Recent research has shown that as little as 3.7%of UK’s population visits opera performances regularly.* Shocked by these findings we wondered why this might be and how we might be able to change it. We believe this apparent disinterest in opera is due to a lack of understanding of the art and the mostly foreign language lyric. Often, audience members report having difficulties to follow the plot for this exact reason and that they sometimes feel discouraged to attend performances at all.

We would like to overcome this barrier by providing an explanation of each performance before staging a scene. In the final public performance of our workshop each opera scene will be preceded by our narrator introducing the characters, explaining how these relate to one another and showing how the staging and the music work together to convey the composer’s intent. We aim to create a vivid and inclusive opera experience that encourages our audience to engage with the piece and that helps spread the enthusiasm we all share for Italian opera.

 

*The Statistics Portal

https://www.statista.com/statistics/556334/adults-opera-attendance-uk-england/

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