A very interesting and not easily answered question! The quickest and easiest answer is that it is much like the proverbial making of sausage…. You may not want to know!
But seriously: the recipe for putting together an opera season is a bit of art, a bit of science, a bit of experience and a bit of risk-taking:
Start with a popular, top-ten opera (like La Traviata, La Boheme, Aida, Carmen). These works are practically guaranteed to sell really well, and fund less-know works. Every opera company I know of in North America schedules at least one of these a season. They pay the bills. And they’re really good operas, too, that have stood the test of time.
At the other end of the spectrum, I try to include a work much less well-known, perhaps from the 20th Century. In VO`s case, we are planning to produce a post-WWII opera each season for the next several years, following on the success of last spring`s Nixon in China. These works are risky from a marketing perspective because they have low name recognition and also many people fear trying something new, especially `new music.` But I believe it is important to refresh the operatic repertoire and introduce audiences to newer work and less familiar work.
We try to incorporate one piece that is lighter, something like The Barber of Seville or Die Fledermaus or The Italian Girl in Algiers. These pieces break-up the notion that opera is always dark and heavy and tragic, and they are sometimes more suitable for children and families.
Another consideration is to produce `second tier` works of the masters (Verdi, Puccini, Mozart, etc.). I use that phrase as a gauge of popularity and recognition, not of quality. Examples would be Verdi`s Falstaff, Puccini`s The Girl of the Golden West, and Mozart`s La Clemenza di Tito.
We may also wish to explore a given composer over several seasons, as VO did with Richard Strauss, producing a Strauss opera each year for several years.
Other considerations include budgetary considerations, which will effect size of orchestra, number of choristers, and scale of scenery; availability of rental productions; availability of suitable singers for the roles; and the size of the opera house (the Queen Elizabeth`s size makes it challenging to produce the intimate chamber operas of Donizetti, such as Don Pasquale).
These are some of the ingredients to consider in assembling an opera season. I apologize for taking so long to respond to the question. Next time I will be more prompt!
James Wright
General Director
Vancouver Opera
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