being used and then to tighten integration with existing portions of our website. This is an ever-changing application. It needs to be as nimble as our users and to some extent a step ahead of them. With the technology in place, it now boils down to OPERA America’s intuitiveness and ingenuity.
Please see the supplemental report on Opera Source to learn about its features.
B. Season Schedule of Performances Schedule of Performances is live with a new design and user interface, based on the new EDB. The core structure of the application is in place. As with most applications of this size, there is a continual level of fine tuning and responding to user feedback to incorporate new features.
IT’s next focus in regard to the Schedule of Performances is to increase the speed with which results are returned and to create an OPERA America only search tool that allows for deeper searches of the data by OPERA America staff.
C. Online Learning Center The transition from Opera World to OPERA America’s website has been completed. We now have a solid base to begin adding and organizing new content and further refining and cross referencing existing information to create a truly rich and deep resource for neophytes and experts alike. Please see the Education report for further details.
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D. Online Learning The Online Learning courses are proceeding as planned. The online portions of the work have been farmed out to an outside contractor to alleviate some of the pressure on the IT staff. The results thus far have been excellent. Please see the Education report for specific details on the courses.
E. Conference Registration The conference registration database and process have been completely rewritten to increase the ease of use for not only the users, but for the staff. Last year’s attempt met with mixed results and we are taking the lessons learned from that project and applying them to this year’s iteration.
This year’s online registration process include the ability to edit one’s own registration at any time by adding or dropping attendees from a team as well as the ability to list one’s name on the conference site. Users will now be able to see which of their colleagues will be attending the conference in real time. There will be a mechanism to remove an attendee’s name if that attendee does not wish to be listed.
All payments will still be routed through Verisign. We are going to encourage members to use the online form in order to increase the accuracy of the registration. Handwriting recognition, bad faxes and other potential pitfalls are being eliminated as best as possible.
The registration database will be integrated with the EDB in order to start building a history of attendance and to help spot trends in how OPERA America presents the conference.
F. OPERA America’s E-Newsletters OPERA America has increased the scope of its partnership with TRG (http://www.trgarts.com) to include 4 new electronic newsletters. TRG has been the service responsible for sending Broadcast News for the past 2 years. The partnership is a good one that benefits both companies.
The Artistic, Education, and Trustee networks each had their own electronic and/or print newsletters that were sent out on a semi-regular basis. A decision had been made to make these various newsletters all conform to a similar electronic format and structure to increase OPERA America’s visibility and marketing consistency. In addition to these newsletters, Broadcast News and E-Media Watch underwent a similar conversion.
ArtistLink, EducationLink, and TrusteeLink will each be sent out monthly; NewsLink (formerly Broadcast News) and MediaLink will be sent twice a month. Each newsletter will have stories and links specific to the target audience to increase traffic on OPERA America’s current website.
In addition to the partnership with TRG, LTM Artists (http://www.ltmaritsts.com) is the official sponsor of NewsLink. This partnership was created to increase LTM’s visibility in the opera world and to offset some of the production costs associated NewsLink. In return
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for financial support, OPERA America agreed to provide LTM basic statistics on NewLink’s monthly open and click rates as well as an acknowledgement and logo placement within the newsletter. Please see the example included with this report of the new design.
V. Future Projects A. My Career My Career will be a new service offered to members that will allow them to receive updates on audition or job opportunities in their chosen geographic areas and time frames. My Career will pull information from several areas of Opera Source and other areas of the EDB to create a personalized snap shot of industry opportunities as well as provide all available contact and procedural information relevant to each opportunity.
B. Digital Library The archive project is receiving an overhaul with input from the Information Services department. Please see the Information Services report for more information.
C. Visa Database This application will be created to assist companies in obtaining multiple engagement visas and support documentation for foreign artists. The goal is to store re-usable information about artists from abroad so that OPERA America can help companies generate the necessary paperwork as quickly as possible. Common information such as previous support materials, biographies, management, etc., will be stored here as well as previous visa applications made on that artist’s behalf.
Originally slated to be the last Access database created by OPERA America, it will now be included in the EDB due to the highly reusable nature of the company and management information included.
D. North American Works Directory In the Works and Encore have been merged into one Access database which will in turn be merged into the EDB, allowing for a greater breadth of information and more robust searches. It will exist in a structure similar to Schedule of Performances with heavy ties to Schedule’s data.
E. Further Database Conversions All online databases will be evaluated and targeted for inclusion into the EDB. The re-use of data will significantly lower the complexity of data retrieval and offer users more robust and coherent information. This will be an ongoing project on a database by database basis.
