As we approach the conclusion of the 2023-24 season and anticipate the summer festivals, I reflect on numerous visits made over the past months to our members and captivating performances they have presented.
Among the highlights were the world premieres of Don Giovanni’s Inferno at the Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg and The Shell Trial by Ellen Reid at the Dutch National Opera & Ballet as part of the Opera Forward Festival. Additionally, there were rediscoveries such as Louise Bertin’s 1830 opera Fausto in Essen and Salieri’s Cublai, gran Kan de’ Tartari at MusikTheater an der Wien. A memorable Baltic tour took me to Vilnius, Riga, Tallinn, and Helsinki, where I enjoyed sold-out performances of Massenet’s Manon, Nabucco, Die Zauberflöte, and Dialogues des Carmélites – a definite favourite of mine.
Our forums, the most cherished events in the Opera Europa calendar, were held in many great locations: in Zagreb, we were graciously hosted for the Opera Management Course, which flowed into the Artistic Administration & Producing forum, giving our course participants the opportunity to present their season project to a strong group of industry professionals. The Audio-visual & Digital forum in Warsaw kicked off with a talk on the challenges of filming opera and ballet and you can read more about this forum in Luke’s report, while Zurich played host to the gathering of Costumes, Make-up & Wigs forum which amongst other focussed on sustainability and had a presentation of the Green Producers Tool. Oslo welcomed the TechSet forum, also with a presentation of the Green Producers Tool, with an important presentation by the ROH on implementing the Theatre Green Book guidelines. Many theatres highlighted the importance and challenges of getting guest design teams on board with the theatre’s sustainability goals. Currently, I am packing my bags for Palma de Mallorca to attend the HR forum and to congratulate Miquel Martorell, alumnus of the Opera Management Course, on his appointment as the new General Manager.
Our spring conference in Vienna, with 465 participants, focused on Audiences as its central theme. David Pountney delivered an absorbing keynote speech dissecting the Arts Council England’s report Let’s Create: Opera and Music Theatre Analysis, and the ensuing massive cuts in government subsidy. Panels explored the significance of company values for audiences and partners, as well as strategies for expanding audience interests. The integration of ballet into opera performances was a noteworthy discussion, emphasizing the importance of collaboration across disciplines. The General Assembly in Vienna provided an opportunity to express gratitude to retiring board members and welcome new ones, Ted Brandsen, Matthieu Dussouillez, Iva Hraste-Sočo, Ott Maaten, Fergus Sheil and Randi Stene. Lotte de Beer, Stefan Herheim and Bogdan Roščič were our generous hosts for this conference and came together for a thought-provoking session on the organisation and funding of the Vienna opera companies.
The green agenda remains a priority and Opera Europa has achieved SHIFT eco-certification. Celia and Aline attended the Inspire kick-off meeting in Athens which will provide an online training platform for Performing Arts professionals.
Many members will be coming to Los Angeles for the second edition of the World Opera Forum and Marc Scorca, President/CEO of Opera America, is organising an impressive schedule of sessions which will include Making a Case for Opera in the 21st Century – I will report back in our next newsletter.
Finally, I extend heartfelt thanks to Susanna Werger, a stalwart of our organisation, as she embarks on a new journey at the Theaterakademie August Everding in Munich. We will miss her contributions and wish her every success in her future endeavours.
Karen Stone
