–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
BOOST Award
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Using digital content to build audiences for
live opera
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Authors:
Sinéad O’Neill, Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Karen Wise, Guildhall School of Music and Drama
John Sloboda, Guildhall School of Music and Drama
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Date:
April 2016
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
CREATIVEWORKS LONDON WORKING PAPER NO.26
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
This research was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council [grant Number AH/J005142/1].
Abstract
Correspondingauthor:SinéadO’Neill([email protected])
Purpose
Thepurposeofthispaperistoreportonaudienceresponsetoselecteddigitalcontent
producedbyEnglishTouringOpera(ETO)insupportofthecompany’sAutumn2015tour.
Methodology
ThisstudywasconductedcollaborativelybetweenETOandtheGuildhallSchoolofMusicand
Drama.Theresearchteamusedfocusgroupstoexploreaudiencereactionstofiveitemsof
supportingmaterialproducedbyETO.Throughaqualitativeanalysisofthetranscribed
sessions,thisreportinvestigateshowtheitemsfunction,bothindividuallyandingeneral.
ResearchLimitations
Asthisisaqualitativestudywithasmallsamplegroup(23individuals;8sessions),the
resultsdonottaketheformofstatisticalconclusions.Futureresearchmighttestthefindings
andhypothesesusingalarge-scale,quantitativestudy.
Findings
Viewersuseonlinematerialssuchastrailers,interviews,andrehearsalfootageto
appropriatelyaligntheirexpectationsofaliveperformance,andtoincreasetheirfamiliarity
withboththeproducingcompanyandwithspecificproductions.Viewerswanttheclipsto
featuremusicandimageryfromtheproductions.Inordertofunctionwell,theonline
materialsmustclearlydemonstratetheirrelationshiptothecompanyandtotheproduction.
Ifsuccessfulinperformingthesefunctions,theonlinematerialsarelikelytoincrease
anticipationandtherebyenhancetheimpactofattendanceataliveperformance.
PracticalImplications
Digitalcontentshouldhelpaudiencesknowwhattoexpectfromaproduction,andencourage
themtofeelanticipationaboutattending.Contentshouldbecarefullycontextualisedsothat
viewersknowwhattoexpectfromitandcandecidewhetherornot(andwhen)toengage
withit.
Value
Theoriginalityofthisstudyliesbothinitscollaborativemethodologyandinthenewnessof
thesubjectunderinvestigation.Artscompaniesareincreasinglyinterestedinproducing
digitalcontent,andthisstudycouldhelpinformstrategiestoensurethatthosematerials
effectivelyenhancetheaudienceexperience.
Keywords
Opera,Arts,Audiences,ArtsMarketing,OnlineMaterials
TableofContents
Abstract..............................................................................................................................................................................1
TableofContents...........................................................................................................................................................3
ExecutiveSummary......................................................................................................................................................3
Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................................5
Chapter1:Respondents..............................................................................................................................................9
Chapter2:HoffmannTrailer...................................................................................................................................17
Chapter3:WertherinRehearsal...........................................................................................................................21
Chapter4:‘PourquoimeRéveiller’......................................................................................................................26
Chapter5:SeasonIntroduction.............................................................................................................................32
Chapter6:Podcast(Pelléassectiononly).........................................................................................................38
Chapter7:PaperProgramme.................................................................................................................................43
Conclusion:DiscussionandBusinessImplications......................................................................................46
ExecutiveSummary
Thisresearchproject,fundedbyaBOOSTAwardfromCreativeworksLondon,investigates
audienceresponsetosupportingmaterialsmadebyEnglishTouringOpera(ETO).Itwasa
collaborativeprojectconductedbytheGuildhallSchoolofMusicandDramaandETO.The
researchispartofETO’son-goingeffortstoincreaseaudienceengagementwithETObeyond
attendanceatperformances.ETOaskedtheresearchteamtouseviewers’responsesto
existingsupportingmaterialsasatooltoexplorethefollowingquestions:
1.DoaudiencesengagewithETO’sadditionalcontentasitstands?
2.Didtheyknowthatthiscontentexisted?
3.Iftheydidengage,howdidtheydiscoverthiscontent?
4.Ifnot,whynot?
5.Whatkindofmaterialwoulddifferentaudiencesfindengaging?
6.Whatmediawouldtheyliketoreceivethemthrough?
7.Whatshouldthetonebe?
8.CanETOmonetisesomeofthiscontent?
9.IstheresomethingETOismissing?
WeconductedsixfocusgroupsandtwointerviewswithaudiencemembersfromtheHackney
Empire,inwhichwewatchedanddiscussedsupportingmaterialsfromtheETOAutumn2015
tour.Thematerialsdiscussedwereasfollows:
1) Hoffmanntrailer:acinematictrailerinspiredbytheproductiondesignandfeaturing
theleadperformersfromtheproduction,butnotshowinganyperformancefootage.
2) ‘WertherinRehearsal’:ashortfilmwithinterviewswiththedirector,singersand
conductor,takingplaceintherehearsalroom.
3) ‘PourquoimeRéveiller’:footagefromtheperformanceofWerther.
4) SeasonIntroduction:avideoofETOGeneralDirector,JamesConway,explainingwhy
heprogrammedthesethreeoperas.
5) Podcast:anintroductiontoPelléasetMélisandewithanarratorexplainingthestory,
andcontributionsfromtheleadsopranoandtheconductor.
6) PaperProgramme:theseasonprogrammethatisavailableforsaleatperformancesof
allthreeoperas.
Wediscussedtheseitemswithrepresentativesofthefollowingaudiencesegments:
1.Regularopera-goers.
2.Youngopera-goers.
3.FamilieswhoattendthetheatrethroughoffersprovidedbyMousetrapTheatreProjects.
4.RegularattendersoftheHackneyEmpirewhodonotcurrentlyattendopera.
Summaryfindings
Therewasawidediversityofopinionamongstourrespondents,anditwasnotpossibleto
predictanindividual’sresponsebasedontheirdemographicgrouping.Someindividuals
withingroupshadopposingviewsonthesameitems.Accordingly,ourresultsdonotallowus
toconcludethatopinionofthesupportingmaterialsisdividedaccordingtoaudience
segmentation.However,thereare‘headlinefindings’foreachitem,whichmaybe
summarizedasfollows:
HoffmannTrailer
Participantsdisplayedsomeconfusioninrelationtothisitem.Noteveryonewasableto
deciphertherelationshipofthevideototheproduction.Frequentopera-goersseemedto
‘read’theclipmoreeasilythanothers,andsomeofthemrespondedverypositively.Nonopera-goersfounditdifficulttointerpret.
