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Digital challenges for creative industries: case
of opera
Nina Trubnikova*, and Severyan Tsagareyshvili
RUDN University, 117198, Miklukho-Maklaya str.6, Moscow, Russia
Abstract. Digital technologies today are seen as a powerful driving force
of creative industry growth. The authors reveal the development of operatic
theatre as a significant entity of a new market reality - the economy of
impressions. Notwithstanding the fact that the majority of opera houses are
state funded, the issue of economic efficacy is gaining relevance for theaters;
increasingly more attention is paid to promoting theatrical product. Despite
the fact that the eliteness of operatic art and loyalty to tradition poses
restrictions on implanting new instruments of theater branding. active
digitization of the opera product is the only plausible means of attracting the
attention of the new generations who are used to this format of representing
cultural content. This dilemma is analyzed in the article on the basis of the
data yielded by a field study in the form of a survey involving Russian and
Italian opera lovers.
1 Introduction
The processes of digitization today have concerned creative structures and industries which
in the past remained practically unaffected by new technological shifts and, for quite a while,
underwent zero digital development. This brings to the fore the problems of introducing
digital technologies in the products of classical theater, including musical theater with its
synthetic nature. Operatic art, among the others, has to face the challenge. The genre that for
centuries remained a highly conservative one is now confronted with the vital necessity of
looking more attractive for the new generation of listeners. The intense competition with the
colorful multimedia content of the mainstream culture along with the massively emerging
alternative kinds of entertainment make the issue of financial health especially relevant for
opera houses [1, p. 1].
The key driver of technology-related growth for the industry of performing arts can be
regarded as their ever-growing need to employ informational/communicational technologies
for increasing the spectacularity and uniqueness of their content [2, p. 413]. The potential
level of monetization of their product (ticket price, overall revenue of the theater etc.) directly
depends on the extent to which the product meets the expectations of the audience.
The restricted offline communication brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic urged
the opera to set out on a qualitative digital reform [3, p. 45]. The reorganization, in fact, had
begun long before the said events, but for a while it did not receive a wide spreading, nor,
more importantly, support of the loyal operatic art consumers. Due to the recent
*Corresponding author: trubnikova_nv@rudn.ru
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
SHS Web of Conferences 114, 01008 (2021) https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/202111401008
NTSSCEM 2021
communicational lockdown the theaters that used to regard direct live interaction with the
spectator as their main channel, now have found themselves under the threat of a financial
and HR collapse. In consequence, they have been forced to urgently adapt opera products to
digital placement. Online resources, which were normally just a complementary means, have
suddenly become the only channel of communication with the consumers.
Overall online sales of cultural products across the industry doubled in 2020, reaching the
record $12.4 bn, while the market share of the sector increased to 25% compared to 9% the
year before [4]. The merging of the technological and creative spheres is only expected to
intensify in the nearest future [5, p. 2].
The problem of the research is rooted in the fact that, in the digital era, the traditional
marketing paradigm which extended onto opera as an art and an elite show business,
undergoes an inevitable transformation.
Marketing, which in the pre-digital economic system existed as an outer auxiliary
function in the sphere of operatic art, never used to affect the creative core. Now, however,
it is expanding its frontiers. Marketing today is integrating with theater, while beginning to
actively form a new opera product, seeking new points of contact with the consumers of
different ages, including the younger generation. Formation and transformation of the
operatic product by use of digital instruments is not always unilaterally understood and
unanimously accepted by the audience. This is why researching the audience’s attitude
towards the potentials and limitations of introducing such instruments in the process of
creating and promoting opera is an important academic and practical task for effective
management of the modern opera theater and for shaping its communication strategy. Digital
technologies have provided the industry of PR and marketing with new complex methods for
evaluating demographic and behavioral characteristics of the consumers who leave
informational traces of their presence [6, p. 25], as well as for using this information to form
marketing strategies [7, p. 172].