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F. Web Site Related Further revisions and content updates have continued on the OPERA America web site. Response has been overwhelmingly positive on the new look and navigation schemes. The password system will be going through an overhaul to complement OA’s new online offerings and future plans. This will be continually happening as more and more features are added to the EDB.
OPERA America will also be training additional staff in HTML (the language used for display and content purposes on the website) in order to free up the IT staff to focus on some of the more difficult and time consuming database projects.
VI. Web Statistics Online Newsletters • Total Number of email addresses sent to: 17,121 • Total Number of active addresses: 15,243 • Average Number of opens per newsletter: 4,882 • Average Number of click per newsletter: 1,852 • Note: These numbers do not reflect the recent change in our newsletter offerings and are only accurate with regards to the former Broadcast News. All statistics for the new newsletters will be included in the next board notes in April 2007.
OPERA America Web site Usage 4/19/06 – 9/15/06 9/16/06 – 1/18/07
Total Hits 3,722,494 4,930,028
Average Hits per Day 24,816 44,414
Total Page Views 231,038 263,925
Total Visitors 117,698 122,260
Top 5 pages viewed: 1. The home page 2. Jobs search page 3. Login page 4. Season Schedule of Performances 5. Main singers page
Opera Source has only been active to the public since late November. The main Opera Source pages are ranked 10 and 13.
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Opera world Web site Usage 5/1/06-9/15/06 9/16/06 – 11/15/07
Daily Users 1608 1582
Monthly Users 49,848 49.633
Page Views per Month 59,734 59,542.26
The top two pages were: the Main page and the Cornerstones portion of the website.
- submitted by Kevin Sobczyk, Information Technologies Manager
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Information Technologies Supplemental Report to the Board – January ‘07
OPERA America’s Opera Source and Schedule of Performances
Background In July of 2006, the decision was made to move the publication Career Guide for Singers online and to enhance its functionality by merging it with the periodical, Audition Connection. Using the 6th edition of Career Guide for Singers, OPERA America had a base of information to begin the creation and population of this new online resource which will be known as Opera Source.
The ambitious size of the project required the creation of a new, high-level database in order to ensure accuracy and data integrity. Larry Larson and Associates were brought in to advise and create the initial data structure. Working closely with the Artistic and IT departments, a new enterprise level database (EDB) was created.
During the process, it was determined that the Season Schedule of Performances should be included with the project in order to create the most complete and comprehensive resource possible. By merging Career Guide and Season Schedule, OPERA America was able to cut down on duplicate information input as well as increase the integration of information between online applications. A major problem with OPERA America’s previous online applications was the need to update the same information multiple times in the various online databases, which created data inconsistencies.
The preliminary work was completed in October 2006. Both the newly named Schedule of Performances and the company input forms for Opera Source were made available to companies, members and non-members alike. In November 2006, an online search tool that behaved as a directory of company programs and opportunities was made available to OPERA America members. The next step was to incorporate Audition Connection into the EDB. While similar to the company information already residing in Opera Source, the audition information was more time sensitive and required a different set of search tools.
On January 1, 2007, the full version of Opera Source, including the Audition Connection search functionality, was made available to OPERA America members.
Future enhancements to Opera Source and Schedule of Performances Due to the compressed development schedule of Opera Source and Schedule of Performances, some features were not included in their initial iterations. The IT, IS, and Artistic departments will be revisiting and revising some current options as well as developing new ones based on user feedback. Below is a list of current options.
Schedule of Performances – Future plans: 1. An OPERA America only search tool that allows for deeper searches of the data by the IS department 2. Enhanced search tools for website visitors 3. Better integration with the home page with the possibility of highlighting any performances taking place in the current week, or highlighting upcoming performances related to online learning opportunities.
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4. The ability for users to enter their ZIP code on the home page and have a list of current performances in their general vicinity displayed. 5. Faster search results.
Opera Source – Future plans: General 1. The ability to allow companies to input their own audition information. 2. Faster search results. 3. My Career My Career is an initiative to allow users to keep track of individually appropriate auditions or opportunities deemed interesting to them and to be automatically notified of any changes to those auditions or opportunities. It is a way for artists to manage their career from any location, allowing for user created notes and the ability to contact the company directly from their My Career account. This initiative is still in the very early brainstorming stage.
Future plans and enhancements for the EDB All online databases are being moved into the EDB in order to cut down on duplication of effort and to increase accuracy. For example: our current conference registration is written against the new database in order to start tracking trends and to start building a history of attendance for each company. This will allow OPERA America to spot better marketing opportunities as well as be able to help analyze what worked and didn’t work with any given conference.
