Australia Yearbook - 2001

510 Year Book Australia 2001
12.15 MUSICA VIVA AUDIENCES(a)
1996 1997 1998
1999
no. no. no. no.
New South
Wales 288 993 276 889 291 292 274 495
Victoria 41 564 41 929 42 853 34 183
Queensland 6 735 11 118 15 303 22 144
South
Australia 19 681 24 209 23 089 16 073
Western
Australia 30 161 30 665 43 015 44 474
Tasmania 10 103 8 060 9 599 8 024
Northern
Territory . . 5 562 4 703 7 171
Australian
Capital
Territory 14 210 13 919 12 911 12 947
Australia 411 447 412 351 442 765 419 511
Overseas 21 000 20 600 50 000 34 350
Total 432 447 432 951 492 765 453 861
(a) Includes audiences at regional touring concerts, education
concerts, subscription concerts and special events.
Source: Musica Viva.
Symphony Australia Network
The Symphony Australia Network comprises
Australia’s six major professional symphony
orchestras—Adelaide Symphony Orchestra,
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Queensland
Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony
Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and
West Australian Symphony Orchestra—and the
national service organisation, Symphony
Australia. The network was established as a
division of the Australian Broadcasting
Corporation (ABC) over a number of years from
1932. The orchestras and the national service
organisation now operate as subsidiary
companies of the ABC. The orchestras present
live concerts in Australia’s major performing arts
venues and in free open-air concerts. They also
present broadcasts on ABC radio and television,
make recordings for international record labels,
accompany opera and ballet performances,
undertake international tours, and give
performances in regional and country areas
throughout Australia. In 1998–99, the six
orchestras presented more than 700 concerts to
audiences totalling more than one million people
(table 12.16) and reached much larger audiences
through their recording and broadcast activities.
Performing arts
The performing arts encompass opera, musical
comedy, theatre in its various forms and the
various styles of dance. They also include artists
working as acrobats, clowns, magicians,
comedians, revue artists, poetry readers and
other performing artists.
Attendance at the performing arts
The popularity of opera and musicals is reflected
in attendance numbers at the performing arts.
Table 12.17 shows that in the 12 months prior to
April 1999 over 2.4 million people (16.3% of the
Australian population aged 15 and over) attended
at least one performance of musical theatre, while
1.3 million (9% of the Australian population aged
15 and over) attended at least one dance
performance.
Performing arts industries
There were 1,399 employing businesses mainly
engaged in the performing arts industries at the
end of June 1997. Of these, 881 mainly provided
live theatrical or musical presentations (i.e. music
and theatre productions); 150 operated venues
for performing arts such as concert halls and
entertainment centres; and 369 provided services
to the arts industry such as casting agency
operation, costume design and set designing.
They employed 13,359 persons at the end of June
1997. During 1996–97 they accrued total income
of $1,281.3m, of which $341.8m was from box
office income and $294.3m from government
funding. There were also 19 theatre ticket agency
operators at the end of June 1997. Additional data
on the performing arts industry are shown in
Chapter 21, Service industries.
12.16 SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS, Performances and Total Attendances
Concerts
1997–98 1998–99
Total attendances
Concerts
Total attendances
Type of performance
no.
no.
no.
no.
Paid orchestral concerts 511 665 421 483 701 594
School concerts 184 95 070 242 99 424
Free concerts 24 297 520 29 290 447
Total 719 1 058 011 754 1 091 465
Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Annual Report 1998–99.