Area arts funding to change

Sunday, December 23rd @ 4:25pm
Category: Food for Thought

Arts & Science Council to increase range, trim grants to some groups, encourage community support.


As its 50th anniversary nears, the Arts & Science Council is shifting priorities to match the transformations the Charlotte area has seen since 1958. Audiences, cultural groups, artists and donors will all see the effects:

• More money will go to programs that serve diverse audiences or communities outside Charlotte.

• More money will go to individual artists.

• For the first time, the ASC will limit its core beneficiaries' annual grants. That could cause cuts in support to some groups, including the Charlotte Symphony and Levine Museum of the New South.

• A plea will go out to arts lovers, asking them to write checks to the ASC and to their favorite cultural groups.

"We're chasing the changing community," ASC president Lee Keesler said last week.

For the ASC's first 50 years, "we've not done a whole lot more than write a big check each year" to each of the city's leading cultural groups, Keesler said. As the community's clearinghouse for arts support, the ASC this year is funneling $19 million in public and private money into those groups and other efforts.

Now the ASC intends to reach beyond the arts, science and history organizations it has long supported.

One venture will support groups serving community interests such as senior citizens, at-risk youth or the environment. For example, Keesler cited $15,000 that will help the Simmons YMCA bring in a photographer to work with its east Charlotte community.

Similar grants already under way: helping Shepards Fold provide music lessons for disabled teens and young adults; supporting music therapy for autistic students at Garr Christian Academy; and helping the Hornets' Nest Council of Girl Scouts introduce girls to technology careers.

The ASC also has plans to aid its usual beneficiaries. It will devote more money to helping them advertise their offerings and cultivate their staffers' skills. It will let them compete for grants to enhance their programs.

But it also is putting the onus on them to raise money for their own growth and expansions. In effect, the new setup would typically limit the largest groups' annual ASC funding to 20 percent of their budgets.

Those whose grants are already less than that, such as Discovery Place and the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, may face no change. But the limit may mean cuts for the Charlotte Symphony, whose grant this season of $1.96 million equals about 24 percent of its $8.1 million budget, and the Levine Museum, whose $712,000 grant is about 32 percent of its $2.2 million budget.

The saving grace for the groups is that the limits don't take effect for five years. By then, changes in the groups' finances may lessen any cut.

"There's plenty of time to work on that transition," said Emily Zimmern, the Levine's executive director.

But for the orchestra, which has struggled against deficits since 2003, any cutback would complicate its efforts to return to and stay in the black.

The ASC's changes will penalize the orchestra and others who have been "loyal rule followers" of the ASC's for decades, said Catherine Connor, board member of the Charlotte Symphony and Opera Carolina and a backer of still more groups.

One reason the orchestra's finances are precarious, Connor said, is that it has too small an endowment fund to generate income from investments. That's because the orchestra, over the years, has put off three endowment campaigns at the behest of the ASC, which wanted other fund drives to take priority.

"The last thing we need is to start to worry about the ($1.96 million) we get from the ASC," Charlotte Symphony board chair Richard Osborne said.

The changes de-emphasize the cultural groups that have long been the ASC's focus, Osborne said. He fears that will discourage donors who give to the ASC because it benefits those leading groups.

"The ASC is, I believe, being led down a path that really diverges from the original mission," Connor said.

Among smaller groups, whose grants will have different percentage limits, Theatre Charlotte and the Afro-American Cultural Center could also face cuts.

But by spurring groups to be more energetic about fundraising and other efforts, the new arrangement could ultimately benefit them, Theatre Charlotte executive director Ron Law said.

"The ASC shouldn't be perpetually propping up an affiliate that gets complacent in what they offer the public, or in how they manage their organization," Blumenthal president Tom Gabbard wrote in an e-mail.

"Although that's a scary prospect for some of my colleagues," Gabbard concluded, "it's ultimately a good thing for us all."

The orchestra's Osborne and other groups' leaders think the Charlotte region, with its growth and prosperity, offers them many prospective supporters. Each cultural group, they say, has to track down and cultivate people who are interested in what it does.

"If you can find people who are passionate about your art form ... they're going to support what you do," Opera Carolina general director James Meena said.

The ASC has a role in helping the groups with their expanding financial load, ASC president Keesler said. After years of restricting their fundraising, the ASC must "give up some control."

