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It's the 100 year anniversary of the iconic and legendary Maria Callas who transformed not only opera, but also culture and fashion.🎉 🌐The "Callas Phenomenon" Known for her captivating presence, Callas graced not only the opera stages but also the covers of mainstream magazines like Time, showcasing her appeal that went beyond the classical music audience. She was unique in engaging popular culture, rather than just sticking to the opera houses like her counterparts. 🎶The Artistry of Callas Her artistry set new standards in opera, influencing generations of musicians and redefining vocal performance. Musicians today, even those born after her passing, continue to draw inspiration from her work. Her vocal range was extraordinary, covering both dramatic soprano and bel canto roles with mastery. But Callas' performance capabilities were unmatched; she had an anointing to make the audience feel something. 🌹Beyond the Stage Unfortunately, Callas's personal life mirrored the drama of her roles, marked by glamorous highs and tragic lows. Her story resonates with the narratives of cultural icons like Marilyn Monroe, adding a layer of intrigue to her artistic persona. It's important to remember that - whether we like a celebrity or not - each person has a lot more complexity than meets the eye; it can be easy to criticize someone, but we don't have the whole picture - who knows what someone might be going through! 🎤Centennial Reflections One of our major themes in Living Opera (cc Soula Parassidis) is that these iconic singers - notably, Maria Callas - may not have been perfect (because, really, who is?), but they have made substantial contributions that we need to remember. And that memory should not fade after the centennial; we need to cherish it year after year because the lessons can guide us to live better and healthier lives. For those who want to learn more, below in the comments are links to two informative stories by Jay Nordlinger in National Review and Tom Huizenga in NPR that elaborate on her legacy. #MariaCallas #Culture #Fashion #Opera #Music #Art

Get your calendars ready. Another week of diverse events ahead! Movers & Makers Magazine

Opera Philadelphia’s recent decision to introduce a pay-what-you-can model, with tickets starting as low as $11, has generated considerable buzz over the past week. 🎟️ Spearheaded by countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, this new initiative has been praised for its potential to attract new audiences by making opera more accessible. Indeed, within 48 hours of launching this new model, Opera Philadelphia sold nearly 6,000 tickets—4,539 of them at the $11 level, and two-thirds of them new-to-file ticket buyers. Plus, 440 patrons added a voluntary donation to their purchase. What does the customer-centric lens have to say about Opera Philadelphia's new $11 ticket model? 🔍 I'll be exploring this question later today in my newsletter. Because in our digital, pluralistic, world where the customer holds ultimate control, the customer-centric lens is a must for every strategy conversation. P.S. Not already subscribed? Join 770 forward-thinking arts leaders who are shaping the future of the arts by leveraging powerful innovation frameworks. 🚀 Click the link in my profile to subscribe. #artsandculture #audiencedevelopment #artsmarketing

Good to hear Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart discussing Streetwise Opera's recently posed question on The Rest is Politics. Streetwise Opera is an opera company that enables people who’ve experienced homelessness to find inspiration and empowerment while they rebuild their lives and identities- https://lnkd.in/encz7QEs Well done to all those highlighting the evidence for the power of creativity, and backing up the cross-governmental recommendations of the #CreativeHealthReview. Published by the NCCH and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing (APPG AHW), the Creative Health Review offers a set of recommendations on how policy can embrace creative health and sets out the development of a cross-departmental strategy. The Review has gathered evidence that shows the benefits of creative health in relation to major current challenges, and examples of where this is already working in practice. Find out more about the Creative Health Review - https://lnkd.in/e6YBPQU3

Friday Arts … Something other than today’s headlines about former US Prez’s… Point of Difference. What is it that separates Springboard Opera from a hundred other small arts organisations? And why would anyone pay attention to this little band of Arts Adventurers from Brisbane? What is The Springboard Thing? (Apart from the fact that Brisbane is WHERE IT IS AT in the Oz Arts Scene…) The answer is this… We are doing The Arts differently. Having no baggage to carry, we start with a clean slate. And picking up the best of everything that we see. If we can use it to get us to our goals, it is fair game. We do not say that the artists are at the centre of everything, or that the business model is at the centre of everything, or that funders are our key focus. For us everything is connected and so… Everything is at the centre of Everything. Very Quantum Multiverse and Dr Who – we’ll accept that – but it does open up a universe of possibilities for Springboard. To Transform the Opera Idea, probably in ways that no-one has imagined yet. And that is the Springboard Point of Difference. The dusty old paradigm that is Opera needs to be busted wide open and re-built. From Back to Front and Top to Bottom. And in the process, create a sustainable and viable path for emerging Queensland Opera Artists. Who have that Springboard Thing going on… This is Springboard Opera. If The Springboard Thing grabs your interest, come and see it in action! We are going public on 29 June in the heart of Brisbane with a fabulous and stylish Opera Gala. Get all the details here -->> https://lnkd.in/getQSPPu But being The Springboard Thing, it would be best to park your prior expectations outside… #Future #TransformationalLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #Directors #Technology #Performingarts #YourNetworkForLife

