White paper on creativity - ebla center

Chapter 13Table 13.2 - Diversification of opera supply in Italy and Germany (2007)Composers Performances Titles New productionsItaly 78 1186 153 53Germany 188 6882 388 389This comparison must be interpreted inthe light of two fundamental aspects.The first concerns the way opera isproduced in the two countries, i.e. themodel of the “season” in Italy and thatof the “repertory” in Germany. Whereasthe season involves producing a fewoperas with ad hoc casts and a limitednumber of consecutive repeatperformances, the repertory modelconsists in the continuous rotation ofmany titles with basically the same cast.In short, the season meets the artists’need for “specialisation”, whereas therepertory satisfies a need for averagequality and wider consumptionopportunities.It is not the task of this work to assesswhich system is preferable. We wouldstress, however that, in many cases theseason model seems unable to guaranteeadequate qualitative standards because ofthe intense commitments of many of theartists involved and, therefore, limitedrehearsing time with the opera companymusicians and choruses. Moreover, sinceopera houses basically cater to localaudiences, lxxvii continually engaging thesame lead singers is superfluous: a wellchosencast presupposes a stylistic andinterpretative balance and not necessarilyhaving world-famous singers.The second aspect which limits thepossibility of speeding up production ofItalian operas is connected to thephysical and technological structure ofopera houses. Although usually historicmonuments of great aesthetic value,Italian opera houses are often obsoleteas regards requirements for moreadvanced opera productions. Thus, forexample, advanced opera houses are in aposition to set up new productions andrehearse while another opera is beingstaged, thanks to revolving stages orlarge enough spaces to allow the relevantpreparatory work to be done. This isalmost never possible in Italy wherethere are long downtimes between thestaging of one production and another.Moreover, the already complex andproblematic situation of this staticproduction structure is compounded bya network of restraints linked to themanagement of human resources. In factthe union organisations have separatebargaining powers and they oftenboycott premières as a tool for obtainingspecific benefits in a system that is per serather favourable to employees.WHITE PAPER ON CREATIVITY 303