And after years of touting its fundraising results as proof of Charlotte's generosity, the ASC must embrace a new message:

"It takes more than what we raise in the (annual) ASC fund drive," Keesler, said. "to support the cultural community."

Arts & Science Council

JOBS: Raises money for cultural, science and history groups; helps organizations with advertising and other projects; oversees public-art programs for Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.THIS YEAR'S MONEY: $19 million includes $11.5 million from last winter's public fundraising campaign; $4.4 million from government; $3.5 million from other sources, such as earnings from endowment fund. $13.9 million of the amount goes to cultural groups and arts education.

THE NEXT CAMPAIGN: Jan. 14 through Feb. 29.

DETAILS: 704-333-2272; www.artsandscience.org.

$13.9 million

The ASC's support for cultural groups and arts education this year. For glimpses of the past and the future, see page 10A.

The ASC's evolving support for the arts


2004 2008 estimated 2014 forecast
Grants to art, science and history groups $10,935,000 $11,431,000 $12 million
Support for other groups $227,000 $495,000 $1 million
Training for arts groups' staffers and other skill development $95,000 $128,000 $500,000
Advertising groups' programs $55,000 $462,000 $750,000
Aid for individual artists $41,000 $110,000 $500,000
Arts education $1,124,000 $1,259,000 $1.5 million
Total $12,477,000 $13,885,000 $16,250,000

SOURCE: Arts & Science Council

by STEVEN BROWN
sbrown@charlotteobserver.com

Comments (0) — Posted by: Opera Carolina

Spreading the Word: Encouraging the First Opera Experience

Wednesday, October 24th @ 10:42am
Category: Food for Thought

One of my favorite things is to introduce people to opera who have not seen one before. Classical music is less accessible than contemporary music and sometimes opera seems like the least accessible of all. Consider briefly the obstacles to a casual observer of experiencing an opera for the very first time: opera is almost always in a foreign language (now mitigated by sur-titles), often at least one hundred years old, is relatively long (compared to our modern attention spans) and is a highly stylized form of theatre. And like many higher forms of art, it gives back proportionate to what the viewer/listener puts into it: the more you know about it, the more fulfilling the experience.

Personally, despite a lifelong interest in classical music, I had generally avoided opera. I attended productions occasionally, but found it difficult to get a handle on a three or four hour opera as opposed to the relative ease of listening to and understanding a 30-minute piano sonata or symphony. But that reluctance changed for me one night in September 2001. I was living in New York City at the time, and left on a business trip to Europe the evening of September 10, 2001. Stranded in Spain and France in the days after 9/11, I was wandering through Paris and bought tickets from a scalper for that night's performance of Rigoletto at the Opera Bastille. It was my first experience with Verdi and I was transfixed. The somber events of that week were matched by the somber subject matter of that opera, but the beauty of Leo Nucci's and Ruth Anne Swenson's singing and of Verdi's music helped me forget the events of that week, at least for a few hours. When I got back to New York I started going to the Metropolitan Opera regularly and corralling any friends and family I could get to come with me – I told them opera is the ultimate escape.

German composer Richard Wagner called opera the highest form of art. Although Wagner was prone to many grand statements and exaggeration, I think he may have gotten this one right. Opera combines a full symphony orchestra with a full range of voices singing in a full range of styles, whether in a solo aria demonstrating a performer's virtuosity, or in duets, trios and quartets, each demonstrating the beautiful harmony of mixed-voice singing or a whole choir showcasing the unique experience of more than a dozen voices singing together. Combined with lavish sets, costumes, plots, acting and characterization, opera is a very full – as well as fulfilling – spectator experience.

Now living in Charlotte, I won another convert last March, taking a friend to her very first opera, which was Opera Carolina's production of Rigoletto. Transfixed by the drama and the excellent acting and singing, my friend came away with an appreciation for opera that she had never considered before – the obstacles mentioned above fell away as the music and drama took over. I won over another convert in October, taking a friend who had never been to an opera before to Opera Carolina's production of Roméo et Juliette. My friend said she had pretty clear expectations of what the night would be like – as she put it "three hours of some lady screaming in a foreign language!" But of course, there was no screaming, only beautiful singing, and once again, when confronted with the beauty and intensity of the unique combination of fine classical singing, orchestra, costumes, sets, character and plot that only opera can provide, a new opera fan was born.

