{"id":286,"date":"2019-08-14T17:32:59","date_gmt":"2019-08-14T16:32:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/?p=286"},"modified":"2019-08-14T17:55:44","modified_gmt":"2019-08-14T16:55:44","slug":"offer-of-opera-for-all-by-norman-warwick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/2019\/08\/14\/offer-of-opera-for-all-by-norman-warwick\/","title":{"rendered":"OFFER OF OPERA FOR ALL by Norman Warwick"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

According to The\nMail On Sunday (11th<\/sup> August 2019) millions of us now listen in to\npodcasts. So well developed, now, is the podcast industry that the newspaper,\nin an article by Rob Waugh, included several pages discussing the current 100\npodcasts most listened to. These specialist podcasts cover not only comedy,\nliterature, film, tv, cookery, and other favourite pastimes but also, to my surprise,\nseveral niche subjects. There in the music section, just three places below The\nStory Of The Clash stands the Barbican Podcast. Focussed on classical\ncomposers, the podcast is presented by Edward Sackerson, who is frequently\njoined by conductors to explore some of our greatest classical music. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sandwiched\nbetween those two apparent extremes of The Clash and the classical, to may\nabsolute amazement, stands Aria Code, which actually caught my eye because I\nlove a good, or bad, pun. Aria Code does what it says on the tin and explores opera\u00b4s\nmost famous arias. This podcast is actually put together by musicians who pull\napart one moment from an opera in a forensic examination of how and why that\naria works in operatic compositions such as Rigoletto and The Magic Flute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whilst opera\nmight be thought by some of us as evidence that podcast productions are aimed\nat a niche subject matter, the podcast is widely listened to. This is partly\nbecause, like all good podcasts, it centres around experts talking passionately\nabout their subject, but it also demonstrates that opera has a large enough\naudience base to sustain such productions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I have to\nsay that I am relieved to hear that, because all across the arts<\/em> recently received an enquiry from a major UK\nopera company with more than 150 productions behind them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have asked\nus to explore the feasibility of a number of their performers and technicians\netc coming over to Lanzarote for a week to engage with local schools, music\nacademies and musicians to deliver a series light-hearted talks, lectures,\nworkshops and performances of The Pirates Of Penzance in conjunction with local\nLanzaroteans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It sounds a\ngreat idea, (and it is, of course), but like so many good ideas the logistics\nof it are frightening<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, very\ninformal and low key enquiries already been conducted on the island by all across the arts<\/em>have already drawn a handful of positive responses. We have\nreceived expressions of interest from two female singers who perform in the\nsame choir on Lanzarote. One has several years\u00b4 experience on the amateur\ndramatics scene in both the UK and since retiring here to the island, whilst\nthe other has also performed in several fully staged and concert performances\nover the years in venues as diverse as village halls and suburban theatres such\nas The Theatre Royal in Bury St, Edmunds. This lady has also served on several\ninfluential committees in the performing arts sector. We have also had an\nexpression of interest from a gentleman who now lives for lengthy periods each\nyear on Lanzarote, with many years\u00b4 experience in the UK as a repetiteur\n(rehearsal pianist) and accompanist, on music including \u201cPirates of Penzance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people have\nasked to be kept informed of developments, but the most exciting step forward\nso far has been made by these three experienced artists, who also took the\ntrouble to respond constructively to some of the points all across the arts<\/em> raised in our published articles and informal\nopening discussion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, we\nhave asked that opera company concerned to perhaps consider staging all\nperformances indoors as The Pirates Of Penzance might not be suitable for\noutside performances here, because of the difficulties that might be presented,\nby the wind and heat of the island, to acoustics and audience comfort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An inter-island\ntour of The Canary Islands, (as was mooted) would probably prove impractical as\nflights or ferries of cast and equipment would probably be prohibitive as far\nas likely funders or sponsors are concerned. However, it is felt that two or\nthree suitable venues might be found on Lanzarote which might be offered free\nof charge. Selecting a performance point in the South, Centre and North of the\nisland would place about thirty kilometres between each of the sites and allow\nan audience hinterland for each performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although there\nmight be some overheads in the acquisition or creation, the gathering of sufficient\nof these items should not present a problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The original\nproposed month of touring was originally September 2020 but our advisory panel\nof experts pointed out that some towns that might play an important part in\ndelivering the project have highly important times on their own cultural agenda\naround that time of year. Yaiza, for example, has its annual Fiesta during the\nfirst week of September and The Mancha Blanca Romeria (Artisan Fair) is 16th\nSeptember, and all across the arts<\/em>\nhave been reminded that \u00b4no Canarian would be willing to miss that!