OPERA PREVIEW – PAGLIACCI, by Ruggero Leoncavallo at the Sarasota Opera, 61 N. Pineapple Ave. Premieres 8 p.m. Oct. 31; continues through Nov. 15. Tickets $19-$125. 366-8450; www.sarasotaopera.org.
by Carrie Seidman, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Opera, one of the world’s most venerable and enduring art forms, has struggled in recent years. Aging patrons, an air of elitism, steep ticket prices, a younger generation’s unfamiliarity with the art form and increased competition for the entertainment dollar have all contributed to a gradual decline in attendance.
In an effort to turn things around, opera companies have increasingly begun experimenting with ways to make their art form more accessible and affordable, from performing in unlikely venues such as baseball stadiums to screening filmed versions in local theaters for the price of a movie ticket.
The latest trend is to offer shorter programs and earlier start times. The hope is to encourage those unnerved by the prospect of sitting for hours at a stretch, or arriving home well past their bedtimes.
“One thing we’ve found in surveys is that, for some people, the length of opera can be a barrier to entry,” says Richard Russell, executive director of the Sarasota Opera. “One thing I heard last year, when all our operas ran three-plus hours, was that some patrons found it to be a rather long evening.”
So this year, for its fall production, the opera has selected “Pagliacci,” a popular but compact work by Ruggero Leoncavallo, whose iconic aria, “Vesti la giubba” is familiar to almost anyone from a well-loved 1960s “Rice Krispies” commercial. It’s a work the company has presented before, but in both 2005 and 2010, it was paired with Pietro Mascagni’s “Cavalleria rusticana,” a common double bill often referred to as “Cav and Pag.”
This time “Pagliacci” — it’s often called a “one act” because of its run time of just over an hour, though in fact it has a prologue and two acts — will stand alone. It will be preceeded by two orchestral intermezzi and followed by an after-party, where audience members can meet and greet the cast in an informal setting. Patrons who skip the party will be in and out of the house in less than two hours.
“We wanted to pitch this as a great opportunity to try out opera,” says Russell. “It’s both an audience development tool and an opportunity to diversify our programming.”
Before making the decision to schedule “Pagliacci” as a standalone, Russell took an informal telephone survey of opera companies in several cities — including San Diego, Seattle, Milwaukee and Washington, D.C. — that had already done so. None reported any negative audience feedback; in fact, the Seattle Opera reported that audiences really took to it.
That was enough of a green light for Russell to risk giving it a try.
Victor DeRenzi, the opera’s longtime artistic director, is a traditionalist, but he acknowledges the need to listen to “the vox populus.” Audiences have changed enormously, he says, since opera’s golden age, from the mid- to late 19th century. Back then, it was not uncommon for a patron to enter the theater before dark, returning in the wee hours after having seen a three- or four-hour opera followed by a ballet.
“People would leave the house and stay out all night,” DeRenzi says. “If something lasted two and a half hours, it was considered too short. They felt cheated.”
That’s no longer the case. The speed of today’s technology, with its ever-changing barrage of visuals and information, has given rise to shorter attention spans and a quicker restlessness. Entertainment producers of all kinds, from filmmakers to orchestras, have responded accordingly, with shorter program times and more diversified selections and scheduling.
“This is happening throughout our society, not just in opera,” DeRenzi says.
Even since DeRenzi’s arrival in Sarasota 33 years ago, what patrons have been looking for has changed. In the ’80s, for example, all of the company’s evening operas started at 8:15 p.m. in deference to patrons’ pre-performance dinner plans. This year, to accommodate an expressed preference for an earlier exit, night programs will begin anywhere from 8 p.m., for the shorter “Pagliacci,” to 6:30 p.m. for the four-hour-plus “Don Carlos.”
The endurance of patrons’ derrieres and concentration is not the only catalyst. As production costs escalate, there are also financial factors to consider. Many companies have begun trimming intermissions, or deleting them completely, in order to avoid run times that extend beyond union guidelines and necessitate overtime payments.
On the other hand, earlier starts can cut into rehearsal time, says DeRenzi, particularly during the Sarasota Opera’s winter/spring season, when a rotating repertory calls for several operas to be in rehearsal at once.
“It’s harder for the company but again, it’s in response to what people want,” he says.
The company is intentionally marketing “Pagliacci” as an “entry level” opera, with print and digital advertising this month targeted to a new-to-opera demographic. The hope is that those who are lured by this abbreviated bite of the art will return for a full course later in the season.
“Pagliacci” is the perfect choice for that, DeRenzi says, and not only because of its length.
“It’s a strong drama that tells a complete and compelling story,” he says. “Certainly there couldn’t be a better evening if you’re questioning opera. I would much rather see this than something that was more than two hours but with lots of filler.”
Russell says the briefer program is “an experiment, certainly, but one we’ve thought about for a long time.” Yet he admits that, since the preponderance of existing operas have run times of three hours or more, it is not a programming tool that can be easily duplicated.
“The reason ‘Pagliacci’ works is because it’s a very popular piece,” he says. “We’d have a challenge to replicate the same experience with another work.”
Asked if he is concerned about patrons’ preference for brevity continuing to affect opera’s drawing power, DeRenzi merely sighs.
“I try to worry about things I can fix,” he says.