Opera japonica/International Survey 2000

Opera japonica International Survey:

Number of performances in each city during 2000

Last year (2000) there were a total of 233 professional performances in the Tokyo area, including both opera and operetta, stage and unstaged works. [A complete list is available here. ] How did Tokyo compare with other international opera centres? Colleagues and friends kindly contributed figures for their respective cities [acknowledgements below].

Tokyo turned out to be number 11 on the list, but inevitably the survey grew out of all proportion to its original purpose. Statistics for some 81 cities have so far been compiled accounting for 12,432 performances. Cities with at least 70 professional performances a year are included, although entries for Latin America and Russia are lacking and there are few for eastern Europe. Figures for America, Germany, and Italy were supplied by Opera America, the Deutscher Buehnenverein and the Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori (SIAE).

It was originally intended that all the figures should be for calendar 2000, but sometimes these have been unobtainable so the next best available ones have been used, often based on 'seasons'. In some cases only opera, not operetta, statistics were provided and this is noted in the list. Neither the number of productions nor the number of seats per performance were included.

Four ranks

Without attempting cluster analysis (I don't remember how to do it!) the cities can be conveniently divided into four groupings.

a. Major capitals (616 to 350 performances a year)

Vienna (616 performances), Berlin (515), London (463), Munich (410), New York (395) and Paris (374).

The figures for Vienna and Berlin are arguably inflated (like those of the German world as a whole) by a large number of operetta performances.

London owes its position near the top to the enormous range of activity outside the main venues. While the Royal Opera is arguably no longer a major house, the number of performances there are increasing and it may yet be able to regain its position as the flagship of British opera and a major house.

In contrast, opera in New York (and the US as a whole) is dramatically centred on the Met. If seats rather than performances were counted then the Met would be even more prominent.

b. Minor Capitals (339 to 200 performances a year )

In the second group are Dresden (339 performances), Stockholm (281), Budapest (251), Prague (249), then Tokyo (233), Rome (230), Milan (228), Zurich (216), and Mannheim (205).

c. Major regional centres (200 to 100 performances a year)

This group includes Sydney (166), Turin (136), Florence (121) and no less than 34 (!) German, Austrian and Swiss cities.

d. Minor regional centres (100 to 70 performances a year )

This group includes Naples (98), San Francisco (93), Washington DC (93), Madrid (85), Palermo (84), Chicago (81), Verona (79), Barcelona (72), and Bologna (72) and 21 other German, Austrian, and Swiss cities.

[The complete list is at the bottom of the page.]

Specific conclusions

1. The German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) are dominant. Of the cities listed, 61 were German-speaking, 11 were in Latin language areas (Italy, Spain and France), with 6 in English-speaking countries (Britain, USA, Australia) and 4 in other areas.

In terms of performances 69 percent (8.548 out of 12,432) were in German-language areas compared with 13 percent in Latin countries (1,579 performances) and 10 percent (1,291 performances) in the Anglo countries. Others were 8 percent (1,014 performances).

2. It was surprising to find how little opera there was in Italy and Spain! The 10 qualifying cities - Rome, Milan, Turin, Florence, Naples, Madrid, Palermo, Verona, Barcelona and Bologna - accounted for only 1205 performances or just less than 10 percent of the total. [Does this represent a decline in real figures? It would be interesting to know.]

3. Activity in Britain, France, and the USA (and Japan for that matter) was concentrated in the capitals/largest cities. The only qualifying regional cities were San Francisco and Chicago.

Simon Holledge, Tokyo

Complete list of numbers of opera performances per city during 2000

[Alternative period noted where necessary]

Vienna 616 (1998-9, DB)

Staatsoper 261

Volksoper 271

Kammeroper 84

Berlin 505 (1998-9, DB)

Komische Oper 194

Deutsche Oper 163

Deutsche Staatsoper 140

Others 8

London 463 (2000, R Elleson)

English National Opera 174

Royal Opera House 119

Concert halls 54

Summer venues 51

Others 65

Munich 410 (1998-9, DB)

Bay. Staatsoper 205

Staatstheater/Gaertnerplatz 205

New York 395 (1998-9, Opera America)

Metropolitan Opera 208

New York City Opera 115

Others 72

Paris 374 (2000, F Cadenhead)

Opera de Paris 179

Opera-Comique 60

Chatelet 51

Theatre des Champs-Elysees 31

Others 53

Dresden 339 (1998-9, DB)

Staatsoper 206

Staatsoperette 133

Stockholm 281 (2000)

Royal Opera 158

Folkoperan 107

Drottningholm 16

Budapest 251 (opera only, 1999/2000, K Szabo)