\u00b4<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lighting Techniciansmight have to be employed as freelance\nat the cost of the project rather than be supplied by any local theatre\ncompany, and whilst all across the arts<\/em>\nhave seen many shows in Lanzarote theatres that have enjoyed superb lighting\nand sound systems, it has to be said that the skill sets of individual\ntechnicians might not be as wide as their counterparts in the UK<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Choruses drawn entirely from Lanzarotean students or adults might prove difficult to fill.However, it should be possible to put together enough singers able\/willing to participate from half a dozen or so very competent choirs and an appeal to the general public would also likely attract a few volunteers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Orchestration requirements can only properly be assessed when it is known precisely what instrumentation, in terms of numbers and range, is required. It should be noted, though that our repetituerewould be willing to rehearse chorus and play keyboard\/piano in orchestra. Vocal scores would be required, with only two currently available. The cost of photocopying of such items should be factored in to the proposed overall budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Liaison with Local Authorities would require a bi-lingual (Spanish and\nEnglish) speaker sympathetic to, and with some understanding of, the cause. It\nis felt that a volunteer might be found for this role, but competence is key\nand this could become a significant cost factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accommodation and transport perhaps could be arranged with local hosts and within the chorus, etc. but it could probably prove essential to hire a car for the stage director and conductor to use as their role is likely to see them moving between various sites during the course of the workshops, rehearsals and performances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

all across the arts<\/em> would assume\nresponsibilities for all marketing and publicity, mounting a sustained advance\nmarketing campaign utilising outlets such as Lanzarote Information, Gazette\nLife and Lancelot, Tourist Information outlets, commercial Spanish and English\nspeaking radio and tv, internet and social media and niche newsletters issued\nby choirs, venues, schools etc. The cost of doing so would be built into the final\nbudget and would include any consultancy fee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Negotiation with\nprospective venues might see us having to discuss numbers of staff to be\ninvolved in front of house and ticketing positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Costing will, of course, be the most important factor and also perhaps the biggest problem of all. It seems likely that that project will need to  generate revenue to meet any costs not covered by any funding that might be attracted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an example,\nthough, a 20 Euro ticket price for each \u00b4show\u00b4 could be charged, but if each of\nthree shows attracted an audience of 100 that would generate six thousand\npounds. It should be pointed out, however, that a recent full and very well\npresented performance of The Marriage Of Figaro was priced at only 5 euros.\nThis did draw about 500 people, (mostly friends and family of the performers\nwho were all graduating students or staff members of the island\u00b4s musical\nacademy, giving this as an end of year celebration and showcase). It has been\nsuggested, though, that chorus members might pay for the privilege to be\ninvolved in The Pirates Of Penzance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

all across the arts<\/em> have been asked\nwhether costume hire costs would be incurred for soloists as, presumably, the\ncompany must have these available already have from previous UK tours?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flightswould, of course, be another huge cost\nfactor and are estimated at a minimum of 3,000 Euros<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lodging might be\nprovided locally with chorus hosts, but if not this would add another approx. 2,000\nEu. for villa hire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meals, <\/strong>whether on a self-catering or\ninclusive basis, would also be cost generating<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having examined the prospective costs offlights,\naccommodation, and perhaps some meals to be paid for, there is unlikely to be\nmuch left over for the fees of Opera performers and technicians However, all across the arts<\/em> have also been\nreminded that \u00b4this is a lovely island with a wonderful climate, and visiting\nguests and artists would not billeted in grotty \u201cdigs\u201d.\u00b4 Therefore, an\nacceptance by the UK based Opera Company that, as far as they are concerned,\nthis would be part work, part holiday would diminish some of these issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no discernable tradition of previous high-income or of high\nprofile sponsorship of such events on the island, other than by the Cabildo,\nlocal government, who do so as part of local services and, of course, to\nattract voters by supporting Lanzarotean enterprise. all across the arts<\/em>have been told it \u00b4would be surprising\nif\nany Canarian business could be persuaded to support a venture of this sort.