My suggestion: let us stop putting pressure on ourselves to come up with an American repertory, an American canon. At least for the time being, let’s not worry too much about why that isn’t happening, and above all, let us stop pretending that it it is. Instead, let us drop all commissions and grants directed toward that purpose. Then, let’s take the monies so saved, and aim them in two directions. Direction One: increased classical music awareness and practice in the primary and middle-school levels of education, and in the mass media. Direction Two: with the co-operation of a few opera companies seen to be responsible in their handling of the real canon, underwrite positions with those companies for young people who say they’d like to be opera composers—a modest year-round stipend, which will leave plenty of time for composing, since none of our companies save the Met approaches a full-season repertory schedule. No credentials required except for some musical and theatrical knowledge and interest and the wish to obtain more, and no expectation to come up with an opera yet. Rather, a couple of years of hard work with these companies in any and all capacities for which they are qualified—in the pit, as assistant conductors and répétiteurs or choral assistants, observing and assisting at rehearsals and coachings, learning the technical ropes, jumping in wherever needed and mixing it up with singers and players, noticing what works and what doesn’t. If an aspiring librettist, all of the above plus time as an assistant director or stage manager (not a bad idea for the composers, too). In short, a two-year apprenticeship, with freedom to compose but no requirement to produce. Then, either cut them loose or, if they wish, continue to employ them in whatever position they’ve proved useful. Whenever one comes up with an opera deemed producible, produce it. No special grant (either it belongs, or it doesn’t), and no years-long ordeal of readings, workshops, concert presentations, trying to make something that might be promising into something that actually works. There’ll be flops, of course, so maybe a Flop Fund to compensate companies for any significant box-office drop-off, and thereby encourage them to run a risk.

In Opera America’s announcement of future projects, I found one that gladdened my heart. Yes, it’s yet another study, made possible by yet another grant. But this one is for a fieldwork examination of how opera companies can be most productive at building audiences around (imagine!) the classics of the opera repertoire, those really tough-to-sell old relics. Lord knows what it’ll come up with (for some ideas of my own, select at random any three or four of my past postings), or how it will be analyzed and interpreted,  but that’s thinking in a potentially productive direction.

˜ ˜ ˜

NEXT TIME: We have two more new Metropolitan Opera productions that come up on my charts: Strauss’ Salome, directed by Claus Guth, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and starring Elza van den Heever and Peter Mattei; and John Adams’ Antony and Cleopatra, conducted by the composer, directed by Elkhanah Pulitzer, and with Julia Bullock and Gerald Finley in the title roles. They do not emerge till mid-to-late May, and I haven’t yet decided whether to treat them in separate posts or to roll them up into one. I’ll keep you informed.

# # #