Development of young opera Audiences. Reflections on the role of the artistic program

Abstract

In recent years, audience development has become one of the most important issues and current affairs within the cultural sector. The specific case of opera is one of the most extreme examples, since it is the most expensive genre of all the performing arts and also has a minority and very aged audience. In this paper we reflect on the development of young opera audiences. Specifically, the aim is to identify what type of initiatives relating to the artistic content are pursuing European opera houses to reach children, teenagers and young people in general. The methodology is based on a review of the scientific literature on the topic under study and an empirical qualitative research, relying on two different techniques: content analysis and in-depth interviews. The study confirms that the reduction of the average age of the audience by incorporating younger audiences is a priority for opera houses as it is considered a key factor for their future sustainability. However, just as in the case of children the strategy to follow seems to be clear, this is not so evident in the case of youngsters.

Keywords

• audiences
• opera
• young people
• artistic program