The next likely targets for integration into the EDB are: - Visa Database - North American Works Directory - Members’ Login information
Overall impact on OPERA America’s website OPERA America’s web site is moving ahead much faster than anticipated. As more and more functionality is being implemented on a daily basis, OPERA America is in the process of re- evaluating the structure of its current website, starting with the members’ login. In order to take advantage of the ever growing wealth of information that the EDB represents, OPERA America needs to integrate the EDB at the base level, allowing the EDB to become the foundation of the site.
By starting with the login options, adding new functionality will be seamless and already in line with any changes in the EDB.
This is an exciting time for OPERA America. By embracing current technology, connecting with existing members and reaching out to prospective members has become much easier.
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MARKETING/PUBLIC AFFAIRS REPORT TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS JANUARY 2007
Media Relations The public affairs department continues to cultivate relationships with the media through its online Press Room at the OPERA America website, by responding promptly to media inquiries, providing data for writers, and through the issuing of press releases on the activities in the field and at OPERA America.
Throughout FY06 and continuing into FY07, we’ve made efforts to set up telephone and personal interviews and meetings with Marc and local press throughout his business travels. As a result, since the September Board meeting, several phone interviews and live interviews were scheduled for Marc. Among these were:
The Daily Herald (Chicago weekly) The Jackson Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Mississippi) The Greater Houston Weekly The Los Angeles Times The Washington Business Journal Go Triad (Greensboro, North Carolina) The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer The New York Times The New York Sun Wired The Austin Chronicle (Austin weekly) Minnesota Monthly
We plan to continue to secure future interviews and meetings via phone or in person for Marc during his travels throughout the country to promote opera in general, the local opera company, and OPERA America. Upcoming trips for Marc include visits to The Minnesota Opera and Arizona Opera. OPERA America staff will work to set up interview and/or phone meetings during these trips.
Press Releases Issued Since the September Board meeting, the following press releases have been issued, copies of which are available from OA’s office and also are available for downloading from the OPERA America website. • September 18, 2006—North American Opera Companies to Present Ten World Premieres During 2006-2007 Season • October 12, 2006—North American Opera Companies Open New Venues During 2006- 2007 Season; Other Companies in Construction Phase With New Homes • October 12, 2006—Five American Opera Companies Celebrate Major Anniversary Milestones • October 24, 2006—OPERA America Announces New Artist Development Series: Making Connections
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• January 2, 2007—OPERA America Presents a Workshop for Bay Area Singers • January 9, 2007—OPERA America Continues Cross-Disciplinary Discussion Series Marking Connections in 2007 • January 11, 2007—OPERA America and Opera.ca Announce 2007 Opera Fund Awards
Young Adult Audiences National Steering Committee During Conference 2006, a session was held on the topic of attracting young adults to opera. The session was in the format of a “What works and what doesn’t work?” forum in which several member companies were represented by both the staff member responsible for the group and a “young professional” leader, also from the group. Representatives from Seattle Opera, Seattle Symphony, Portland Opera, and Fort Worth Opera described the origins of and structures of their groups in a moderated roundtable discussion. The session was one of the most highly attended in the marketing/PR track and it was widely agreed that a similar session on this topic should be included in Conference 2007.
A consensus arose from this session that OA has the opportunity to facilitate and organize a national steering committee comprised of staff and young professional members from approximately 8 to 10 companies across the country. Preliminary goals of the steering committee include the following: (1) Increase the overall effectiveness of such groups through sharing of “best practices” (2) Increase the recruitment of members through the establishment of reciprocal benefits across the country (3) Increase the value of participating in such groups through additional networking opportunities.
The first conference call of the steering committee occurred on September 14, 2006. Representatives from Utah Symphony & Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Boston Lyric Opera, and New York City Opera discussed the basic organization and function of each of their programs. The committee endorsed the idea of creating a “best practices” document which will be created by OPERA America staff for distribution via our website. Reciprocal privileges among member companies concerning discounted tickets were also discussed and the committee agreed that this would be a priority moving forward. OA staff agreed to determine the most practical method to establish this on a nationwide basis.
A second conference call of the Young Adult Audiences National Steering Committee occurred on November 22, 2006. In addition to the participants from the first conference call conducted in September, (Utah Symphony and Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, New York City Opera, and Boston Lyric Opera), Houston Grand Opera was represented by both their staff liaison and their program’s chairman.