WertherinRehearsal
Thisclipwaswellreceivedandreactionstoitwerestraightforwardandlargelypositive.
However,respondentswantedtohearthemusic.
‘PourquoimeRéveiller’
Thisclipofferedrespondentsanopportunitytotesttheirreactionstotheperformanceitself,
andthatwasusefultothemindecidingwhetherornottoattend.Theclipdidnotcontain
enoughinformationabouttheopera,andneededadditionalcontextualisationinorderto
function.
SeasonIntroduction
Thisvideoelicitedamixedresponse,withsomestrong,negativereactionstobothcontentand
delivery.Therewassomepositiveresponsetothecontentfromparticipantswhowantedto
learnmoreortorectifywhattheysawasgapsintheirknowledge.Somerespondentsfeltthe
contentwas‘beyond’them.Overall,respondentsdidwanttohearfromtheGeneralDirector,
buttheymostlywantedtoheardifferentthings,andinadifferentformat.
Podcast(PelléasetMélisandesectiononly)
Thepodcastwastheleastengagingitemforourrespondents.Theformatwasconsideredless
accessiblethanaudio-visualmaterial.Mostpeopleinourgroupswerenotinterestedin
podcasts.Thosewhodidenjoypodcastswerecriticalofitsquality.Thepresenterand
speakerswerecriticisedforlackingspontaneityanddynamism.
Paperprogramme
Theprogrammewasverywellreceived;consideredtocontaineverythingthatwasexpected
ofitandtoexceedexpectationsofquality.Boththeformatandcontentappealedto
participantsacrossadiverserangeofknowledgeandexperience.Therelativelackof
advertisingdrewparticularcomment.However,notallrespondentssaidtheywouldpayfor
theprogramme.
Analysis
Ourreportconcludesthatthesupportingmaterialallowsviewerstoincreasetheirfamiliarity
withtheworkofETOandtoaligntheirexpectationsofthecompanyanditsworkbefore
attendingaperformance.Existingresearchdemonstratesthatfamiliarityisanimportant
aspectofpositiveaudienceexperience.Wesuggestthatthesupportingmaterialsoffer
audiencemembersashortcuttothisfamiliarity,makingthemmorelikelytohaveapositive
experienceofattendingaperformance.Thishypothesiscouldbetestedbyexamining
reactionstoaperformanceamongstaudiencememberswhovariouslyhadandhadnot
engagedwiththesupportingmaterial.
Inordertoeffectivelysupportthedevelopmentoffamiliarityandthemanagementof
expectations,wefoundthatthesupportingmaterialsneedtoprovideviewerswithclear
insightintostoryline,production,andmusic.Themostsuccessfulmaterialcombinesinsight
intoallthree.Fortheinsighttofunction,theviewerneedstobeabletounderstandthe
relationshipbetweentheclipandtheperformance.Amongstourparticipants,theyoung,
highly-engagedopera-goersweremoresophisticatedininterpretingcinematiclanguagethan
eitherolderopera-goersornon-opera-goers.Apartfromthatdistinction,wefoundthatall
audiencesegmentswereopentoandinterestedinspecialistknowledge,aslongasitwas
presentedinaclearmanner.
Introduction
Background
ThiscollaborativeresearchprojectbetweenEnglishTouringOpera(ETO)andtheGuildhall
SchoolofMusicandDramawasfundedbyaBOOSTAwardfromCreativeworksLondon.
CreativeworksLondon(2012-2016)wasoneoffourKnowledgeExchangeHubsfundedbythe
ArtsandHumanitiesResearchCouncil.TheseHubswereformedtosupport,conductand
promotecollaborativeresearchbetweenuniversityartsandhumanitiesdepartmentsandthe
creativeandculturalindustries.
BOOSTawardsprovidefollow-onsupportforresearchfundedbyCreativeworksLondon’s
CreativeVouchers.ThisprojectbuildsontheresearchconductedbytheGuildhallSchool,in
collaborationwithETO,intoaudienceresponsetooperabroadcastsincinemas.Oneofthe
manyfindingstoemergefromthatprojectwasthatmostaudiencemembersatcinema
broadcastsrespondpositivelytothecinematicproductionvalues(e.g.close-ups)andthe
extrafootage(e.g.interviewsandbackstagefootage)thatcharacterisetheeventcinema
experience.Theyvaluethesefeaturesasameanstoenhanceasenseofintimacy,dramatic
engagement,andconnectionwiththeperformers.Somerespondentsviewthesefeaturesas
compensatory–atbest,agoodalternativetobeingphysicallypresentattheliveperformance.
Othersseethecinematicfeaturesasofferinganexperiencethatisdifferentfromandnoless
valuablethantheliveexperience.1
AsaresultofthefindingsoftheCreativeVoucherresearchproject,ETOincreasedits
developmentofsupportingmaterialssuchastrailers,interviews,podcasts,andrehearsal
footageforthecompanywebsite.Thesematerialsaredesignedtoofferaudiencesforlive
operaanequivalenttotheextrafootagepresentedduringcinemabroadcastsofopera.The
follow-onresearchfundedbytheBOOSTAwardwasconceivedasawaytoinvestigatehow
1Wise,Karen,‘EnglishTouringOpera–‘OperainCinemas’Report,’CreativeworksLondonWorkingPaperNo.3:
http://www.creativeworkslondon.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ETO-Working-paper-May-2014.pdf
[accessed9March2016].
successfulthesupportingmaterialshavebeeninenhancingaudienceexperienceofETO
performances,andinencouragingrepeatattendanceandlonger-termengagementwiththe
company.
Specifically,ETOaskedtheresearchteamtoinvestigatethefollowingquestions:
1.DoaudiencesengagewithETO’sadditionalcontentasitstands?
2.Didtheyknowthatthiscontentexisted?
3.Iftheydidengage,howdidtheydiscoverthiscontent?
4.Ifnot,whynot?
5.Whatkindofmaterialwoulddifferentaudiencesfindengaging?
6.Whatmediawouldtheyliketoreceivethemthrough?
7.Whatshouldthetonebe?
8.CanETOmonetisesomeofthiscontent?
9.IstheresomethingETOismissing?
TheseresearchquestionswerederivedfromETO’sinterestinexpandinganddevelopingits
businesspracticebyengagingwiththefollowingmid-to-longtermgoals:
• Toincreaseboxoffice(andfundraising)revenuebydeepeningaudiences’engagement
withETOyearround.
• TousedigitalcontenttoenhancetheaudienceexperienceofETOperformances,and
makerepeatattendancemorelikely.