Today, one of the main drivers of transformational processes in cultural economy in the
conditions of digitization is the steady growth of “culture of participation” [8, p. 86]
presupposing interaction of the “networking public” with the media space [9] which
optimizes dialogue between the audience and a cultural organization. Kaiser defines the use
of digital technologies by cultural organizations as a special strategy able to fundamentally
change the consumers’ perception of a given cultural entity [10, p. 132]. It completely
reorganizes the traditional creative industries of design, production, consumption, service
and plays an important innovational role for their development. On the one hand, creative
entities can receive inspiration, financial backing and talent support through of audience
analysis, crowdfunding and crowdsourcing with the help of the Internet. [11]. On the other
hand, creative institutions can keep in touch with their consumers at a distance on the basis
of online platforms. They can quickly register the dynamics of creative demand and select
creative products for the consumers with precision and accurate timing.
The so-called virtual agglomeration of creative industries is quickly expanding as it
positively influences the life of creative industries, including the development of opera.
The existence of digital technologies generate new commercial opportunities for operatic
institutions - such that extend beyond the boundaries of traditional merchandising and
published products (programs, billboards etc.) [12]
The authors of this research single out three types of digital impact as applied to operatic
art:
− Acting on the operatic product per se – introducing technologies in the show itself
(digital lighting, sound, effects, props)
− Optimizing distance demonstration of the operatic content through airing and online
streaming, as a compensation for the absent live sound. This same purpose is also served by
digital libraries of opera houses and halls as well as by professional recordings and
2
SHS Web of Conferences 114, 01008 (2021) https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/202111401008
NTSSCEM 2021
communicational lockdown the theaters that used to regard direct live interaction with the
spectator as their main channel, now have found themselves under the threat of a financial
and HR collapse. In consequence, they have been forced to urgently adapt opera products to
digital placement. Online resources, which were normally just a complementary means, have
suddenly become the only channel of communication with the consumers.
Overall online sales of cultural products across the industry doubled in 2020, reaching the
record $12.4 bn, while the market share of the sector increased to 25% compared to 9% the
year before [4]. The merging of the technological and creative spheres is only expected to
intensify in the nearest future [5, p. 2].
The problem of the research is rooted in the fact that, in the digital era, the traditional
marketing paradigm which extended onto opera as an art and an elite show business,
undergoes an inevitable transformation.
Marketing, which in the pre-digital economic system existed as an outer auxiliary
function in the sphere of operatic art, never used to affect the creative core. Now, however,
it is expanding its frontiers. Marketing today is integrating with theater, while beginning to
actively form a new opera product, seeking new points of contact with the consumers of
different ages, including the younger generation. Formation and transformation of the
operatic product by use of digital instruments is not always unilaterally understood and
unanimously accepted by the audience. This is why researching the audience’s attitude
towards the potentials and limitations of introducing such instruments in the process of
creating and promoting opera is an important academic and practical task for effective
management of the modern opera theater and for shaping its communication strategy. Digital
technologies have provided the industry of PR and marketing with new complex methods for
evaluating demographic and behavioral characteristics of the consumers who leave
informational traces of their presence [6, p. 25], as well as for using this information to form
marketing strategies [7, p. 172].
Today, one of the main drivers of transformational processes in cultural economy in the
conditions of digitization is the steady growth of “culture of participation” [8, p. 86]
presupposing interaction of the “networking public” with the media space [9] which
optimizes dialogue between the audience and a cultural organization. Kaiser defines the use
of digital technologies by cultural organizations as a special strategy able to fundamentally
change the consumers’ perception of a given cultural entity [10, p. 132]. It completely
reorganizes the traditional creative industries of design, production, consumption, service
and plays an important innovational role for their development. On the one hand, creative
entities can receive inspiration, financial backing and talent support through of audience
analysis, crowdfunding and crowdsourcing with the help of the Internet. [11]. On the other
hand, creative institutions can keep in touch with their consumers at a distance on the basis
of online platforms. They can quickly register the dynamics of creative demand and select
creative products for the consumers with precision and accurate timing.
The so-called virtual agglomeration of creative industries is quickly expanding as it
positively influences the life of creative industries, including the development of opera.
The existence of digital technologies generate new commercial opportunities for operatic
institutions - such that extend beyond the boundaries of traditional merchandising and
published products (programs, billboards etc.) [12]
The authors of this research single out three types of digital impact as applied to operatic
art:
− Acting on the operatic product per se – introducing technologies in the show itself
(digital lighting, sound, effects, props)
− Optimizing distance demonstration of the operatic content through airing and online
streaming, as a compensation for the absent live sound. This same purpose is also served by
digital libraries of opera houses and halls as well as by professional recordings and
demonstrations involving technologies of virtual and augmented reality; by digitizing and
archiving best performances and concerts.
