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2006 WRITTEN TESTIMONY Marc A. Scorca Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the subcommittee, I am grateful for the opportunity to submit testimony on behalf of OPERA America, its Board of Directors, and its 114 American member companies and the 16 million audience members we serve with our performances and education programs. We strongly urge you to support an increased appropriation of $170 million for the National Endowment for the Arts. This testimony and the funding examples described below are intended to highlight the importance of federal investment in the arts so critical to sustaining a vibrant cultural community throughout the country. The not-for-profit arts industry stimulates the economy, creates jobs, and attracts tourism dollars. The not-for-profit arts generate $134 billion annually in economic activity, support nearly 5 million jobs, and generate more than $10 billion in federal income taxes. Federal government funding of the arts generates on average $7 for every dollar granted—NEA funding of worthy arts programs is truly an economic investment in the cultural richness of our communities. Opera is a continuously growing art form that can address the diverse needs and backgrounds of our communities. Past NEA funding has directly supported projects in which arts organizations, artists, schools, and teachers collaborated to provide opportunities for adults and children to create, perform, and respond to artistic works. NEA funding has also made the artform more widely available in all states, including isolated rural areas and inner cities; indeed, NEA funded projects cross all racial, geographic, and socioeconomic lines. The following are some examples of the impact of NEA funding of opera programs during 2005: From the NEA’s Access to Artistic Excellence Program: Boston Academy of Music, Inc. in Boston, MA received $10,000 to support a new production of Robert Ward's opera The Crucible, performed at the Cutler Majestic Theater in Boston, and additional activities held at historical sites and schools surrounding the Greater Boston area. In a collaboration with the Salem National Historical Park, Opera Boston co-partnered with the Park to create participatory workshops and outreach events. Jarvis Conservatory, of Napa, CA received $20,000 to support the 11th annual Zarzuela Festival and workshop to educate emerging professional singers about this Spanish operatic art form. The four-week workshop—part of an effort to preserve this Hispanic performing tradition--educated as many as 25 singers and dancers through coaching, master classes, and technique training, and culminated in five performances of El Barberillo de Lavapies by Francisco Asenjo Barbieri, libretto by Luis Mariano de Larra. Knoxville Opera Company in Knoxville, TN received $20,000 to support productions of Gaetano Donizetti's The Daughter of the Regiment and Robert Ward's one-act opera Roman Fever, double-billed with Gioacchino Rossini's chamber opera Il cambiale di matrimonio. The productions formed the centerpiece of the Fourth Annual Rossini Festival in April 2005, a free Italian Street Fair in downtown Knoxville. This Street Fair, with the opera performances as its centerpiece, attracted more than 60,000 citizens to downtown Knoxville. Los Angeles Opera Company in Los Angeles, CA received $65,000 to support the production of a newly commissioned opera by Academy Award winning composer Elliot Goldenthal and Tony Award winning director of Broadway’s The Lion King and co-librettist Julie Taymor titled Grendel: Transcendence of the Great Big Bad. Grendel is based on John Gardner's novel of the same name and is drawn from the 9th-century poem, Beowulf. Nashville Opera Association in Nashville, TN received $15,000 to support the world premiere of a new opera based on Elmer Gantry, the Sinclair Lewis novel about a charismatic businessman turned preacher. The music, drawing locally on both the traditional and contemporary country music scene, combined a mélange of arias, hymn tunes, chorus spirituals, operatic duets, and musical ensembles. New York City Opera, Inc. in New York, NY received $60,000 to support a new production of Giacomo Puccini's La faniculla del West. Outreach programs included panel discussions with directors, designers, and performers, along with educational opportunities for adults and high school and middle school students. Opera North in Philadelphia, PA received $10,000 to support the continued development of Vanqui, a full-length opera about an enslaved African couple in the 1800s, by composer Leslie Burrs, with libretto by novelist John A. Williams. The opera's development included rehearsal workshops and performances with a chamber orchestra. Seattle Opera in Seattle, WA received $50,000 to support a production of contemporary Mexican composer Daniel Catan's opera Florencia in the Amazons (sung in Spanish with English supertitles) and outreach activities. The project included free preview talks, lectures, and radio broadcasts. Virginia Opera Association, Inc. in Norfolk, VA received $10,000 to support a consortium project to present Brundibar, a children's opera by Czech composer Hans Krasa and librettist Adolf Hoffmeister, both victims of the Holocaust. In February 2005, four performances of Brundibar were presented at Richmond's Virginia Holocaust Museum, collaborator for the project. These examples are just a few of the many programs supported by the National Endowment of the Arts. As we continue into the 21st century, these programs display the power of opera to bridge different cultural backgrounds and traditions and attract new audiences with new programming and education efforts that reflect the wide diversity of our nation. While the NEA’s current and past funding value and necessity is recognized, the reality is that more than 50% of opera program requests submitted to the NEA in 2005 were turned down because of a lack of funds. Despite overwhelming support by the American public for spending federal tax dollars in support of the arts, the NEA has never recovered from a 40% budget cut in the mid-nineties, and its programs are seriously underfunded. OPERA America and other performing arts service organizations work hard each year to strengthen support for the NEA in Congress. We urge you to increase the 2006 NEA funding allocation to $170 million. On behalf of OPERA America, thank you for considering this request. |