I have often considered Verdi's opera Aida to be ideal for a first-timer. An epic story containing war, patriotism, duty, conquest and a classic love triangle provides for a compelling plot. The setting, ancient Egypt, provides for spectacular sets and costumes. Indeed, one could enjoy Aida for the spectacle alone. For my money, one of the best theatre experiences from start to finish is Act II of Aida. The haunting musical themes repeated throughout, the confrontation duet between Aida and the Pharaoh's daughter Amneris, the dance of the slaves in Scene 1, the ballet in Scene 2, the famous and spectacular victory march and the Act II finale, as each main character presents his situation, provides an intensely immersive viewing and listening experience.

Aida contains excellent examples of the best that opera has to offer a new listener. It contains some of the most well-known arias in opera, Celeste Aida, sung by Radames in Act I, and Ritorna vincitor and O patria mia sung by Aida in Acts I and III, respectively. It contains several grand choral scenes including the prayers at the shrine to Ptah in Act I and the famous victory chorus in Act II, preceding both a ballet and the victory march mentioned above, as the returning Egyptian army parades its loot across the stage in one of the most famous scenes in all of opera. The opera closes with a beautiful duet, O terra, addio as the two doomed lovers await their deaths in the tomb while Amneris prays for peace above.

I will be back for Aida in January, with my two converts and some other friends, who will surely be new converts by the finale.

-- Aaron Benjamin

Comments (1) — Posted by: Opera Carolina

Romeo's on You Tube!

Tuesday, October 16th @ 12:27pm
Category: News

Here's a sneak preview of tenor Gaston Rivero who plays Romeo in our production of Gounod's Romeo and Juliette October 18, 20 and 21:

Romeo Video!

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Check out Roméo et Juliette's commercial!

Wednesday, October 10th @ 11:45am
Category: News

Watch the commercial!

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Fact or Fiction?: An Opera Singer's Piercing Voice Can Shatter Glass

Thursday, August 23rd @ 12:00pm
Category: News

In 2005, the Discovery Channel's MythBusters tackled this question, and for the first time, proof that an unamplified voice can indeed shatter glass was captured on video.

Click here to find the answer.

Comments (0) — Posted by: Opera Carolina

On Art, Entertainment & Education

Friday, July 6th @ 9:19am
Category: From the General Director

Discussions about education, schools and community values can also lead us to a discussion of the difference between art and entertainment. Entertainment through the popular media is everywhere. Its prevalence has led to the blurring of the distinction between art and entertainment. Certainly entertainment can be artistic (Cirque du Soleil), and art can be entertaining (The Nutcracker). However, when questioning what schools should be teaching and exposing students to, I am compelled to ask, "when does art become entertainment," and, "when does entertainment become art?"

I'm a child of the 60's, and while there is much to be admired from that energizing decade, there is much that is lamentable. From an arts education standpoint, the slow deconstruction of arts education in the public schools began in the 60's and has progressed at an alarming rate ever since.

Why, after so many centuries, do we still read Aristotle, Plato, Euripides and Homer (or at least we acknowledge these are great writers whose works are worthy of our time and study), when the majority of people would prefer a good Tom Clancy novel? Why do the piano works of Chopin endure while those of John Fields (much more successful in his day) do not? The answer is perhaps to be found in an examination of the artists' ability to manipulate language (linguistic, visual, musical) employed to communicate thoughts that have meaning to humanity as a whole, rather than a message that is narrow and whose success is predicated on contemporary (for any era) thought.

We willingly struggle through Shakespeare's vernacular to discern his truthful commentary on the human condition. His perceptions resonate with ages past, present and future -- so much so that they make us reflect on our own condition, perhaps learning more about ourselves, and our collective humanity. There is a 'truth' in his perception that we understand, and which we strive to understand.

Listeners of all stripes can hear Beethoven's 9th Symphony and be transfixed and perhaps transformed by its joy. How does he do that? How does he make even the most uneducated among us discern something profound in his musical expression? With the alteration of one note, Mozart transforms a mediocre melody into a masterpiece.

Shakespeare, Beethoven, Mozart, Monet, Rembrandt, Keats are among the ranks of creative geniuses that humanity treasures. Being exposed to this genius is beneficial to us as an enlightened people.