Thelonger-termaspectsofthesebusinessdevelopmentgoalsarebeyondthescopeofthis
researchproject,buttheresearchfindingswillinformthecompany’sengagementwiththese
goals.
Method
Toinvestigatethesequestions,theresearchteamneededtoobtaintheresponseofviewersto
theexistingsupportingmaterials.Inordertoaccessopen-endedresponses,andtoallowfor
theunexpected,itwasdeterminedtoconductthisresearchusingadiscursive,ratherthana
survey-based,approach.ETOstaffwereinterestedinwhetherdifferentaudiencesegments
mightresponddifferentlytothematerial,soitwasdecidedtousefocusgroups,organised
accordingtoaudiencesegmentation,astheprimaryinvestigativetool.
AlthoughETOoperatesonanationwidebasis,CreativeworksLondonfundingisspecifically
targetedforresearchintoLondonaudiences.Accordingly,ourresearchwasfocusedonlyon
thisgroup.ETO’s‘home’venueinLondonistheHackneyEmpire,soitwasdecidedthat
researchparticipantswouldbemainlydrawnfromtheHackneyEmpiredatabase.ETOwas
interestedintheviewsoffoursectionsoftheHackneyaudience:
1.Highly-engaged,regularopera-goers.
2.Young,neworoccasionalopera-goers.
3.FamilieswhoattendthetheatrethroughoffersprovidedbyMousetrapTheatreProjects.
4.RegularattendersoftheHackneyEmpirewhodonotcurrentlyattendopera.
TheresearchcouldonlybecarriedoutinpartnershipwiththetheatrebecauseETO,asa
touringcompany,doesnotholditsownboxofficedata.ETOstaffarrangedforaudience
memberstobeinvitedbytheHackneyEmpireandMousetraptoparticipateintheresearch.
Apairofcomplimentaryticketswasofferedasanincentive.Therewasnocoercionor
pressureimpliedbytheinvitation,andparticipantswerefreetowithdrawfromtheresearch
atanytime,withoutgivingareason.Theresearchwasconductedwiththeapprovalofthe
EthicsCommitteeattheGuildhallSchool.
Responsestotheinvitationvariedgreatlybetweengroups.RegularOpera-goerswerethe
mostnumerous,with11participantsintotalandsixcancellations.YoungOpera-goerswere
moredifficulttoattracttoattendagroup,withatotalof5participantsattendingand2
cancellations.Non-opera-goerswereeasiertoattractthanYoungOpera-goers,butless
numerousthanRegularOpera-goers.Therewereatotalof6Non-opera-goers,withone
cancellation.MousetrapFamilieswerethemostdifficulttoattract.Wehadtopostponeour
MousetrapgroupsandtheETOstaffhadtoworkparticularlyhardtogetanyparticipants.
Twogroupswerescheduledbutonlyoneparticipantattendedeach,with2cancellations.
Insummary,thetotalnumberofparticipantsfromeachaudiencesegmentwasasfollows:
YoungOpera-Goers:5participants(in2groups)
Non-Opera-Goers:6participants(in2groups)
RegularOpera-Goers:11participants(in3groups)
Mousetrapfamilies:2participants(individuallyinterviewed)
Thefollowingtableshowsthedistributionofparticipantsacrossthegroups(italicsindicates
anestimatedagerange):
Group/AgeRange
19-25
25-35
35-50
50-65
over65
YoungOpera-GoersA
Vanessa
Giovanni YoungOpera-GoersB Sara
Alisa
Amy
Non-Opera-GoersA
Francesca Carly
Matteo
Dora
Robert
Non-Opera-GoersB
Vince
RegularOpera-Goers
A
Valerie
Neala
Renée
Deborah
RegularOpera-Goers
B
Mark
RegularOpera-Goers
C
Samuel
Martin
George
Dan
Patricia
MousetrapA
MousetrapB
Clara
Jennifer
Denise
FocusGroups
ThematerialsdiscussedinthefocusgroupswereselectedbySinéadO’NeillandAndrea
Perseu(HeadofMarketingatETO).Theywereallsupportingmaterialsdesignedto
accompanytheAutumn2015Tour,whichconsistedofthreeoperas:PelléasetMélisande;The
TalesofHoffmann;andWerther.Themarketingdepartmenthadcreateddiversetypesof
material,andwechoseaselectionofitemsthatweredifferentfromeachother,that
representedthethreeperformancesequally,andthatthemarketingdepartmenthad
questionsabout.Theitemschosenwere:
1) Hoffmanntrailer:acinematic-styletrailerinspiredbytheproductiondesignand
featuringtheleadperformersfromtheproduction,butnotshowinganyperformance
footage.ItisthefirstexampleofitskindcreatedbyETO,andaccordingly,the
companywasinterestedinaudienceresponsetoit.
2) ‘WertherinRehearsal’:ashortfilmwithinterviewswiththedirector,singersand
conductor,takingplaceintherehearsalroom.
3) ‘PourquoimeRéveiller’:footagefromtheperformanceofWerther.
4) SeasonIntroduction:avideoofETOGeneralDirector,JamesConway,explainingwhy
heprogrammedthesethreeoperas.
5) Podcast:anintroductiontoPelléasetMélisandewithanarratorexplainingthestory,
andcontributionsfromtheleadsopranoandtheconductor.
6) PaperProgramme:theseasonprogrammethatisavailableforsaleatperformancesof
allthreeoperas.
FocusgroupswereheldattheGuildhallSchoolofMusicandDrama,MiltonCourtbuilding.
TheywereledbySinéadO’NeillandattendedbyeitherJohnSlobodaorKarenWise(withthe
exceptionofthetwoMousetrapparticipants,whowereindividuallyinterviewedbySinéad
O’Neill).Eachfocusgrouplastedapproximately90minutes.Withthepermissionofthe
participants,themeetingswererecordedandtranscribed,withallnameschangedduring
transcription.
Eachfocusgroupwasstructuredinthefollowingway:
1) Introductiontotheresearchbythefocusgroupleader,includingaskingpermissionto
recordthesession.
2) Discussionoftheparticipants’previousattendanceatopera,knowledgeofETO,and
previoususageofdigitalmaterial.
3) Fourvideos,apodcast,andthepaperprogramme,shownanddiscussedinturn,in
eachcasefollowingasetformatofquestions:
Whatdidyoulikeaboutthisitem?
Whatdidyoudislikeaboutit?
Whodoyouthinkthisitemisaimedat?
Doesthisitemmakeyouwanttodoanything?
4) Finaldiscussion,encompassingthefollowingquestions:
Whichwasyourfavouriteitem?
Wouldyoupayforanyoftheseitems,andifso,howmuch?