− Engaging new technologies as means of promotion for operatic art and for drawing
a wider audience. This concerns such formats as advertising in social networks, digital PR
communications, and some non-standard instruments (advergaming, virtual excursions to
opera halls etc).
A special place in this regard is occupied by representing opera organizations in social
media through application of SMM (social media marketing) instruments. Operatic
institutions use social networks for spreading information about their activities and shows
given for real and potential audiences [13]. Filling social media with relevant content has a
whole range of functions, like informing the audience about forthcoming events, building up
loyalty via effective direct marketing (communicating with the audience in comments and
direct messages), targeted advertising, drawing new consumers by means of influencer
marketing (live streamings and online interviews with famous singers, producers,
conductors).
2 Materials and methods
The aim of the research is to reveal the attitude of the consumers (opera lovers) in Russia and
abroad towards engaging digital technologies in operatic art and towards digitized promotion
of opera products in and outside Russia. The authors also aim to evaluate the effectiveness
of such tools in terms of monetizing and optimizing the activity of opera halls in the “Covid-
19”- and “post-Covid-19” periods.
In connection with the overall digitization tendency of cultural industries and the
necessity of revealing its specifics in regard to opera theaters, the authors have formulated
several key questions of the research:
How do operatic product consumers in Russia and abroad feel about involvement of
digital instruments in opera?
To what degree are the consumers aware of the directions and technologies of digital
transformations in operatic industry; do they use digital resources of musical organizations?
Can digital analogues of opera products eventually replace the traditional formats?
The hypothesis of the research is that the audience regards digital technologies as an
effective instrument of popularizing opera, a mark of its adaptability to the realities of the
digital society, and, consequently, a token of opera theaters’ economic thriving.
For conducting the research the authors have chosen the empirical method of surveying
on Google Forms, which is one of the most optimized platforms for this type of study. The
research engaged a standardized questionnaire and was done exclusively in the online
medium, as this was in complete conformity with the topic of the survey. In the course of the
work the authors applied such research methods as comparing and generalizing. The
research mainly focused on respondents from two countries - Russia and Italy, as one of the
world opera centers. The motivation to take the survey was modeled by the corresponding
motivational post Surveys in the Russian and Italian languages which were circulated from
17 December 2020 to 10 January 2021 via two large opera-dedicated groups in social
networks. Representativity of the respondents selection is ensured by the narrow thematic
character of the groups, all the members of which are opera lovers, i.e. the target audience of
the research.
As the platform for the Russian survey the researchers have chosen the group “Voci
dell’Opera” [14] based in the most popular Russian social network VKontakte. The group is
of an open character; the number of subscribers as of 13 January 2021 amounted to 55606
persons, making Voci dell’Opera one of the widest spread Russian thematic opera-oriented
communities. The group is described as a sort of art-featuring magazine whose aim is to
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SHS Web of Conferences 114, 01008 (2021) https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/202111401008
NTSSCEM 2021
reveal the opera world to a wide circle of followers, as well as acquaint the public with ballet,
academic vocal and classical music in general. The community covers opera music and
theatre, old-time and today’s singers, musical shows and related events; makes and publishes
musical compilations along with advertising music festivals, opera schools and academies,
airings, books featuring and covering opera etc. The group’s Instagram account and Internet
site - http://www.vocidellopera.com - republish most of the information posted by the
community.
The survey in Italian was conducted in Facebook, the reference group being called
L'Opera lirica dal Loggione & Musica in Opera [15]. This community has fewer subscribers
than Voci dell’Opera (13330 persons as of 13 January 2021, over 9000 of this amount being
native Italians). Just like the Russian group, this one, too, publishes information concerning
operatic shows and airings. The subscribers have a tradition of exchanging observations and
views. The comments feature active discussions and parallels drawn between the modern and
retro worlds of opera.