\u00b4  There are, though air lines and tour operators\nwho might see a synergy in what would be a fairly major working tour that might\nalso lead to follow up events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sponsors will\nnot usually step forward until the benefits of being associated with a\nmerchandise or event has been identified for them. all across the arts<\/em> have a reputation in the UK for attracting funding\nand sponsorship by clearly identifying the transferable soft skills that can be\nacquired by any student or adult participating in the arts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are also\nadept at attracting niche-specific sponsorship and on this particular project\nwould look to attract relatively small sponsorship packages for clearly\nidentifiable categories, such as transport, accommodation etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similar musical\nprojects have already been delivered over the last several years on the island\ninvolving musical composer and director Sergio Siminovitch from Rome, being\nbrought over and funded by The Cabildo for an in initial visit and subsequently\nbeing brought back by a local benefactor to work with her German choir. They\nhave so far delivered productions of a Handel or a Purcell Oratorio, though\nthese have not been fully-staged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lady\nconcerned organises these very efficiently, however, and therefore has\nexperience of many of the above logistical issues. To attract on board people\nof her expertise would be a huge benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Yaiza\nClassical Music Festival has, in past years, also engaged players from abroad,\nso its organiser too, a male, has had a similar experience. There are a few\nother people could bring their expertise to this possible project, but it would\nbe invidious to identify them at this stage, until they have been informally\napproached<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
determining the demand for opera<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We have asked\nthe opera company in theUKto provide us with as detailed a costing\nas possible, as well as logistics of instruments, performers, \u00b4teachers\u00b4 and technicians.\nAny company ethos, straplines, marketing slogans and reviews would also be\nuseful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

all across the arts<\/em> <\/strong> will continue with a soft news campaign to alert \u00b4new residents\u00b4 (i.e. new-ish settlers on the island) to this possible project and a concerted, comprehensive campaign to identify the local movers and shakers who might have a vested interest in becoming involved in a project that would deliver many benefits on the arts and cultural scene over here. We would seek influential media outlets, including of course, our own Sidetracks And Detours blog as well as our all across the arts pages in the MEN Media Group and on the Lanzarote Information web site. We would also look towards the two glossy English language glossy life style magazines published on the island; The Gazette, (monthly) and The Lancelot (quarterly). The English speaking radio station, Monster FM, could also be a prime site for placing advertising and soft news stories. Of course we would also encourage any eventual partners in the project, such as The Cabildo, The CIEM Music Academy, and the venues etc to fully exploit their own favoured marketing channels, espousing the potential benefits of the venture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These benefits\nwould include soft life skills for participants, about punctuality, preparation\nand creativity for instance, and an increased cultural diversity and inter-generational\nawareness, all helping to build an understanding and tolerance of others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, it seems a\nlong way ahead at this stage, but you know what they say about long journeys\nand first steps. Sometimes, you just know, don\u00b4t you, that the time may be\nright?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All this\nsurely suggests there might be a desire, and in some areas a need, for a\nworking relationship with a UK company with many years of experience in the\nfield. Now that local elections have finished over here we have an idea of who\nare the political movers and shakers who might be able to turn the proposed\ntour into reality. That, and a proposal for sponsorship, offering package deals\nof various kinds to interested parties would seem to high on the agenda now for\nall across the arts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what\nsounded like a good little idea actually means a lot of hard work for all\nconcerned. We\u00b4ll keep you informed of progress though, of course, and if you\nfeel you have any ideas please drop us an e mail through our contact site on\nour Sidetracks and Detours blog at aata.dev<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out our archives for The Marriage of Figaro\nand More Than Opera<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to The Mail On Sunday (11th August 2019) millions of us now listen in to podcasts. So well developed, now, is the podcast industry that the newspaper, in an article by Rob Waugh, included several pages discussing the current 100 podcasts most listened to. These specialist podcasts cover not only comedy, literature, film, tv, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}