The Opera Experience: Performing a Vibrato with the Audience

• Authors: Macarena Cuenca , Jordi López-Sintas , Ercilia García-Álvarez
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Audience development is a key issue in the cultural sector, so opera house managers and policy makers need to understand how and why opera goers enjoy an opera. Our research, which investigates opera enjoyment, is framed in the social constructivist paradigm and draws on interview data collected from 15 informants. Results suggest that certain pre-conditions are necessary to be able to enjoy an opera, mainly, being cultivated and actively acquiring a liking for the genre. As for strategies to prepare for an upcoming performance, some respondents approached it as a ‘special day’, while others viewed it as a ‘cultural experience’. For all our respondents, the experience was an emotional one. We conclude the article by discussing the implications of the results of our research.

Keywords

EN

audience development; opera experience; opera enjoyment; opera houses management

• Publisher: Sciendo
• Journal: International Review of Social Research
• Year: 2015
• Volume: 5
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 141-151

Dates

published

2015-10-01

received

2014-10-01

accepted

2015-02-15

online

2015-10-30

Contributors

author

Macarena Cuenca

author

Jordi López-Sintas

author

Ercilia García-Álvarez

References

• ABAO-OLBE. (2011) Análisis Socios 2010-11. Unpublished material.
• Agid, P. and Tarondeau, J. (2011) Le Management des Opéras. Comparaisons Internationales. Paris: Descartes & Cie.
• Alier, R. (2004) ¿Qué es Esto de la Ópera?: Introducción al Mundo de la Lírica. Barcelona: Ma Non Troppo.
• Belk, R. W. (1989) ‘The sacred and the profane in consumer behavior: theodicy on the Odyssey’, Journal of Consumer Research, 16 (June), 1–38.
• Benzecry, C. (2009) ‘Becoming a fan: on the seductions of opera’, Qualitative Sociology, 32 (2), 131-151.[Crossref][WoS]
• Blumer, H. (1966) ‘Sociological implications of the thought of George Herbert Mead’, American Journal of Sociology, 71 (5), 535–544.[Crossref]
• Blumer, H. (1986) Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method. Berkeley [etc.]: University of California Press.
• Boerner, S. and Jobst, J. (2008) ‘The perception of artistic quality in opera – results from a field study’, Journal of New Music Research, 37 (3), 233–245.
• Boerner, S. and Renz, S. (2008) ‘Performance measurement in opera companies: comparing the subjective quality judgement of experts and non-experts’, International Journal of Arts Management, 10 (3), 20–29.
• Bouder-Pailler, D. (1999) ‘A model for measuring the goals of theatre attendance’, International Journal of Arts Management, 1 (2), 4–15.
• Crotty, M. (1998) ‘The Foundation of Social Research: Meaning and Perspective in the Research Process’, London: Sage Publications.
• DiMaggio, P. (1982) ‘Cultural entrepreneurship in nineteenth-century Boston. Part I’, Media, Culture and Society, 4, 33–50.
• Dobson, M. C. (2010) ‘New audiences for classical music: the experiences of non-attenders at live orchestral concerts’, Journal of New Music Research, 39 (2), 111–124.[WoS]
• Doublet, G. (2003) ‘Opéra: nouveau public, nouvelles pratiques’. In: O. Donnat and P. Tolila (eds.) Le(s) Public(s) de la Culture, pp. 215-234, Paris: Presses de Sciences Po.
• Espinola, A. and Badrinarayanan, V. (2010) ‘Consumer expertise, sacralization, and event attendance: a conceptual framework’. Marketing Management Journal, 20 (1), 145–164.
• European Commission (2013) Press release: Commission welcomes approval of Creative Europe programme by European Parliament. Available from: (consulted 12 January 2014).