The questions of the survey are based on the following:
− Social and demographic data of the participants (gender, age, place of residence);
− The participants’ overall regard of digital technologies as applied to operatic art and
the process of advertising opera;
− The participants’ level of awareness of the fact that digital technologies are used in
the world of opera (if they themselves have often encountered examples of this);
− The participants’ involvement in digital platforms of musical organizations as well
as social networks; if the content of those is useful to them;
− The potentiality of a live show being substituted for by a digital equivalent online.
The overall amount of respondents in the survey is 325 people (210 Russians and 115
Italians).
The Russian survey comprised 57,7% female and 42,3% male participants; the Italian one
- 50,4% female and 49,6% male respectively. The participants were divided into groups
according to age - a traditional grouping for this kind of sociological study: 15-24, 25-44, 45-
64 и 65+.
Most Russian participants (57,7%) fall in the 45-64 age group; next come 23,7% of those
aged 25-44. Those are followed by 11,3% aged 15-25, and 7,3% - 65+. The majority of the
Italians occur in the 45-64 age group (49,5%), followed by the 25-44 (27,3%). The
respondents 60+ amount to 17,2%, those under 20 - to 6%.
It can be thus inferred that both in Russia and Italy the most opera lovers are 45-64 years
old, while respondents under 20 are almost not featured at all in this survey. Meanwhile, Italy
yields notably more 65+ participants, whereas in Russia they amount to under 10%.
The age grouping of the participants is representative and largely corresponding to other
studies of target audiences in the realm of classical music. The Statista study [16] showed the
majority of classical music listeners to be 55+, whereas 35% of the classics’ followers are
under 35.
The choice of an online platform and the thematic particularity of the study account for
the low amount of senior participants (65+), while the age of many respondents occurs just
in the “representative” slot between 55 and 64.
The Russian participants were represented by residents of many different regions: the
majors like Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Voronezh, Omsk, Samara, Perm and
Volgograd; and medium-sized towns like Vladimir, Kursk, Krasnodar, Habarovsk, Ryazan
and others. The featured overseas territories are Ukraine (Odessa, Lugansk, Novorossiisk),
Belarus (Minsk), Israel (Holon, Modiin), Germany (no city/town specification), Austria
(Graz).
All the participants of the Italian survey, too, hail from different towns and provinces of
Italy: the major centers like Milan, Rome, Naples, Turin, Venice, Genoa, Palermo, Florence,
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SHS Web of Conferences 114, 01008 (2021) https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/202111401008
NTSSCEM 2021
reveal the opera world to a wide circle of followers, as well as acquaint the public with ballet,
academic vocal and classical music in general. The community covers opera music and
theatre, old-time and today’s singers, musical shows and related events; makes and publishes
musical compilations along with advertising music festivals, opera schools and academies,
airings, books featuring and covering opera etc. The group’s Instagram account and Internet
site - http://www.vocidellopera.com - republish most of the information posted by the
community.
The survey in Italian was conducted in Facebook, the reference group being called
L'Opera lirica dal Loggione & Musica in Opera [15]. This community has fewer subscribers
than Voci dell’Opera (13330 persons as of 13 January 2021, over 9000 of this amount being
native Italians). Just like the Russian group, this one, too, publishes information concerning
operatic shows and airings. The subscribers have a tradition of exchanging observations and
views. The comments feature active discussions and parallels drawn between the modern and
retro worlds of opera.
The questions of the survey are based on the following:
− Social and demographic data of the participants (gender, age, place of residence);
− The participants’ overall regard of digital technologies as applied to operatic art and
the process of advertising opera;
− The participants’ level of awareness of the fact that digital technologies are used in
the world of opera (if they themselves have often encountered examples of this);
− The participants’ involvement in digital platforms of musical organizations as well
as social networks; if the content of those is useful to them;
− The potentiality of a live show being substituted for by a digital equivalent online.
The overall amount of respondents in the survey is 325 people (210 Russians and 115
Italians).
The Russian survey comprised 57,7% female and 42,3% male participants; the Italian one
- 50,4% female and 49,6% male respectively. The participants were divided into groups
according to age - a traditional grouping for this kind of sociological study: 15-24, 25-44, 45-
64 и 65+.
