Opera in America and Around the WorldFounded in 1970, OPERA America has an international membership that includes nearly 200 Company Members, 300 Associate and Business Members, 2,000 Individual Members and over 16,000 subscribers to its electronic news service. OPERA America is based in New York City. Over half of these companies were established after 1970, and one quarter of the total were established since 1980, making the growth of opera throughout North America a relatively new phenomenon. In addition to its North American membership, OPERA America works in partnership with Opera Europa to serve 91 affiliated companies in Europe and with Opera.ca to serve 19 professional companies in six provinces in Canada. Economic Impact OPERA America and Opera.ca member companies had collective budgets of $809 million and employed over 20,000 people on a full-time and part-time basis in 2005-2006. Including related expenditures by audience members and employees, opera is a multibillion-dollar industry. Most Frequently Produced Operas The most frequently produced operas in the 2007-2008 season were: La bohème, Tosca, La traviata, The Marriage of Figaro, Carmen, Don Giovanni, The Elixir of Love, The Magic Flute, Aida, Madama Butterfly and Turandot. The most frequently produced North American operas in the 2007-2008 season were: Amahl and the Night Visitors, Cyrano, A Little Night Music, Cold Sassy Tree, Porgy and Bess and West Side Story. New Works In 2006-2007, North American opera companies produced 10 world premieres. Since 1990, professional opera companies in North America have produced almost 200 new operatic works. Number of Performances In 2005-2006, North America's professional opera companies presented 2,217 performances of 485 fully staged main season and festival productions. Education Programs The audience for education and community programs served by U.S. and Canadian opera companies during the 2005-2006 season totaled over 2 million people. Broadcast and Recorded Media According to the National Endowment for the Arts, the percentage of adults viewing or listening to opera via broadcast and recorded media remains higher than live attendance. As early as 2002, 37.6 million adults experienced opera on TV, video, radio, audio recordings or via the internet. Support As of 2007, American opera companies report the breakdown between contributed and earned revenue as roughly 50/50. Over the past five seasons, individual giving has remained the largest source of contributed revenue, and in general, the smaller the company, the greater reliance on individual gifts. According to the OPERA America field study in 2007, most opera companies with an operating budget over $10 million had a 5% increase in attendance over the past five seasons. Box office revenues increased by 14%, the significant disparity a result of rising ticket costs. More than ever, opera companies with operating budgets above $10 million are relying on income generated from investment portfolios and endowments to support operating expenses. In 2007, 22% of these companies earned income resulted from investment grants, versus 13% in 2003. Private support of OPERA America companies in the United States totaled $468 million in FY06, representing 51% of the total income. Government support for American opera companies continues to pale in comparison to Canada. Only 8% of contributed revenue to U.S. companies came from public institutions in FY07, compared to 38% in Canada. |