Willyouseekoutsimilaritemsinfuture?
Doyounowwanttoseetheshows?
Theaboveprotocolforstructuringthesessionswasbroadlyfollowedeachtimeandtheitems
werealwaysshowninthesameorder.Atthesametime,theconversationwasopen-ended
andvariedaccordingtotheinterestsoftheparticipants.
Eachsessionwasrecordedandtranscribed,withparticipants’nameschangedduring
transcription.Aninitialanalysiswasconducted,inwhichthetranscriptswereindexed
accordingtothemesandanoverviewoftheresponsetoeachitemwascompiled.Thefindings
ofthisfirstexplorationofthetranscriptswerepresentedtoETOsothattheneedsofthe
companycouldbetakenintoaccountinthesubsequentexaminationofthematerial.The
marketingdepartmentofETOrequestedthattheresearchteamshouldconsiderwhat
supportingmaterialshouldcontaininordertosuccessfullyappealtoaudiences.
Inthe‘results’sectionofthispaper,eachitemisconsideredinturn.Ouranalysisgivesafull
pictureoftheresponsetothesupportingmaterials,includingcontradictoryresponses.The
diversityofparticipants’viewsismaintainedinouranalysis,whichmeansthatthereisoften
nosimple,overarchingconsensusonaparticularitem.However,theanalysisdoesallowusto
gainanunderstandingofhowaudiencemembersusethesematerials,andwhatthematerials
shouldcontaininordertofunctionsuccessfully.
Chapter1:Respondents
Thissummaryofourrespondentsenablesreaderstofindoutabouttheparticipantsofeach
focusgroupinturn.Thegroupsarereferredtoasfollows:YoungOpera-GoersAandB;NonOpera-GoersAandB;RegularOpera-GoersA,BandC;MousetrapFamiliesAandB.2We
discusseachgroupunderthefollowingheadings:
(i)
Generalatmosphere
(ii)
Operahabitsandknowledge
(iii) Professionalinterestorpersonalconnectionwithopera
(iv) Internethabits
(v)
Favouriteitem
(vi) Usingtheclipsoutofseason
(vii) Otherpointsofinterest
YoungOpera-GoersA
Thisgroupconsistedoftwoparticipants;VanessaandGiovanni.ItwasledbySinéadO’Neill
andattendedbyKarenWise.
(i)
Generalatmosphere
Theparticipantschattedpolitely,easilyandfluently.Inanyofourfocusgroupswithonlytwo
participants,thestructureofthediscussionstendedtobebasedonturn-taking,withone
personofferingtheiropinionandthendeferringtotheothertoheartheirview.Inthisgroup,
theparticipantsseemedconfidentintheiropinionsandcomfortabletodisagreeandtooffer
contraryopinions.
(ii)
Operahabitsandknowledge
Bothparticipantswerefrequentattenders.Giovanniattendedveryfrequently,uptotwicea
weekbutatleastonceeverycoupleofweeks,usingstudentdiscountsandticketoffers.He
2Quotationsfromrespondentsarereferredtobygrouptitleandtranscriptpagenumber.
oftenpurchasedseveralticketsandofferedthemtofriends.Vanessawasmorelikelyto
attendonherown,andtobuyexpensiveticketsasatreatforherself.Sheattendedless
frequentlythanGiovanni,andattendedavarietyoftheatricalforms,tryingtoseeashowonce
everycoupleofmonths.Bothparticipantswereveryknowledgeableandawareofdifferent
companiesandvenues.
(iii) Professionalinterestorpersonalconnectionwithopera
Vanessahadapersonalfriendwhowasanoperasinger;Giovanniwasamusicologygraduate.
(iv) Internethabits
Bothmembersofthisgroupusedprintandonlinemediatoprepareforattendinga
performance.Theywereonemaillistsfromproducingcompaniesandvenues,andwerein
thehabitofcheckingwebsitesforupcomingperformances.Theywereaccustomedto
watchinginternettrailersorclips,whichtheywoulddoontheirphoneorlaptop.Theywere
bothFacebookusersandonewasanInstagramuser.
(v)
Favouriteitem
Giovanni’sfavouriteitemwastheHoffmantrailer,followedbytheSeasonIntroduction,and
Vanessa’swastheSeasonIntroduction.
(vi) Usingtheclipsoutofseason
Vanessawouldusetheclipstoseewhatwasshowingorcomingup,butnottolookback,
whileGiovannilikedtobrowsepastseasonstogetasenseofthecompany’swork.
(vii) Otherpointsofinterest
Vanessawasparticularlyawareofbrandinganddesignmattersandwascriticalofany
inconsistencyintheuseofbrand-relatedfontsandcolours.
YoungOpera-GoersB
Thisgroupconsistedofthreeparticipants,Sara,AlisaandAmy.ItwasledbySinéadO’Neill
andattendedbyJohnSloboda.
(i)
Generalatmosphere
Participantsinthisgroupweretalkativeandtheconversationwasfluent.Thetwomore
talkativerespondentstookcaretoincludethequieterrespondentandtoaskheropinion.All
threeseemedconfidentintheirownopinions.
(ii)
Operahabitsandknowledge
Oneparticipant(Amy)hadonlyattendedoperaacoupleoftimes;theothertwowere
frequentattenders,attendingonceamonthoronceeverycoupleofmonths.Thesetwowere
veryknowledgeableandawareofcompaniesandvenues.Bothofthemweremotivatedto
attendbasedoninterestinsingersandproductions,whileAmywasanimpulse-buyerand
wouldattendsomethingshehadcomeacrossifitlookedinteresting.Shesawoperaas
entertainmentandtreateditin‘arelaxedway’(p.23),whileSaraandAlisahadmorein-depth
interest.
Allthreewerelikelytowatchtrailers.Allthreeweretasteleaders,decidingwhattoattend
andtheninvitingfriends.Theydescribedusingsupportingmaterialstoencouragetheir
friendstoattend.Ticketoffersandadvertisements(onlineorontheTube)influencedtheir
decision-making.
(iii) Professionalinterestorpersonalconnectionwithopera
SaraandAlisawerestudentsingers.
(iv) Internethabits
Thisgroupwasveryactiveonline,usingFacebookforpersonalandTwitterforprofessional
activity.Participantsreportedusingemaillistsreceiveinformation,clips,andticketoffers,
andwouldclickonlinks(usingphone,laptoporipad)tweetedbyfriendsorcompanies.They
wereinthehabitofbrowsingcompanywebsitesandfollowingsingersandcompanies
throughsocialmedia.
(v)
Favouriteitem
Thisgroupselectedseveralitems:theprogramme,theHoffmanntrailer(for‘oooooh’effect(p.