Prague 249 (Smetanovo divadlo (State Theatre) only, T Morice, 2000)

Tokyo 233 (2000, Opera japonica)

New National Theatre 91

Others 142

Rome 230 (1999, SIAE)

Milan 228 (1999, SIAE)

Zurich 216 (opera only, 1998-9, DB)

Mannheim 205 (1998-9, DB)

Stuttgart 200 (1998-9, DB)

Hannover 194 (1998-9, DB)

Leipzig 191 (1998-9, DB)

Hamburg 188 (1998-9, Staatsoper only, DB)

Dusseldorf 173 (1998-9, DB)

Wuppertal/Gelsenkirchen 169 (1998-9, DB)

Sydney 166 (2000, A. Byrne)

Wiesbaden 153 (1998-9, DB)

Karlsruhe 151 (1998-9, DB)

Frankfurt 150 (1998-9, DB)

Ulm 148 (1998-9, DB)

Bonn 147 (1998-9, DB)

Darmstadt 144 (1998-9, DB)

Cologne 143 (1998-9, DB)

Braunschweig 135 (1998-9, DB)

Chemnitz 133 (1998-9, DB)

Turin 136 (1999, SIAE)

Nuremberg 131 (1998-9, DB)

Bremen 126 (1998-9, DB)

Kassel 124 (1998-9, DB)

Gera/Altenburg 122 (1998-9, DB)

Eisenach/Rudolstadt 121 (1998-9, DB)

Florence 121 (1999, SIAE)

Schleswig 121 (1998-9, DB)

Heidelberg 118 (1998-9, DB)

Basel 115 (1998-9, DB)

Essen 113 (1998-9, DB)

Saarbrucken 112 (1998-9, DB)

Coburg 110 (1998-9, DB)

Lubeck 109 (1998-9, DB)

Oldenburg 108 (1998-9, DB)

Hagen 108 (1998-9, DB)

Coblenz 105 (1998-9, DB)

Dortmund 103 (1998-9, DB)

Schwerin 103 (1998-9, DB)

Duisburg 103 (1998-9, DB)

Linz 100 (opera only, 1998-9, DB)

Naples 98 (1999, SIAE)

Regensburg 97 (1998-9, DB)

Bielefeld 94 (1998-9, DB)

Osnabruck 94 (1998-9, DB)

Halle 93 (1998-9, DB)

San Francisco 93 (1998-9, San Francisco Opera only, Opera America)

Washington DC 93 (Washington Opera 67, others 26, John Greiner)

Freiburg im Breisgau 91 (1998-9, DB)

Kiel 89 (1998-9, DB)

Wurzburg 87 (1998-9, DB)

Bremerhaven 87 (1998-9, DB)

Mainz 85 (1998-9, DB)

Madrid 85 (2000, Teatro Real only, JMG Menoyo)

Hildesheim 84 (1998-9, DB)

Palermo 84 (1999, SIAE)

Kaiserslautern 84 (1998-9, DB)

Pforzheim 83 (1998-9, DB)

Bern 82 (opera only, 1998-9, DB)

Dessau 82 (1998-9, DB)

Chicago 81 (1998-9, Lyric Opera only, Opera America)

Cottbus 80 (1998-9 DB)

Verona 79 (1999, SIAE)

St Gallen 77 (opera only, 1998-9, DB)

Meiningen 77 (1998-9, DB)

Stralsund/Greifswald 76 (1998-9, DB)

Hof 74 (1998-9, DB)

Barcelona 72 (1999-2000, Liceu only, E Eskenazi)

Bologna 72 (1999, SIAE)

Augsburg 70 (1998-9 DB)

Note: All figures for Germany provided by the Deutsche Buehnenverein.

All figures for Italy provided by the Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori (SIAE).

All figures for the USA, except Washington DC, provided by Opera America.

'Opera only' indicates that operetta figures are not available.

Included:

1. Cities with more than 70 performances a year.

2. Complete (or essentially complete) operas and operettas both staged and unstaged (concert performances).

3. Professional and semi-professional (i.e. with paid principal artists) productions.

Excluded:

1. Galas,

2. Performances of single acts from longer works,

3. Amateur productions.

Acknowledgements: I would like to thank the Deutscher Buehnenverein, Opera America and the Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori (SIAE). Also Per Backstrom, Andrew Byrne, Frank Cadenhead, Ruth Elleson, Enrique Eskenazi, John Greiner, José Miguel Goñi Menoyo, Thierry Morice, Maria Nockin, Katalin Szabo, Jeremy Wance and others for providing information for this survey. SCH