One of my favorite anecdotes is from the letters of Giacomo Puccini (you know, the Italian composer who wrote a few decent operas like La Boheme, Madama Butterfly, Tosca and Turandot) in which he laments his misfortune at not writing an operetta, and unabashedly covets the popularity of Franz Lehar (quick, someone name a Lehar operetta), demonstrating the power of popular media to reach the masses (even in the 19th century) with a simple message delivered simply, but one that does not endure beyond a few years.

The danger we face in society and in education specifically is passing off a Lehar's expressions as being equal to a Puccini's. In this vein, the 60's generation has done western culture a great disservice. For too many of us Baby Boomers, classical music is the Beatles White Album. When the society's vernacular can be devolved to describe a football coach as being a genius, or a romance novel as being brilliant, or equating the latest creation of a Paul McCartney with a Mozart – and we do this all the time in contemporary culture -- we are indeed selling Lehar as Puccini.

How does this relate to education? While I believe the ability to perceive and appreciate art is an inherent human trait, one must at least be exposed to art in order to appreciate it. It is the continuum of artistic expression that must be preserved in our schools and in our community. For the citizenry not to know the works of Da Vinci, even at the most basic level, is a betrayal of our common heritage as human beings. So, we must provide opportunities for people of all ages, but particularly young people, to hear and see great art.

When put in these terms, I think everyone would agree that our goal in society should be to expose and educate the largest number of the citizenry as possible to great art. This exposure must be infused in our schools, and opportunities for citizens to experience great art must be provided on as broad a basis as possible.

Entertainment speaks to opinions and ideas that are steeped in the immediate – this time, this place, this thought. Great art can be revisited constantly, and generation after generation can be enriched by the profundity of its message. It is one of the greatest legacies of Western civilization. In the face of cultural relativism, it must be preserved and celebrated, and that is all of our responsibility.

~James Meena

Comments (1) — Posted by: Opera Carolina

Why can an opera singer be heard over the much louder orchestra?

Friday, June 29th @ 11:00am
Category: News

John Smith, a physicist at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, belts out an answer to this query.

Click here to find the answer.

Comments (1) — Posted by: Opera Carolina

Opera Carolina's Production of Margaret Garner to be Broadcast on NPR

Wednesday, June 20th @ 11:05am
Category: News

Opera Carolina's production of Margaret Garner, recorded during the performances last year, began airing June 30 on National Public Radio's World of Opera.

Click to read more.

Comments (2) — Posted by: Opera Carolina

Looking ahead to the 2006/2007 Season

Friday, July 7th @ 3:18pm
Category: News

It's summertime, but that doesn't mean we're taking a break at Opera Carolina. Pre-production and planning are in full swing for our upcoming season–there is a lot of work to be done before rehearsals start. Here is a brief look at what you can expect to see–and hear–from Opera Carolina this season:

Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini
October 26, 27, 28 & 29, 2006

Puccini's passionate, lyrical tragedy of love and honor in exotic Japan returns to the Belk Theater to open our 2006/2007 Season. We are proud to welcome the return of Cynthia Lawrence (Tosca, 2005) in the title role, which she will share with fellow Met star Kallen Esperian in her Opera Carolina debut.

La Vida Breve by Manuel de Falla / Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo
January 25, 27 & 28, 2007

Opera Carolina presents our first-ever opera in Spanish: Falla's flamenco-tinged masterpiece La Vida Breve. Paired with it is the verismo powerhouse Pagliacci. As a special treat, we will be joined for this dramatic double-bill by the Carolinas Latin Dance Company and the Charlotte Children's Choir.

Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi
March 1, 3 & 4, 2007

It's been 10 years since Verdi's court jester stalked the Belk Theater stage. Now Rigoletto is back, full of hit tunes, a dynamite cast, and a striking physical production.

The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert & Sullivan
April 12, 14 & 15, 2007

We end the season with a bang! Gilbert & Sullivan's comic masterpiece makes its first Opera Carolina appearance in 25 years. If you liked our 2003 production of The Mikado, this one promises to be even more of a madcap romp.

Also, don't forget our production of Amahl & the Night Visitors by Gian Carlo Menotti. This perennial holiday favorite returns for a special engagement on December 15 & 16, 2006 at the McGlohon Theater in Spirit Square.

As you can see, we have a fantastic year ahead of us–stay tuned for more updates, information, and backstage tidbits. PLUS, we hope to hear your thoughts and comments on the upcoming season in our new BLOG where you can share your thoughts and post questions. We look forward to seeing you at the opera!

Comments (4) — Posted by: Opera Carolina