Most Russian participants (57,7%) fall in the 45-64 age group; next come 23,7% of those
aged 25-44. Those are followed by 11,3% aged 15-25, and 7,3% - 65+. The majority of the
Italians occur in the 45-64 age group (49,5%), followed by the 25-44 (27,3%). The
respondents 60+ amount to 17,2%, those under 20 - to 6%.
It can be thus inferred that both in Russia and Italy the most opera lovers are 45-64 years
old, while respondents under 20 are almost not featured at all in this survey. Meanwhile, Italy
yields notably more 65+ participants, whereas in Russia they amount to under 10%.
The age grouping of the participants is representative and largely corresponding to other
studies of target audiences in the realm of classical music. The Statista study [16] showed the
majority of classical music listeners to be 55+, whereas 35% of the classics’ followers are
under 35.
The choice of an online platform and the thematic particularity of the study account for
the low amount of senior participants (65+), while the age of many respondents occurs just
in the “representative” slot between 55 and 64.
The Russian participants were represented by residents of many different regions: the
majors like Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Voronezh, Omsk, Samara, Perm and
Volgograd; and medium-sized towns like Vladimir, Kursk, Krasnodar, Habarovsk, Ryazan
and others. The featured overseas territories are Ukraine (Odessa, Lugansk, Novorossiisk),
Belarus (Minsk), Israel (Holon, Modiin), Germany (no city/town specification), Austria
(Graz).
All the participants of the Italian survey, too, hail from different towns and provinces of
Italy: the major centers like Milan, Rome, Naples, Turin, Venice, Genoa, Palermo, Florence,
Verona, as well as the medium-sized ones - Ferrara, Padua, Modena, Brescia, Rimini,
Bergamo, Taranto, Livorno, Lecce, Salerno. The Italian survey also featured residents of
small towns like Sant’Agata di Militello.
3 Results and discussion
The respondents’ evaluation of the new stage of operatic art development with application of
digital formats has confirmed the idea that, far from being in decline, the industry of
performing arts in the segment of opera is gradually developing in spite of the financing
problems. This idea has also been corroborated in the course of the expert interviews with
participants of the industry, who state that, although traditionally the sphere of performing
arts is one of the most difficult objects for result-oriented management, digital technologies
facilitate the task.
The hypothesis that introducing digital technologies (in the show itself as well as in
promotional instruments) on the whole improves the perception of this art has been supported
by the respondents. Almost half of the participants in the Russian group (44,9%) gave the
response “rather yes than no” to the question about approving the use of digital instruments.
20,4% gave a unilaterally positive answer (“definitely yes”). The Italian opera lovers
appeared a bit less enthusiastic: 40,8% more or less positively evaluate the change in
question, and 17,1% give a unilaterally positive reply. Notwithstanding the fact that the
development of Italy in the main digitization spheres is highly active, such a rather chilly
attitude towards digital instruments in opera is accounted by the fact that opera is a cult in
the country, and the classical boundaries of this art are carefully preserved.
The survey has also measured the level of the respondents’ awareness of concrete digital
instruments that are being integrated in opera today.
Next question is connected with particular innovational technologies in the fields of opera
which the participants have observed in real life. The frequency of encounter with certain
innovational formats reflects the degree of integration of these technologies in the modern
opera, as well as how noticeable they are for the consumers, and if they have become part of
the modern opera world, an effective means of its promotion and popularizing.
The respondents were asked to chose between several options: mobile applications of
theaters and opera houses, viewing a show in 3D glasses, video games with opera-based plots,
digital billboards in town.
The results (figure 1) showed that, on the whole, the Italian audience is much better
informed about different opera digitization formats than the Russian counterparts. The
Russian respondents who have never encountered digital technologies in the opera are twice
more numerous than the Italian ones.
It is also worth noting that such an instrument as AR- and VR-technologies which is
receiving an increasingly wider spreading in western theaters is hardly familiar to the Russian
audience and barely in demand of opera producers and decorators in Russia (only 12,2% of
the Russian respondents happened to be aware of it).
Table 1. The awareness of digital instruments in opera as demonstrated by the Russian and Italian
audiences.