20)),andthetwoWerthervideos,inparticulariftheycouldbecombinedintoone.Theyhada
strongreactionagainsttheSeasonIntroduction.
(vi) Usingtheclipsoutofseason
Thisgroupwasnotinterestedinusingtheclipsoutofseason.Theywouldusetheclipsifthey
werethinkingofattendingaperformance,oriftheywereinterestedinfindingoutmoreafter
havingseenashow.
Non-OperaGoersA
Therewerefiveparticipantsinthisgroup;Francesca,Robert,Carly,MatteoandDora.Itwas
ledbySinéadO’NeillandattendedbyJohnSloboda.
(i)
Generalatmosphere
Thisgroupwastalkativeandtherewasapositiveatmosphere.Respondentsseemedhappyto
offertheiropinionsandconfidentinthediscussion.Theyrespondedtoanddiscussedeach
other’sviews.
(ii)
Operahabitsandknowledge
Onlyonememberofthisgrouphadneverattendedtheoperabefore.Onehadbeentwiceand
leftintheinterval,onehadbeentoAidaonce,andtheothertwohadbeen‘afewtimes’(p.2).
Thegrouphadlimitedknowledgeaboutoperaoroperacompanies,andnoknowledgeofETO.
SomemembershadheardoperaonRadio3.Participantsexpectedoperatobeglamorous,
withhighqualitysingingandplaying.Theythoughtitwouldbesomethingspecialandoutof
theordinary.Onerespondenthadnegativepreconceptionsabout‘unnaturalsounding’voices
(p.2).
Participantsinthisgrouphaddifferingideasabouthowtheywouldprepareforattendingthe
opera.Somewantedtobefamiliarwiththemusicandwouldeitherattendsomethingthey
kneworwoulddownloadthemusicandlistenbeforegoing.Somewouldreadthesynopsis
beforeseeingtheshow,butotherspreferredtounderstandthestoryfromthestage.
Accordingly,theserespondentshaddifferentneedsforthesupportingmaterials.Somewould
wanttousethembeforeseeingtheshow,whileotherswouldturntothemafterwards.
(iii) Professionalinterestorpersonalconnectionwithopera
Tworespondentshadfamilyconnectionswithprofessionaloperasingers.
(iv) Internethabits
Theserespondentswerelessengagedwiththeinternetthantheyoungopera-goers.They
reportedthattheywouldrespondtoemaillists,andthattheywouldusetheinternettofind
outaboutperformersiftheysawsomeonetheyparticularlyliked.Onerespondentwould
downloadthemusicofanoperatofamiliarizehimselfwithitbeforeattending.
(v)
Favouriteitem
BothWerthervideos.
(vi) Usingtheclipsoutofseason
Participantswerelikelytorespondtoemails,butwouldnotseekoutthematerial.
(vii) Otherpointsofinterest
Onerespondentsuggestedthataudiencememberscouldreceiveaspecialofferasareward
forjoiningthemailinglist.
RegularOpera-GoersA
Therewerefourparticipantsinthisgroup;Valerie,Neala,DeborahandRenée.Thegroupwas
ledbySinéadO’NeillandattendedbyKarenWise.
(i)
Generalatmosphere
Thisgroupwaschattyandfriendly.Itwastheonlygroupwheretherewasnoticeable‘talking
over’eachotherandvocalagreementordisagreementwitheachother.Participantsoften
chippedinoneachother’spointsorfinishedeachother’ssentences.Therewasafeelingof
easebetweenparticipants.
(ii)
Operahabitsandknowledge
Allparticipantsinthisgroupwerefrequentattenders(onerespondentmentionedattending
abouttwentytimesinthepastthreeyears,andothershadsimilarhistories).Theywere
familiarwithawiderangeofoperaofferings,from‘pubopera,’tolargecompanies,tooperain
thecinema,andtheywerefamiliarwithETO.Theserespondentsweretasteleaders,buying
moreticketsthantheyneededandbringingfriends,butwerealsohappytoattendontheir
own.
(iii) Professionalinterestorpersonalconnectionwithopera
OnerespondenthadwrittenaMastersdissertationonthesubjectofadulteducationinopera,
entitled‘Increasingaccessibilityormaintainingelitism?’
(iv) Internethabits
Participantsinthisgrouphabituallyusedtheinternettodiscoverupcomingperformances,
eitherthroughemaillistsorthroughparticularwebsites(e.g.fringeoperawebsite).They
wereusedtowatchingtrailersandclips,whichhelpedthemtofindoutaboutacompany’s
work,andwhichtheycouldusetoencouragefriendstoattend.TheyusedYoutubetolistento
somethingtheywerethinkingofgoingtosee.Ifdirectedtherebytheprogramme,theywould
visitacompanywebsitetofindoutmoreinformationafteraperformance.Theseparticipants
didnotusesocialmediaorlistentopodcastsbuttheywouldlistentoopera-relatedmaterial
onradioorwatchitontelevision.
(v)
Favouriteitem
‘Theonewiththesingingin’(i.e.‘Pourquoimeréveiller’)wastheuniversalfavourite(p.22).
TheHoffmanntrailerandtheSeasonIntroductionweretheleastfavourite.
(vi) Usingtheclipsoutofseason
Thisgroupfoundtheclipsusefulfortwothings;choosingwhattoattendandfindingouthow
thecompanydoesthings.Thelatterisnotnecessarilyseason-related,althoughinpractice,it
isprobablyassociatedwithchoosingwhattoattend.
(vii) Otherpointsofinterest
Onerespondentinthisgroupsuggestedthat,althoughshewasawareofETO,shefeltitwas
notveryrelevanttoherbecauseshelivesinLondonandhassomanyoptions,andthatETO
wasmostrelevanttopeoplelivingwheretherewerenotsomanyoperaproductionsavailable
(p.2).
RegularOpera-GoersB
This‘group’ismadeupofoneparticipant,Mark.Markattendedafocusgroupwithoneother
participant,Vince;however,VincehadneverbeentoanoperabeforeandMarkwasahighly
engagedandlong-termoperafan,sowehavesplitthemintwoforthepurposesofanalysis.
Vinceformsthe‘group’Non-opera-goersB.Itwasstraightforwardtosplittheanalysisinthis
waybecausetheconversation,asinothergroupswithtwoparticipants,proceededbyturntaking.ThegroupwasledbySinéadO’Neill,withKarenWiseinattendance.
(i)
Generalatmosphere
Theconversationwashamperedbythediscrepancyinexperiencebetweenthetwo
candidates.Bothparticipantsseemedhappytospeakoutandsharetheiropinion,butthere
waslittlecommonground.