#PeterGelb, with whom I was in contact this summer, is not exaggerating here but providing an objective and data-driven analysis of the #MET. I also don't find it exaggerated that #AxelBrüggemann also considers the scenario he describes to be realistic for Europe and Germany in the near future. We are in the midst of a tremendous change in our society in general and our high culture audience in particular. Education, interests, reception, societal routines, and attention spans have changed rapidly in recent years - and is changing every day. Be it opera houses or symphony orchestras: Clinging to institutional structures, focusing on a museum-like repertoire, and communication forms that no longer reach today's young people support their moments of passing away. https://lnkd.in/e9Gki83v

Friday Arts. #Springboardopera …reinvents opera experiences for all, in unexpected, inspiring ways whilst providing a platform through which emerging artists can advance their craft. Believing in the transformative value of music, we aim to unite performers and audiences alike in productions that benefit all involved. And how is that relevant in a business forum like LinkedIn? Weel, mainly because, when it is filtered down, Springboard is about innovation and changing the paradigm that is an arts business. If we are going to deliver on our mission, a new type of arts organisation is going to be needed. All the things that relate to a C21 business model apply, but especially things like engaging with stakeholders, transformational thinking, integrated end-to-end solutions, leadership and social licence. To support emerging artists, is there a better way than relying on Government for ongoing funding? Or is there a different way to think about sustainable funding? To bring opera to a wider range of audiences, we need to engage in different ways. Opera in unexpected, inspiring ways… in ways that connect to contemporary audiences in a VUCA world. Opera and the arts generally live an operate in the same VUCA world as, well, the rest of the world. So why should it be any different building a resilient and sustainable organisation in the arts space as opposed to in another business space? This is the other side of “reinventing opera experiences”. We cannot reinvent the opera experience without reinventing the arts organisation behind it. This is Springboard Opera … if you connect with these ideas, jump over to our website https://lnkd.in/gS53GYEN, and become a friend or get involved. #Future #TransformationalLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #Directors #Technology #Performingarts #YourNetworkForLife Luisa Tarnawski Leslie Martin Gheorja Haidley

If you are in Connecticut, please come experience the incredible work of this wonderful cast and creative team in our “reappropriated” version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s SOUTH PACIFIC at Goodspeed Opera. Performances through August 11. “Between the disposables and the treasurables lies a range of works, middling to excellent, that can still be powerful despite certain problems. Often the problems arise from ways of looking at race and gender that, however progressive in their day, do not meet contemporary expectations. Who, if anyone, has the right perspective to address such works most authentically? A good answer might start with artists who represent the group that’s objectionably depicted (or gratuitously ignored) in the show itself. And though I’m not a proponent of narrow identity matching, which can shrink a capacious story to a hall of mirrors with just one person inside, I’ve seen several examples recently in which the story is instead expanded. This happens when directors and performers from the communities in question thoughtfully reappropriate material that was once appropriated from them. The “South Pacific” now playing (through Aug. 11) at Goodspeed Musicals in East Haddam, Conn., goes even further, casting a Black actor, Cameron Loyal, as Cable. Everything lands differently without changing a line. The reaction of the white Seabees to the Black officer, no less than his to them, lights up the entire racial structure of the show. Cable’s connection to and abandonment of Liat elevate and enlarge that story. As the Rodgers and Hammerstein catalog makes plain — see also “The King and I” and “Flower Drum Song” — appropriation was a goal, not a sin, in those postwar years, when finding commonalities among peoples seemed paramount. Even now, I’d argue, appropriation can be a good thing, when done with sensitivity to honor rather than commodify diverse cultural expressions.” - NYTimes