Innovational technologies in opera
Russian
respondents
Italian
respondents
Mobile apps of theaters and halls
52,3%
61,5%
Viewing performances in 3D glasses, AR- и VR-technologies
12,2%
56,6%
Video games with operatic plots
12,2%
13,8%
Digital billboards
36,6%
44,4%
Never observed
16,2%
7,7%
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This question presupposed adding individual answers. Among the variants of digital
technologies listed by the Russian respondents were:
− online airings, online concerts and streams;
− interviews and coaching online;
− introducing video clips in the show;
The Italians listed the following digital-instruments:
− online broadcasting and streaming;
− online concerts featuring animation films.
It also appeared relevant to obtain information whether the respondents used social
networks of theaters and philharmonics, for, as was noted above,
SMM today is one of the most important digital instruments for opera organizations. More
than
40% of the respondents in both cases (42% и 44,9% in the Russian and Italian groups
respectively) are subscribed operatic social media and regularly follow their contents.
Meanwhile there are also respondents who do not use social networks (33% in the Russian
group and 25,5% – in the Italian). 25% и 29,6% Russian and Italian opera goers respectively
are subscribed to opera theaters’ accounts but do not follow the content.
Among the social networks used by respondents, the most popular are:
Vkontakte (46,9%) in the Russian group and Facebook (50%) in the Italian. Instagram,
YouTube и Twitter are more popular among the Italian respondents, although they are also
actively used by the Russians.
Apart from other aspects, the research analyzed the participants’ opinion whether live
operatic sound could be replaced by online streamings.
More than a half of the surveyed (54,5% Russians and 56,5% Italians) believe that online
broadcastings are in no way able to compete with a real performance. 39,4% of Russian- and
36,5% Italian respondents accept the possibility of replacement as a partial thing. Less than
10% in both cases are willing to replace a live performance with its online version.
Situational marketing changes the communicational picture of the world according to the
concrete informational call. Such a call has recently become the COVID-19 pandemic which
has proved the toughest check for the opera industry. The life of the theater was completely
stopped, and the only thing left to do for opera houses around the globe was show online
broadcastings of their best recent years performances.
According to the data on frequency of viewing online broadcastings during the pandemic,
this form of representing operatic art in the digital medium was not in high demand even in
the time of the pandemic. 41,8% of the Russian- and 42,9% Italian respondents watched the
online shows “several times”. 37,8% and 29,6% participants respectively did not watch them
at all, while only 20,4% and 27,5% watched them regularly.
The final stage in the survey was the question what the respondents would choose in case
of not being able to go to the opera house: watch broadcastings, listen to old recordings, or
complete abstain from listening to opera music. Most respondents in both cases chose to
refuse the digital equivalent of a live performance, and preferred classical re cordings to
modern broadcasts. 32,3% of Russian respondents are willing to watch online streams,
against only 39% of Italian counterparts. 16,2% and 16,5% Russian and Italian participants
respectively choose to live without listening to opera at all if real theater is inaccessible.
Having analyzed the results of the online survey, we have come to the following conclusions:
− Most participants from both Russia and Italy feel that introducing digital
technologies in operatic art is a positive factor, and believe that these technologies can
improve the perception of opera today.
− A wide circle of the respondents have encountered digital technologies in opera and
in its promotion, which reflects active presence of this technologies in the communicational
6
SHS Web of Conferences 114, 01008 (2021) https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/202111401008
NTSSCEM 2021
This question presupposed adding individual answers. Among the variants of digital
technologies listed by the Russian respondents were:
− online airings, online concerts and streams;
− interviews and coaching online;
− introducing video clips in the show;
The Italians listed the following digital-instruments:
− online broadcasting and streaming;
− online concerts featuring animation films.
It also appeared relevant to obtain information whether the respondents used social
networks of theaters and philharmonics, for, as was noted above,
SMM today is one of the most important digital instruments for opera organizations. More
than
40% of the respondents in both cases (42% и 44,9% in the Russian and Italian groups
respectively) are subscribed operatic social media and regularly follow their contents.
Meanwhile there are also respondents who do not use social networks (33% in the Russian
group and 25,5% – in the Italian). 25% и 29,6% Russian and Italian opera goers respectively
are subscribed to opera theaters’ accounts but do not follow the content.
