As we draw closer to Monday’s Academy Awards ceremony, it becomes more and more clear just how much of a role awards ceremonies can play in contributing to a product’s ultimate success. According to a report by Business Week, the 9 films nominated for Best Picture this year can expect a financial boost of $6.9 million, even if they don’t end up taking home any golden statues, while the film which does win the big one can expect a boost of $18.1 million. Whichever way you look at it: awards pay off.
This appears to be the thinking behind Opera Magazine’s latest venture to increase awareness and enjoyment of opera. Rather than fighting against ongoing budget cuts, the magazine has opted to celebrate its art form by launching the world’s very first International Opera Awards, to be known as The Operas.
According to the magazine’s editor, John Allison, these awards will aim to provide opera houses all over the world with a wider recognition that is much needed following the decline of private sponsorships and cuts in state subsidies. Just last month, the English National Opera, one of London’s two main opera companies, announced audience figures were down 9% while Paris Opera chief Nicolas Joel has announced that he will not renew his contract in 2015 after publicly condemning the budget cuts.
‘Opera houses all over the world are in a lot of difficulty at the moment as everything is being cut and everyone is feeling the pinch. Some smaller houses in the United States have closed,’ Allison told Reuters. ‘Opera houses work very hard and artists put their life and soul into their work but there are a lot of good performances that come and go and are not recognized. Hopefully these awards will raise opera in everyone’s conscience.’
It may seem odd that an art form that has been around since the 16th century does not have its own international award ceremony. As Allison points out, books, films and music have all been recognised with their own international awards, but opera has remained largely in the dark.
‘There just has not been a set of international awards for opera. We want to change that,’ he said.
This isn’t the first time an arts industry has decided to unite and make itself heard through an international awards ceremony. Last year, ArtsHub reported that Harvey Weinstein and Michael Flatley were developing the World Dance Awards with the aim of presenting dance awards in the same way the Oscars and Grammys present film and music awards.
Like the World Dance Awards, the Operas will be presented at a ceremony in London in April. A total of 23 categories will make up the very first Operas, including awards for best female singer, male singer, conductor, opera company and chorus. There will also be a lifetime achievement award presented as well as a readers’ award. Younger performers will also receive bursaries for winning an award. This, according to Harry Hyman, one of the chief minds behind the awards, will help up and coming performers as they embark on their opera careers.
‘It is important to give something back to help people’s careers at a formative stage,’ Hyman told the BBC. ‘Opera kind of hides its light under a bushel. But we hope the awards will help bring opera to a wider audience.’
Nominations have already been announced with Oper Frankfurt, Opera National de Lyon, Staatsoper Stuttgart, Stanislavsky Music Theatre Moscow and Theater an der Wien all vying for the best opera company award.
Finalists for best female singer include Sarah Connolly, Joyce DiDonato, Evelyn Herlitzius, Catherine Naglestad, Nina Stemme, and Beatrice Uria-Monzon while male singers Aleksandrs Antonenko, Piotr Beczala, Joseph Calleja, Jonas Kaufmann, Luca Pisaroni, and Bryn Terfel will be competing for the best male singer award. Conductors nominated include Britons Richard Farnes and Antonio Pappano, Germany’s Ingo Metzmacher and Christian Thielemann, and Italian Nicola Luisotti.
Ten opera experts will make up the judging panel, which reportedly received over 1,500 nominations from 41 countries prior to the shortlist.
The Operas will take place in London on 22 April.