(ii)
Operahabitsandknowledge
Markwasafrequentattender,goingtotheopera10-12timesperyear.Hewas
knowledgeableaboutopera,venues,andcompanies,includingETO,andreportedregularly
attendingETOatHackneytosupportthecompanyandvenue.Whendecidingwhattoattend,
repertoirewasmoreimportanttohimthanproducer.Markwasatasteleader,bringing
peopletooperawithlittleornoexperienceofit.Hecurrentlysendsthemasynopsisto
prepare,butwouldprefertosendaclipifitwasgood.Markreportedthatheattendsopera
morefortheemotionalthantheintellectualcontent,andhewasirritatedbymaterialthat
madeoperaseemmoreintellectualthanemotional.Hedidnotwantthingsinterpretedfor
himinadvance.
(iii) Professionalinterestorpersonalconnectionwithopera
Nonementioned,althoughaprofessionalbackgroundinmarketinggaveMarkparticular
insightintothesupportingmaterial.
(iv) Internethabits
Markdecidedwhattoattendonthebasisoffliersandbrochuressentdirectlytohim.He
wouldexpecttoreceiveanysupportingmaterialbyemail;hewouldnotgotoawebsiteto
browse.
(v)
Favouriteitem
Hoffmanntrailer.Markdidnotlikeanyoftheotheritems.Hesuggestedthattheclipsshould
demonstratebalancebetweenshowingenoughtogivetheviewerasenseofwhattoexpect
andnotshowingaperformance‘verbatim.’HefeltthattheHoffmannclipwastheonlyone
thatachievedthisbalance.
(vi) Usingtheclipsoutofseason
Markthoughtitwouldbeusefultogetaregularemailwithmaterialtowatchinorderto
establishandmaintainabondwiththecompany.Forexample,hesuggestedthatsupporting
materialcouldgivehim‘agradualsoftentryintoMassenet,’whichhewouldotherwiseavoid
(p.14).
Non-Opera-GoersB
This‘group’ismadeupofoneparticipant,Vince(seeRegularOpera-goersB,above).
(i)
Generalatmosphere
SeeRegularOpera-goersB,above.
(ii)
Operahabitsandknowledge
Vincehadneverattendedanoperaandwasatthefocusgroupasa‘standin’forhisfriend,
whocouldnotcome.Hehadastronginterestinoperaandsawthegroupasawaytofindout
more.Hehadnoknowledgeofanyoperacompaniesandhadonlyeverencounteredone
opera,L’EnfantetlesSortilèges,whichhewasworkingonatcollege(asastudentof
scenography).
(iii) Professionalinterestorpersonalconnectionwithopera
Studentofscenography.
(iv) Internethabits
Vincewasnotinthehabitofusingtheinternettofindoutaboutoperabecausehewasnotin
thehabitofattending;however,hereportedthathewouldusevideosonthewebsitetohelp
himdecidewhattoattend.
(v)
Favouriteitem
‘Pourquoimeréveiller,’‘theonewiththesinging’(p.13).
(vi) Usingtheclipsoutofseason
Responsenotclear.
RegularOpera-GoersC
Thiswasourlargestfocusgroup,withsixparticipants:George,Denise,Martin,Patricia,
SamuelandDan.ItwasledbySinéadO’NeillandattendedbyJohnSloboda.
(i)
Generalatmosphere
Theatmosphereinthisgroupwastenseandcool.Participantswerenoteagertospeakout
andseemednervousofinterruptingordisturbingeachother.Therewasanairofsuspicion
towardstheaudio-visualmaterial.Conversationwasstiltedandrespondentsseemed
constrained.
(ii)
Operahabitsandknowledge
Therewasamixedlevelofexperienceandknowledgeaboutoperainthisgroup.Two
respondentswerehighlyengaged,frequentoperaattenders,andtheothershaddiverselevels
ofexperience.Thisdisparityofexperienceandknowledgeseemedtocausethehighly
engagedparticipantstoholdbacksomewhat,whilethelessknowledgeablewereperhaps
morequietthantheywouldotherwisehavebeen.Therewasmixedknowledgeofopera
companiesandofETO,rangingfromonerespondentwhofollowedETOfortenyears,to
otherswhowerenotinterestedindifferentiatingbetweenproducingcompanies,butwould
attendwhateverwasonattheHackneyEmpire.Participantswerefamiliarwithoperainthe
cinemaandattendedtheHackneyPicturehouse.
Therewerediversepathwayswithinthegroupfordecidingwhattoattend.Forthehighly
engagedrespondents,repertoirewasimportant,andtheywerelookingeitherforunfamiliar
worksorforoperaswithinaspecificareaofinterest.Theotherrespondentsbaseddecisions
onthedateandpriceofeventsattheHackneyEmpire.
(iii) Professionalinterestorpersonalconnectionwithopera
Nonereported.
(iv) Internethabits
Mostparticipantsinthisgroupreportedthattheywouldwatchavideoiftheyweresentitvia
anemaillist,buttheydidnotspendtimebrowsingontheinternet.Theysawcomputersasa
tooltocarryouttasks,ratherthanavehicleforentertainment.However,individualswithin
thegroupdidsometimesusetheinternetinassociationwithattendingopera,forexampleby
seekingasynopsisbeforeattendinganunknownopera.Oneofthetwohighlyengaged
respondents(Martin)usedYoutubetowatchoperaproductionsfromothercountries.The
secondhighly-engagedrespondent(Samuel)wasalreadyfamiliarwiththeETOwebsiteand
usedittopreparebeforeattendingperformances(p.3).Acontraryviewwasputforwardby
George,whohadalsowatchedsomeoftheETOsupportingmaterialrecently,andfeltthatit
wasself-indulgentanddidnotmakehimwanttoattend(p.4).
Respondentsinthisgroupusedprintmediatokeepupwithreviews,andonementioned
Kobbé’sOperaBook(p.3).
(v)
Favouriteitem
Alloftherespondentsinthisgrouppickedtheprogramme,andaftertheprogramme,the
following:SeasonIntroduction(x3);WertherinRehearsal(x1);Hoffmanntraileras
‘somethingtolookat,butnothingtodowithgoingtoseetheopera’(x1)3;thePodcast(x1).
(vi) Usingtheclipsoutofseason
Mostrespondentswouldwatchaclipiftheyreceiveditviaanemaillist.
(vii) Otherpointsofinterest
Onerespondentremarkedthatinsomeways,theindividualmaterialsarelessimportantthan
theideatheygivethattheproducingcompanyiscompetentandprofessional(p.25).
