Opera Australia attempts to make opera “for all” while maintaining the linguistic diversity of presenting opera in their original languages. To enhance the connection of audiences to the work, Opera Australia uses digitization and other technologies to create a holistic storytelling mechanism. This case demonstrates that (1) language and linguistic identity can advance and strengthen artistic storytelling and (2) audiences want to see linguistically diverse and accessible stories.
The Future of Technology in Opera
White Paper Wednesday: Data Practices in the Opera Industry
Learning From Leaders: Data Practices in the Opera Industry
How are marketing departments at large American Opera institutions using their data? This new Whitepaper by AMT-Lab Contributor Kevin O'Hora uses four case studies to paint a picture of how companies are using data acquired by their website. Full of insights for marketing departments across disciplines, this publication includes software recommendations as well as general strategies and best practices applicable to any arts marketer.
Operatic Analytics
It is easy to see the ways that the production and consumption of opera have changed to match the needs of the 21st century consumer. However, it is difficult to identify similar changes reflected in the way that opera is managed. Opera companies have altered the product they are offering, but have they come up with new metrics to measure and manage their success?
#TBT: The Web-Based Arts Experience
When discussing the future of the arts, many professionals and studies have stated that the manner in which audiences consume arts and culture is rapidly changing--and has already changed. The Internet has been the most notable new space for consuming culture, providing both opportunities and challenges through widespread and instant information sharing. Over the past several years, AMT Lab has documented the various web-based arts experiences that are becoming readily available--usually including lessons and best practices that managers can take away for their own practice. This week’s TBT rounds them up into a user-friendly toolbox of online arts experiences of various artistic mediums.
What do you think about your ticketing software?
We are conducting the 3rd National Ticketing Software Survey during the month of February. If you are interested in sharing your experience and your opinions about your software, please let us know. All those participating in the survey will receive a full copy of the report which will provide a national view as well as cluster analyses by discipline, budget size, and geographic region. The data will be useful for both organizations and vendors. Organizations will gain a better understanding of their own practices as compared to their peers and, more importantly, be able to use the findings as evidence for future technology funding campaigns. Vendors will have explicit evidence as to the needs and wants for future software design.
Performing Arts in the Wearable Age
Wearable computing devices--including smartwatches, fitness and health tracking devices, and smartglasses--are projected to quadruple between now and 2018. What does their increased use mean for the performing arts? In their follow-up paper to "Through The Looking Glass: How Google Glass Will Change the Performing Arts," guest correspondents Thomas Rhodes and Samuel Allen explain wearable technology, provide an overview of current experiments with these devices among performing arts professionals, and discuss potential implications and challenges for the field.
Attracting New Crowds
An ongoing concern of performing arts managers is the impact of arts participation and engagement programs on creating new audiences. Specifically, arts organizations are concerned as to whether or not their efforts elicit new patrons to attend performances regularly. Concerns exist in particular about the overall impact of engagement programs like simulcasts, wondering if a new audience members are attending these events at all, or if the events are drawing the same group of people that come to staged performances. Furthermore, a growing discomfort exists that opera simulcasts might actually be “cannibalizing sales,” or in other words, reducing ticket sales at live opera performances.
Research Update: From Simulcast Audience To Live Audience
San Francisco Opera's (SFO) general director David Gockley came to the company in 2006, bringing with him the legacy of free "plazacasts" that he had done at the Houston Grand Opera, his former home. During his first year at the San Francisco Opera, 8,000 people turned up at Civic Center Plaza near the Opera’s home at War Memorial Opera House to watch a simulcast of Puccini's Madama Butterfly. However, Gockley was concerned that there was no method of tracking the conversion of simulcast attendees to ticket buyers, so at the suggestion of a staff member, the simulcasts were moved to the AT&T ballpark.