2022∼2024 독일⋅오스트리아 주요 오페라하우스 프로그래밍 사례 연구: 빈⋅라이프치히⋅뉘른베르크를 중심으로

Abstract

This study examines global trends in programming, an integral part of opera house operations, and analyzes recent programming practices at three major opera houses in the German-Austrian region. The world’s leading opera houses tend to focus on a small number of classical works. A recent study found that just 27 frequently performed works account for more than 50% of all performances, and works by just four composers-Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, and Wagner-account for more than half of all opera performances worldwide. Italian and German-Austrian works also account for more than 70%, with the overwhelming majority of works composed in the 19th and 20th centuries. Many opera houses around the world tend to follow a so-called balanced programming approach, in which half of the performances are low-cost, low-risk works, and the other half are new or high-cost works, as well as well-known but infrequently performed works, in order to achieve an artistic and financial balance. However, the programming of individual opera houses varies due to their different traditions, positions, and circumstances, which in turn define their artistic policy and identity. The Vienna State Opera, Leipzig Opera, and Nürnberg State Opera have significant differences in programming. The Vienna State Opera presented 255 performances of 47 productions in its 2022-23 season, setting a high standard for a repertory opera house. The theaters in Leipzig and Nuremberg have quantitatively one-third the programming of Vienna, and all three are repertory-based. The most performed productions of the season were The Marriage of Figaro (11), The Magic Flute (13), and The Bat (16), respectively, and all three theaters show similar or somewhat conservative programming trends. The distribution of works by country and period is also similar to global trends. We hope that the programming analysis of the three German-Austrian opera houses, an important pillar of world opera performance, will serve as a reference for the establishment of programming policies for the Busan Opera House, which is scheduled to open in two to three years.