Thehighly-engagedrespondentswithinthisgroupweremoreskilledinusingtheinternetto
supporttheiroperaintereststhantheothergroupmembers.
MousetrapA
Onlyonerespondentattendedthisfocusgroup;Clara.ShewasinterviewedbySinéadO’Neill.
(i)
Generalatmosphere
Clarawaschattyandseemedconfidentandatease.Shediscussedtheaspectsofeachitem
thatshelikedbeforemovingtoaspectsshedidnotlike,sothatevenifheroverallresponseto
somethingwasnegative,ittooksometimeforthattobecomeapparent.
3Dan,RegularOpera-goersC,p.23.
(ii)
Operahabitsandknowledge
Clarabecame‘smitten’withoperawhileatuniversity,andreportedthatshecurrentlyattends
twoorthreetimesayear,whichisasoftenasshecanafford.Shewasfamiliarwithpopular
repertoireandthereforesoughtoutunusualtitlesthatshehadnotseenbefore.Inadvanceof
attendingaperformance,sheusedtheinternettofindoutabouttheopera.Clarawas
generallyquitecriticallyaware,inparticularwithrespecttoherroleasaparent,andshesaw
operaaspartofself-developmentandeducation,bothforherselfandherchildren.Clarawas
atasteleader,bringinghersisterorherfriendwhoarenotfamiliarwithopera,andmakingan
effortto‘educate’the‘boringpeopleatwork’(p.3,4).
ClarawasknowledgeableaboutthedifferentoperacompaniesinLondonandfamiliarwith
ETO,althoughsheusedtomistakeETOforENO.ShelikesETObecauseofitsunusual
repertoire,and‘accessible’setsthatarenot‘weirdo’(p.15).
(iii) Professionalinterestorpersonalconnectionwithopera
Nonereported.
(iv) Internethabits
Clarausedwebsitestofindupcomingperformancesandrelevantmaterialtogetherdaughter
interested.Shelookedforthingsthatwouldhelpherlearnaboutwhatshewasgoingtosee
sothatshecouldspeakaboutitintelligentlywithherdaughterandencourageaconversation.
Shesaweveryopportunityasawayofimpartingsomethingtoherdaughter(p.9).
(v)
Favouriteitem
WertherinRehearsal(becauseshefeltastrongpersonalconnectionwiththecharacters),
followedbytheSeasonIntroduction,followedby‘PourquoimeRéveiller.’Claradidnotlike
theHoffmanntrailer.
(vi) Usingtheclipsoutofseason
Clarareportedthatshewouldnotwatchtheclipsoutofthecontextofseeingaparticular
production.
(vii) Otherpointsofinterest
ThesimilaritiesbetweenClaraandourotherMousetraprespondent,Jennifer,werestriking.
Theywerebothfromethnicminorities,althoughonlyJennifermentionedherethnicity.Both
werehighlyengagedintheeducationandpersonaldevelopmentoftheirchildren,andin
particulartheirdaughters,andbothsawoperaaspartofthatprocess.Theybothworked
outsidethehome.Theywerebothintheirfortiesandhadbeenattendingoperasincetheir
earlytwenties.TheybothassociatedverystronglywiththecharacterofCharlotteinWerther,
andfeltthatthey,likeCharlotte,hadexperienceoflivingtheirlivesagainstthegrainofthe
expectationsofothers.Theywerearticulateandconsideredintheirspeech.Bothwere
initiallypositiveaboutallthesupportingmaterials,andgavenegativefeedbackusingpositive
terms.Bothweresophisticatedintheircriticismofthematerialandabletoassessiton
numerouslevelsbeyondtheirpersonaltaste.
MousetrapB
Onlyonerespondentattendedthisfocusgroup;Jennifer.ShewasinterviewedbySinéad
O’Neill.
(i)
Generalatmosphere
Jenniferspokefluentlyandarticulately.Shewascarefulandconsideredinherspeech.
SimilarlytoClara(MousetrapA),Jenniferbeganherdiscussionofeachitembyexplaining
aspectsofitthatsheliked.Shetendedtoexpressanegativeresponseinpositiveterms,
sayingthatsomethingelsehadbeen‘moreeffective,’forexample,orthatitwas‘good,’but
therewas‘somethingmissing’(p.5).
(ii)
Operahabitsandknowledge
Jenniferbecameahabitualattenderofoperaandmusicalswhenshereceivedcomplimentary
ticketstoPhantomoftheOperaattheageoftwenty-one.Sincehavingchildren,shehasbeen
limitedbytimeandmoneyandhasreliedonMousetrapFamiliestodrawherattentionto
upcomingperformancesandtoprovideoffers.Shehadhabituallybeentoobusytoseekout
eventsbutmorerecentlyhashadmoretimeavailableandisspendingtimefindingoutabout
upcomingperformances.LikeClara(MousetrapA),Jenniferwashighlyengagedinherroleas
aparent.Shereportedbeing‘usedto’classicalmusicbecauseherchildrenlearned
instrumentsandsheattendedtheirconcerts(p.4).
(iii) Professionalinterestorpersonalconnectionwithopera
Nonereported.
(iv) Internethabits
Jenniferhadnotusuallywatchedtrailersorclipsforoperaontheinternet,andhadnot
previouslyhadtimetoresearchperformances.Recentlyshehadbeenre-evaluatinghowto
spendhertime,havingmoretimetoherself,soshewasstartingtodoso.
(v)
Favouriteitem
WertherinRehearsal(becauseshefeltastrongpersonalresonancewiththecharacters),
followedbytheHoffmanntrailer.
(vi) Usingtheclipsoutofseason
Notdiscussed.
(vii) Otherpointsofinterest
StrikingsimilaritywithourotherMousetraprespondent(seeClara,MousetrapA).
Chapter2:HoffmannTrailer
Thiswasthefirstclipshowntoeachfocusgroup.
Summary:PositiveorNegative?
Thisclipelicitedamixedresponsefromourparticipants,asfollows:
PositiveResponse:
MousetrapB
RegularOpera-goersB
YoungOpera-goersB
NeutralResponse:
YoungOpera-goersA
MousetrapA
NegativeResponse:
Non-opera-goersA+B
RegularOpera-goersA+C
Theresponsecanbedividedintothreecategories:Function,ToneandTechnical.
