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Opera Europa Autumn Conference - Troubled Waters
Details
19 October 2023
Copenhagen / Denmark
Industry News
On October 5, 6, and 7, Opera Europa organised its Autumn Conference "Troubled Waters" in Copenhagen, Denmark and Mälmo, Sweden.
The conference gathered over 370 participants from opera houses all over the world to discuss challenges and discover opportunities in the performing arts sector. Discussions revolved around current funding and finding alternative sources of income, ensuring diversity and inclusion within the opera houses, on stages, and throughout the production process.
We were especially happy to see two of the FEDORA 2022 Next Stage Grants Recipients take part in this conference.
Representatives from XR Stage, a project led by the Finnish National Opera, showcased their project of creating a virtual digital twin of the opera house that illustrates the set in its final form from both the stage and the audience's perspectives, while eliminating the need to travel, which enables a more efficient and sustainable production process
Representatives from ISOLDE, a project led by the Irish National Opera, presented their app that syncs projected visuals of Street Art Opera to the audio on your smartphone, enjoyed through your personal headset.
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Team 2
Copenhagen Opera House Stage
Copenhagen Opera House Backstage
XR Stage
Malmo Stage
Malmo Backstage
ISOLDE 2
Thursday 5 October 2023
The conference was opened with a welcome address by Opera Europa's President Ignacio García-Belenguer, and Director Karen Stone. It was followed by a keynote by the CEO of the Royal Danish Theatre, Kasper Holten, who addressed the challenges of running an opera house today.
A panel discussion moderated by Hannah Griffiths (Birmingham Opera Company) gathered speakers who explained how they nurture composers and young artists to encourage creation, with the aim of keeping opera relevant in today's world.
A technical guided tour of the Copenhagen Opera House backstage was also organized to discuss the technical workforce approaches during performances.
Later in the evening, guests attended the performance "La clemenza di Tito" at the Copenhagen Opera House.
Friday 6 October 2023
General and Financial Issues
- In a session moderated by Alexandra Stampler-Brown (Deutsche Oper am Rhein), panelists discussed the financial impact of rising energy costs and sustainable production choices.
- It was followed by a discussion on how to face challenging cuts and cultivate public support, moderated by Alain Perroux (Opéra National du Rhin).
Later in the afternoon, and in response to the morning's financial issues, a session dedicated to finding alternative sources of income was moderated by Christoph Ladstätter (Vienna Volksoper).
Technical & Production Issues
- The Technical & Production forum included sessions around the financial, artistic and production impact of the closing of Copenhagen’s workshops on the company’s operations from their Technical Director Rasmus Clausen.
- It also included a session discussing initiatives taken by opera houses to increase diversity in their technical workforce, moderated by Emma Wilson (London Royal Opera House).
- In parallel, Emily Gottlieb (London National Opera Studio) facilitated a world café discussion on Young Artists Programmes and choosing a career in opera.
- It was followed by a discussion on how singing and directing competitions can act as jumping boards for careers in opera, moderated by David Stern (Opera Fuoco).
- Henning Ruhe (Göteborg) then gathered Nordic contributors around the topic of the Nordic way of running an ensemble.
Over the two days in Copenhagen, participants were able to experience the Finnish National Opera and Ballet's XR Stage tool, FEDORA Next Stage Grants Recipient in 2022.
Saturday 7 October 2023
- As participants made their way to Malmö, Sweden, they were welcomed by Christina Hörnell, CEO, and Annika Annerby Jansson, President of the Regional Council.
- The evening performance of Don Giovanni was the perfect opportunity to open the debate about Gender and race stereotypes in popular operas in a session moderated by Laura Canning (Garsingon/Leeds).
- The Artistic & Production forum continued its discussion on laying the foundation for a safe production environment with a code of conduct for guests and staff
- Case studies on the engagement of intimacy coordinators for those very present delicate scenes were presented by Ylva Kihlberg (Mälmo).
- Finally, Jan Henric Bogen (St Gallen) led a panel on sustainable leadership in a production run to manage the unpredictable and produce with less overtime and stress.
Digital and Audio-Visual
- In parallel, participants toured the Mälmo Opera House with the audio-visual department to learn more about the technologies and soundscape system used on stage, as well as loudness and dynamics used for online streaming.
- New takes on filming performances were discussed, taking into consideration when performances are live-streamed and when they are re-played.
- Following that conversation, new digital initiatives for opera online were discussed. The FEDORA Next Stage Grants 2022 Recipient, ISOLDE, presented their app that syncs projected visuals of Street Art Opera to the audio on your smartphone, enjoyed through your personal headset.
