Performing arts take aim at the Jerry Springer crowd
Pearl Jam and The Boss at the ballet? Jerry Springer and Palm Pilots at the opera?
Participants at the recent National Performing Arts Convention in Pittsburgh, the first of its kind, acknowledged that the high arts are changing. But they said complaints from some traditionalists that the works are being dumbed down simply don’t ring true.
On the contrary, directors of ballet, opera and dance companies say they’re going after audiences that might never have considered Bach or Puccini as a Saturday night must.
From “Jerry Springer — The Opera” to the still-developing Concert Companion — a program for personal digital assistants (like the Palm Pilot) that describes what’s going on during classical musical scores — the high arts are working to demonstrate that there is nothing too scary at the performance hall.
“There are real and perceived barriers that have separated the high arts from other cultural activities,” said Marc Scorca, president and chief executive officer of Opera America. “Those lines are blurring.”
A crucial shift occurred in the 1980s when opera companies began displaying scrolling translations of Italian- and German-language works above the stage, Scorca said. Attendance at operas in the United States jumped by almost 50 percent from 1982 to 2002, and the translations were one of the biggest reasons for the rebound, he said. (Spokane Opera started using such “supertitles” last year.)
Artistic directors are taking sometimes extraordinary risks to bring more people into the audience. The Texas Ballet Theater, for example, performed to the music of the Dixie Chicks.
“Did that open us up to criticism that we were dumbing down ballet? I’ll take the criticism,” said David Mallette, executive director. “On the same program were two inarguable masterpieces by George Balanchine.”
The Texas Ballet also has used swing and big band music that is every bit as sophisticated as Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky, Mallette said. Music by Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen has been used during recent ballets in Pittsburgh.
Technology above and beyond scrolling translations is also finding its way into orchestra and opera halls. The Concert Companion, similar to audio tours in art galleries, has been tested at a handful of concert halls and has received rave reviews.
“This is really an embryonic attempt at providing that contextual element to those who are unfamiliar with the music without imposing on anyone else,” said Jack McAuliffe, chief operating officer of the American Symphony Orchestra League.