• Eurostat (2007) Cultural Statistics. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. Available from: (consulted 5 October 2013).
• Fundació Gran Teatre del Liceu (2013) Memòria 2011/2012. Barcelona: Fundació del Gran Teatre del Liceu. Available from: (consulted 5 November 2013).
• Gee, J. P. (2004) Situated Language and Learning: A Critique of Traditional Schooling. New York: Routledge.
• Geertz, C. (1981[1973]) La Interpretación de las Culturas. Barcelona: Gedisa.
• Hume, M., and Mort, G. S. (2008) ‘Satisfaction in performing arts: the role of value?’, European Journal Marketing, 42 (3/4), 311–326.[WoS]
• Jobst, J. and Boerner, S. (2011) ‘Understanding customer satisfaction in opera: first steps toward a model’, International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 16, 50–69.
• Kelle, U. (1995) Computer-Aided Qualitative Data Analysis: Theory, Methods and Practice. London: Sage.
• Laamanen, J.-P. (2013) ‘Estimating demand for opera using sales system data: the case of Finnish National Opera’, Journal of Cultural Economics, 37, 417–432.[WoS]
• Levine, L.W. (1988) Highbrow/Lowbrow: The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy in America. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Lincoln, Y. S. and Guba, E. G. (1994) ‘Competing paradigms in qualitative research’ In: N. K. Denzin and Y. Lincoln (eds.) Handbook of Qualitative Research, pp. 215-234, Thousands Oaks, Calif. [etc.]: Sage.
• López Sintas, J., García Álvarez, E. and Pérez Rubiales, E. (2014) ‘Art museum visitors: interaction strategies for sharing experiences’. Museum Management and Curatorship, 39(3), 241-259.
• Mayring, P. (2000) ‘Forum : Qualitative Social Research Sozial-forschung 2. History of Content Analysis’, Forum: Qualitative Social Research. Sozialforschung, 1 (2 Art. 20).
• McConachie, B.A. (1988) ‘New York operagoing, 1825–50: creating an elite social ritual’, American Music, 6 (2), 181–192.[Crossref]
• Ministry of Culture (2011) Encuesta de Hábitos y Prácticas Culturales 2010-2011. Madrid: Ministry of Culture. Available from: (consulted 5 November 2013).
• Patton, M.Q. (2002) Qualitative Research and Research Methods. London: Sage.
• Radbourne, J., et al. (2009) ‘The audience experience: measuring quality in the performing arts’, International Journal of Arts Management, 11 (3), 16–29.
• Radbourne, J., Glow, H. and Johanson, K. (2010a) ‘Measuring the intrinsic benefits of arts attendance’, Cultural Trends, 19 (4), 207–324.
• Radbourne, J., Johanson, K. and Glow, H. (2010b) ‘Empowering audiences to measure quality’, Journal of Audience and Reception Studies, 7 (2), 360–379.
• Schwandt, T. A. (1994) ‘Constructivist, interpretivist approaches to human inquiry’ In: N. K. Denzin and Y. Lincoln (eds.) Handbook of Qualitative Research, pp. 118-137, Thousand Oaks, Calif. [etc.]: Sage.
• Sociocultural Research Consultants (2013) Dedoose Version 4.5, web application for managing, analyzing, and presenting qualitative and mixed methods research data. Los Angeles, CA: Sociocultural Research Consultants, LLC ().
• Storey, J. (2003) ‘The social life of opera’, European Journal of Cultural Studies, 6 (1), 5–35.[WoS]
• Storey, J. (2006) ‘Inventing opera as art in nineteenth-century Manchester’, International Journal of Cultural Studies, 9 (4), 435–456.
• Strauss, A.L. (1987). Qualitative Analysis for Social Scientists. Cambridge: University Press.
• Tajtáková, M., and Arias-Aranda, D., (2008) ‘Targeting university students in audience development strategies for opera and ballet’, The Service Industries Journal, 28 (2), 179-191.
• Tambling, J. (1987) Opera, Ideology, and Film. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

Identifiers

DOI

10.1515/irsr-2015-0013