i Determining strategies for success in the opera industry: a case study from Gauteng by Abraham Marthinus Spies A mini-dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree MMus (Performing Art) in the department of Department of Music at the UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA FACULTY OF HUMANITIES Supervisor: Mrs Marianne Feenstra October 2015 ii I declare that the work I am submitting for assessment contains no section copied in whole or in part from any other source unless explicitly identified in quotation marks and with detailed, complete and accurate referencing. iii Abstract This study investigates strategies for success in the opera industry. It evaluates the current opera market and how it is affected by the negative economic climate that is being experienced. In order to achieve this aim, this study focuses on Salon Music, an entrepreneurial company that produces operas in Gauteng, South Africa. Through the study of both the artistic and financial management of the company, uncertainties faced by the directors were uncovered. The directors were then questioned on possible strategies that could be implemented to curb these uncertainties. In conclusion two aspects, namely funding and audience preference, were highlighted as the main elements in the market that create uncertainty. Strategies were then suggested to manage these uncertainties successfully. iv Key Words Arts funding Arts management Cultural and Creative Industry (CCI) Entrepreneurship Opera Performing Arts Entrepreneurship (PAE) Performing Arts v Acknowledgements I would first of all like to thank God for His guiding hand, allowing all the opportunities that have been given to me that have led up to the preparation and completion of this study. I am greatly indebted to the kind guidance of my supervisor Mrs Marianne Feenstra. Her positive encouragement, wide range of musical knowledge and unwavering belief in the need for research that will empower young operatic entrepreneurs have made this study possible. My sincere thanks to my respondants, the artistic and financial directors of Salon Music, Mr Willem Vogel and Mr Daniël Vos, for taking the time to answer my questions. The information they provided into the management of their company and especially the attendace figures of their operas gives a rare glimpse into the mechanics of managing an operatic entrepreneurial venture. To my parents, Braam and Martie Spies, who have always supported me in my musical studies, I am truly thankful. I would like to thank my wife, Marina Botha-Spies, for all her patience and support during the completion of this study. All through our busy work and performance schedules, planning of a wedding and completing a Masters study herself, she remained positive and was always obliging to listen to sections of my study. Without her loving encouragement this study would never have been possible. vi Table of Contents List of Tables ........................................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 1.1 The research questions ................................................................................................... 3 1.2 The purpose of the study ................................................................................................ 3 1.3 The objectives of the study ............................................................................................ 3 1.4 Research methodology ................................................................................................... 3 1.5 Literature review ............................................................................................................ 4 1.5.1 Entrepreneurship in the creative industries .......................................................... 4 1.5.2 The enterprise of staging opera .......................................................................... 11 1.5.3 The South African perspective........................................................................... 14 CHAPTER 2 Research methodology, results and analysis ................................................ 18 2.1 Research methodology ................................................................................................. 18 2.1.1 Rationale for the use of a case study .................................................................. 18 2.1.2 Sampling ............................................................................................................ 19 2.2 Data sources ................................................................................................................. 21 2.3 Data analysis ................................................................................................................ 22 CHAPTER 3 Presentation of data........................................................................................ 23 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 23 3.2 Presentation of data ...................................................................................................... 23 3.2.1 The Company ..................................................................................................... 24 3.2.2 Elements of staging an opera ............................................................................. 33 3.2.3 The Audience ..................................................................................................... 37 3.2.4 The Industry ....................................................................................................... 44 3.3 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 45 vii CHAPTER 4 Discussion ........................................................................................................ 46 4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 46 4.2 Data analysis ................................................................................................................ 46 4.2.1 The Company ..................................................................................................... 46 4.2.2 Elements of staging an opera ............................................................................. 51 4.2.3 The Audience ..................................................................................................... 52 4.2.4 The Industry ....................................................................................................... 60 4.3 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 60 CHAPTER 5 Conclusions and recommendations .............................................................. 62 5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 62 5.2 Conclusions and answering of research questions ....................................................... 62 5.2.1 How do financial and uncertainty management strategies impact on repertoire selection when staging operas? ........................................................................................ 63 5.2.2 How does an entrepreneur balance artistic integrity and financial gain? .......... 64 5.2.3 How could other strategies form part of the solution? ....................................... 65 5.2.4 What strategies can an entrepreneur use to ensure success in staging operas? . 66 5.3 Recommendations ........................................................................................................ 68 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 69 Appendix A - Participant Informed Consent Form ........................................................... 76 Appendix B - Questionnaires ................................................................................................ 78 vi List of Tables Table 3.1 Salon Music attendance per opera performance 2010-2014.………………...43 Table 4.1 Statistics: Operabase.com Top 10 - Worldwide performances of operas Season 2013/2014……………………………………………………………56 Table 4.2 Salon Music attendance per opera performance 2010-2014…………………58 Table 4.3 Opera Companies Sold Capacities Operas 1998/1999 Season………………59 1 CHAPTER 1 Introduction The relevance of an art form founded in the seventeenth century to a more modern culture has been asked at many times during its more than four hundred years of development. Opera, like drama, seeks to be a commentary on the society of those who view it. It can address relevant challenges, or triumphs, in a society. The operas Nabucco and Aïda by Giuseppe Verdi were reflections on the Italian peoples’ struggle for freedom from imperialism. Contemporary operas based on the lives of famous people such as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (Jackie O; Daugherty; 1997), Jerry Springer (Jerry Springer: The Opera; Lee & Thomas; 2001), Anna Nicole Smith (Anna Nicole; Turnage; 2011), and, in South Africa, the late president Nelson Mandela (Madiba: The African Opera; Njeza; 2014), target a younger, modern audience. But opera also communicates universal truths, like the ever present struggle of good over evil,