Among the social networks used by respondents, the most popular are:
Vkontakte (46,9%) in the Russian group and Facebook (50%) in the Italian. Instagram,
YouTube и Twitter are more popular among the Italian respondents, although they are also
actively used by the Russians.
Apart from other aspects, the research analyzed the participants’ opinion whether live
operatic sound could be replaced by online streamings.
More than a half of the surveyed (54,5% Russians and 56,5% Italians) believe that online
broadcastings are in no way able to compete with a real performance. 39,4% of Russian- and
36,5% Italian respondents accept the possibility of replacement as a partial thing. Less than
10% in both cases are willing to replace a live performance with its online version.
Situational marketing changes the communicational picture of the world according to the
concrete informational call. Such a call has recently become the COVID-19 pandemic which
has proved the toughest check for the opera industry. The life of the theater was completely
stopped, and the only thing left to do for opera houses around the globe was show online
broadcastings of their best recent years performances.
According to the data on frequency of viewing online broadcastings during the pandemic,
this form of representing operatic art in the digital medium was not in high demand even in
the time of the pandemic. 41,8% of the Russian- and 42,9% Italian respondents watched the
online shows “several times”. 37,8% and 29,6% participants respectively did not watch them
at all, while only 20,4% and 27,5% watched them regularly.
The final stage in the survey was the question what the respondents would choose in case
of not being able to go to the opera house: watch broadcastings, listen to old recordings, or
complete abstain from listening to opera music. Most respondents in both cases chose to
refuse the digital equivalent of a live performance, and preferred classical re cordings to
modern broadcasts. 32,3% of Russian respondents are willing to watch online streams,
against only 39% of Italian counterparts. 16,2% and 16,5% Russian and Italian participants
respectively choose to live without listening to opera at all if real theater is inaccessible.
Having analyzed the results of the online survey, we have come to the following conclusions:
− Most participants from both Russia and Italy feel that introducing digital
technologies in operatic art is a positive factor, and believe that these technologies can
improve the perception of opera today.
− A wide circle of the respondents have encountered digital technologies in opera and
in its promotion, which reflects active presence of this technologies in the communicational
field and proves that they are visible to the consumers, while the Italian audience is a lot more
aware them than the Russian
− Most respondents are subscribers and regular followers of operatic social media
− Meanwhile, a significant amount of the participants refuse to accept replacement of
live theater with its online version regarding such a change as impossible
− Online broadcastings which replaced real theatrical live in the time of the pandemic
were only viewed by a limited number of the consumers: most of them would choose to listen
to old classical recordings.
4 Conclusions
The process of digitization of opera is not only a musical and cultural, but also a marketing
and economic issue, for it directly affects stability of the theater, the size of investment in it,
its creative projects. From the point of view of integrating new instruments in the operatic
show and using them for promoting the cultural product, the respondents see these
instruments as a positive influence on modern perception of opera. This concerns innovations
in the opera content itself (unusual, spectacular technologies attracting the audiences’
attention) as well as interactive channels of informing the consumers, such as social
networks. The practice of online streamings as an additional activity of operatic institutions
successfully services their brand, expands their geography, intensifies the interest of potential
viewers. With such an approach, digital formats and platforms do not lead to the crisis of
live performing, denaturation of the art and loss of its meaning [17, p. 4].
The moot point, however, remains the possibility of opera “going online” as a new
phenomenon which is equalized to traditional theater, and where live sound is replaced with
digital “formula”. On the one hand, a number of respondents view this a chance to see events
that would be inaccessible offline, on the other - the majority feel that it is important that the
theater should remain authentic and that its real acoustic core should remain intact.
The research had shown that the opera theater tradition remains firm and, even in the
conditions of a pandemic, “switching online” is not always received with a welcome, or
proves a successful promotional move.
Thus, it can be concluded that, in today’s reality, digital technologies are important, but
only additional tools for promoting live opera. They must not change the traditional artistic
essence of opera, but harmoniously augment it, while also meeting the requirements of
modernity. This is the main difficulty of adapting a conservative genre like opera to the digital
reality of today. Time alone will show if, while preserving the integrity and traditions of the
operatic theater, digital technologies will be able to attract new audiences as well as increase
the loyalty of the existing ones.
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