I've recently applied to a very prestigious music college in the states. They ask for a (fairly) brief essay on what value you believe your art form has. A difficult thing to write about, I felt I was approaching the first chapter of a dissertation, trying to make my thoughts as concise and relevant as possible. Achievable?!
Essay...
As an opera singer, I feel I am a hybrid of two very different skills. I am part actress, part musician. I believe the musician prevails at every moment, informing the actress’ choices and helping her to make artistic decisions. The music of opera and art song evokes commitment, determination and passion in my studying and at a time when a global financial crisis is at hand, the question of what value art has for society is an apt one and one that I feel passionately about.
When Winston Churchill was asked by British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kingsley Wood, if he would cut the government’s budget to the arts during the Second World War, he responded asking, if he did that, then “what would we be fighting for?”
To state that art, whether it be music, opera, theatre or dance, should have a price tag attached to it disregards the wealth of heritage and beauty that is in our history, crystallised through art. Art should be accessible to any who choose to be delighted and uplifted by it due to the invaluable nature of its overwhelmingly positive effects. Art must be continually created, made and cherished as it informs current society as well as providing an interpretation of the past. It should not be dismissed as ‘museum theatre’ but kept alive and breathing as a representation of our selves, past and present. Nor should art be reserved for an elite, select few, but be made readily available for any who choose to experience it. It is only in the codification and elitism of art that people become disenchanted and negative towards it.
In a recent interview for British newspaper The Guardian, opera director Peter Sellars states that ‘classical music gains its power from its subject matter, not its style’. I understand this to mean that opera is valuable to society because it comments on the lives of the people in it – therefore we must continue to live art and also to create it. Sellars’ triology of new contemporary works in collaboration with John Adams in the 1980’s (Nixon in China, The Death of Kling- hoffer and Dr Atomic) brought opera about current times, in modern dress, to a current audience and it shocked them much in the way that Mozart shocked the Viennese with his Da Ponte operas at the end of the 18th Century; the opera was about the people and for the people, it is relevant and valuable.
As well as paying respect to past works, we must also recognise the necessity for new music and opera to be continually created for the very same reason; to provide a window of honesty and truth of feeling and emotion for our current society. It seems absurd given the diffusion of popular music and modern culture to ask why we should keep past art forms such as opera alive. But I believe that we should because the colour of someone’s feeling and emotion is crystalised in their creative freedom – in their opera – and it provides a window to take ourselves somewhere else to experience it anew. Opera can be modern and relevant.
To look forward: if opera is only about one person’s creation it perhaps does bear little relevance to society at large. As culture diversifies and more avenues are available within the arts it becomes difficult to justify why any one art form is more worthy than another, and if one impacts or represents society better than any other and is therefore deserving of more attention. The simple truth is that any act of creation has value and has worth and speaks for one voice or for many in society. In the community the benefits of the arts as inspiration to those less fortunate is unsurpassed; in creation, people from disadvantaged backgrounds see possibility, hope and opportunity that they had previously not entertained as an idea. Taking recent projects with the Glyndebourne Opera Festival in Sussex, England, teenagers from the most disadvantaged areas in the surrounding suburbs were hand-picked through audition to be taught a new opera from scratch. With no previous singing or stage experience they premiered Knight Crew in March 2010 at Glyndebourne. For young people who perhaps had underachieved at school, or left school with no qualifications, through opera (and modern opera!), were able to see that if they really put their minds to something and gave it grit, commitment and determination that they could create something incredible. The value of the change that came over these young people when they felt the jubilation of their achievement on opening night will never be recaptured. The pride in their world premiere will stay with them whenever they feel they can’t achieve anything.
In its reflection of society, opera can provide us with valuable insight into past decades, centuries and eras that would be lacking from dry written accounts and letters. Past music colours the perception of our collective journey in history, it informs our image of ourselves now and it is a necessary part of our heritage, not only to remember it but to keep it alive today. If we consider the different styles of music emerging in Europe in the mid-nineteenth century we can see the Italianate power in Verdi’s music uniting the emotions and hearts of the Italians before the country’s final unification in 1862 through the unison chorus of the Hebrew slaves in Nabucco; ‘Va pensiero’. We can assess the importance of Beethoven’s triumphant 9th Symphony as a catalyst in the creation of the feeling of German nationalism through what we can now recognise to be an intrinsic German fingerprint in the core of the music which can be related back to the chorales of Bach that was of inherent importance in building a German national identity.
It is with art that we challenge ourselves and society to look further and deeper introspectively than we may willingly allow ourselves. If we are free to experiment we are free to create and in creation we reveal more of our true selves in the employment of honesty, openness and a willingness to communicate. There is no value that can be attributed to this.
To make it accessible I do not mean to say that opera should be dumbed down nor should those who do not wish to go to the opera be judged for their perceived ignorance. There is a need and a desire for art in all parts of society, but in the bid to make it universal it loses its value and meaning. So therein lies the paradox: Art is a representation of life in all its guises and is a valuable contributor to society, but there is no wrong or right way to enjoy it. I ardently believe in the importance of opera in today’s society and am determined to champion it to ensure that it does not become a museum art form but remains current and relevant to those who wish to appreciate it, and never loses its beauty. Opera is important to me as it enriches my life, allowing me view the world in a different way. I will never cease to be passionate about it, nor will I lose my willingness to share this passion with those around me.