Additional discussion on the best method in which reciprocity privileges could be fulfilled was a primary topic. OPERA America has created and designed a “universal membership card” that will be distributed to each participating company. Individual companies will then disseminate the membership card to each member of their young professional group. Although each opera company processes ticket sales differently, each marketing representative agreed that marketing staff could insure that box office personnel and other appropriate staff were apprised of and trained to handle reciprocal transactions as they occurred. All agreed that the primary stipulation for the reciprocal process must be that all ticket sales are strictly subject to each company’s individual policies concerning ticket purchases.
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The committee also endorsed the idea of OPERA America listing all participating companies on our website with specific links to each company’s own website directing potential buyers to the appropriate URL containing that company’s young professional group information and policies. A listserve will also be created which OPERA America will build and maintain. Periodic emails containing current performance information of participating companies will be distributed to this listserve from OPERA America’s server.
To finalize these proposed ideas, the steering committee will meet in New York on January 19th. Staff liaisons from Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Houston Grand Opera, New York City Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Utah Symphony and Opera, and Opera Carolina will be in attendance. Volunteer liaisons from Houston Grand Opera and Utah Symphony and Opera will also participate. In addition to the issues above, the committee will also discuss ideas and plans for a 2007 Annual Conference session. OPERA America staff will present an oral report on this meeting at the January Board meeting.
Upon final agreement of the program and its processes among the committee members, OPERA America will extend an invitation to all professional company members to participate in the program. We anticipate all elements of the program being in place by late February.
Marketing Benchmarking Survey In 2006, OPERA America created a development benchmarking survey that was sent to all professional company members. Data was compiled and combined into a detailed report that was distributed to development directors at the 2006 Annual Conference. Reaction to the survey was very positive and OPERA America staff determined, with feedback from several marketing directors, that a similar survey of marketing practices and benchmarks would be a useful tool for our company membership. A final draft of the survey was completed following input received from Kelley Rourke, OPERA America’s Director of Publications; Jim Fullan, Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Portland Opera; and Doug Tuck, Audience Development and Community Programs Director at Vancouver Opera.
Later in January, the survey will be emailed to all marketing directors of our member companies. The survey will examine all aspects of marketing revenue and expenses. Ticket sales will be analyzed on a subscription, single ticket, and group sales basis. All marketing-related expenses including direct mail, telemarketing, advertising, internet/website and e-mail efforts will also be analyzed. This data will be compiled and sorted by company budget size and analyzed forming the basis of a written report that will be available to all participants. We plan to distribute this report at the 2007 Annual Conference in Miami.
2007 Conference Planning for the 2007 conference has begun with concurrent and breakout sessions identified. Sessions will include (1) How and When to Implement a Branding Campaign (2) Current Issues and Trends in Electronic Media/Internet Marketing (3) Quantifying PR Efforts and Results (4) Elements of a Successful Subscription Campaign, and (5) Attracting the Singles/Young Adult Audience. Final speakers and panelists will be identified and confirmed by the end of January.
In addition to the conference sessions, a pre-conference seminar “Creating Demand, Retaining Customers, and Maximizing Revenue through State of the Art Pricing Strategies” is scheduled
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for Wednesday, April 28. Leading consultants including Douglas W. Kinzey, President of Audience Strategies for the Arts, Jill Robinson and Rick Lester of TRG will join experienced field experts in a series of presentations and discussions that will help to explain the way multiple goals concerning marketing and development must be considered and coordinated to develop healthy organizations.
American Express National Audience Development Research Project The next phase of this research project has been underway throughout the fall and winter. Following a roundtable discussion comprised of four member companies in June on e-marketing practices and challenges, facilitated by Bill Predmore, Founder and President of POP Media, OA agreed to conduct a brief survey of eight to ten member companies from around the country to determine each company’s constituent’s attitudes toward email practices used by their local opera company. Companies that agreed to allow a random portion of their audience to be surveyed include Chicago Opera Theater, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Florida Grand Opera, Cincinnati Opera, The Dallas Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Portland Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, and Baltimore Opera.
Results of the surveys are being returned to OPERA America and will be compiled and distributed to each participating company with both individual company and aggregate data. Using this benchmark of current practices and attitudes, OPERA America staff will work with POP in developing an online toolkit that will be available to all professional company members. The toolkit will serve as a “living” resource for tools, tips and news on online marketing for opera companies. A portion of the online toolkit is scheduled to be live on the OA website in October; the remaining elements of the toolkit will be posted to the website by the end of January.
- submitted by Brian Chapman, Media and Government Affairs Manager
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NEXT MEETING SPRING 2007 BOARD MEETING AT OPERA CONFERENCE 2007 APRIL 24-25, 2007 MARRIOTT KEY BISCAYNE MIAMI, FLORIDA