1) Function
Ofallthecontentweshowed,thisclipisthemostclearlysales-oriented,anditactedinthat
wayforsomeofourrespondents.Forthosethreegroupsthatdisplayedapositive
response,theclipdidmakethemwanttoattendaperformance,andtheywerealsoeager
tosharetheclipwithotherpeople.Forthe‘neutral’respondents,theclipmadethemwant
tofindoutmoreinformation.Forthosewhohadanegativereaction,somewereactively
putoffattendingtheperformance,whileotherssaidtheywouldfindoutmorefromother
sourcesandwouldnotbeputoffbytheclip.Itconveyedmoodandstyletoourviewers,
butsomerespondentshaddifficultyinrelatingthemoodandstyleofthecliptothe
productionitself.Exceptforthethree‘positive’groups,therespondentsdisplayeda
certainamountofconfusionregardingwhattheclipwasabout.
Incontrast,somerespondentsdidnotunderstandtherelationshipbetweentheclipand
theproduction:
Q1 Ithoughtitwasashortpacything.Thecinematographywasverynice.Someofthe
imagerywasverynice.Butitdidn’tactuallyshowyouanything…itdidn’tgiveyou
muchofaclueaboutwhatyouwereactuallygoingtosee.
(Robert,Non-opera-goersA,p.4)
Robertrepresentstheconfusionevidentinhisgroupastowhothepeoplefeaturedinthe
clipwere.Thisgroupwasnotconfidentlinkingthecharactersandperformersinthefilm
tothoseintheproduction.Viewerswereconfusedbytheword‘Stella,’withsome
respondentsthinkingthevideowasproductplacementforbeer.Theyalsofeltthattheclip
waslackinginglamourandspectacle(whichtheyexpectedinopera)andthatitlooked
‘miserable’and‘low-budget.’
Q2 Ihopethisdoesn’tcomeacrossasrude–butIkindof…itlookedabitlow-budget.
AndIkindoffeellike,whenIseeopera,thinkofopera,youalwaysthinkofvery
glamorous,over-the-topwomen,andshelooked…hermake-up…shedidn’thave
anymake-upon.Ikindoffeltshecouldhavebeenglammedupabitmoreandit
beenabitmoredramatic.Itkindoflookedlikeastudent[…]hadcreatedthatfilm.
(Francesca,Non-opera-goersA,p.4,5)
Despiteconfusionastowhattheclipwasabout,theserespondentsdidrelatethestyleand
productionvaluesofthecliptothoseoftheoperaproduction,andtheywereputoffbythe
feelingthattheproductionmightbeabit‘dreary’and‘low-budget’(respondent’swords),
whichishowtheysawtheclip.
Ourregularopera-goersweremostlynegativeabouttheclip.Insomecasestheywereput
offattendingbytheclip;inothers,theysaidtheywouldattenddespitetheclip,either
becausetheylikedthemusicorbecausetheywantedtoseeHoffmannanyway.Aswiththe
non-opera-goers,therewassomeconfusionastowhattheclipwasaboutandhowit
relatedtotheproduction:
18
Q3
Q4
Iwouldwonderwhetheritwasbeingmadelikeablackandwhitefilm,andthink…
questionmark.
(Deborah,RegularOpera-goersA,p.5)
Butthatclipdidn’tshowwhethertheoperawasgoingtobesetinitstraditional
periodorwhetheritwasgoingtobesetlater.
(Deborah,RegularOpera-goersA,p.6)
Inthesetwoquotations,Deborahisstrugglingtounderstandtheparallelsbetweentheclip
andtheproduction.Ourregularopera-goerswereinterestedinfindingoutwhatperioda
productionwouldbesetin,andtheyexpectedthedigitalmaterialstomakethatclear.
Knowingaboutthesettingofaproductionwouldhelpthemmakeadecisionaboutwhether
ornottoattend.Therewasamixedresponseamongsttheregularopera-goersasto
whetherornotthetrailerdidconveyinformationabouttheproduction,andwhatthat
informationwas.Manyofourregularopera-goersdisplayedsomeresistancetothenontraditionalproductionstylefeaturedintheclip,eveniftheywerenotalwayscompletely
confidentintheirpreciseinterpretationoftheclip.
Moreexperiencedopera-goers,likeSamuel(below),orlikeouryoungopera-goers,seemed
mostconfidentinrelatingthecliptotheproduction.
Q5 Ithink[theHoffmanntraileris]helpfultomaybeknowwhatthekindofproduction
angleisgoingtobe…perhapsonlytofindoutifyoureallywouldn’twanttoseea
productiondonelikethat. (Samuel,RegularOpera-goersC,p.4)
Jennifer(MousetrapB)wasalsoconfidentininterpretingwhatthisclipwasaboutandhow
itrelatedtotheproduction,asfollows:
Q6 Sheseemstobelikeavixen.Youknow,oneofthosecoquettishvixens,and,yeah,it
soundslikehighdrama.[…]Ithinkitwouldbecaptivating.Ithinkthereareno
boundaries.Expecttheunexpected.And,definitelyitwillbegrippingrightfrom
starttoend. (Jennifer,MousetrapB,p.2)
Jenniferassumedthattheperformersandcharactersinthefilmwouldfeatureinthe
production.Sheunderstoodthatthemoodandstyleofthefilmrepresentedthoseofthe
production.Jenniferwasattractedbythefemalecharacterintheclipandbyhowshe
imaginedthestorywouldunfold,andshewantedtoattendtheoperaasaresultofhaving
seentheclip.
Ouryoungopera-goersreportedthattheircuriositywasarousedbythemoodandstyleof
theclip,butthatitdidnotcontainenoughinformationabouttheoperaforthemtodecide
whetherornottoattend.Theyfoundtheclip‘intriguing,’butsaidthattherewas‘maybe
justnotenoughinformationtoconstruewhatitisandwhatit’sabout.’4Anotherremarked:
‘I’mnotsureifI’dknowwhattheoperawasaboutifIdidn’talreadyknowwhatitwas.’5
Bothgroupsofyoungopera-goerssaidthattheirnextstepwouldbetoclickonsomething
elsetofindoutmore.
Insummary,thisclipdidnotalwaysfunctioneffectively,withsomerespondentsfindingit
difficulttointerpret.
4Sara,YoungOpera-goersB,p.3;Vanessa,YoungOpera-goersA,p.6.
5Alisa,YoungOpera-goersB,p.3.
19
2) Tone
Tonereferstohowrespondentsperceivedthecliptobedirectedtowardsparticular
audiencesegments.
Mostofourfocusgroupsconsideredthatthisclipwasaimedatyoungpeople(althougha
contraryviewsaid‘middle-agedpeople’wouldbemoreattractedbythesilentmoviestyle
thanyoungpeople).6Theimaginedage-rangeoftheintendedaudiencevariedalittle,from
‘hipster21-26-year-olds’to‘I’m42,soitcouldbetomyselfandyoungerpeople.’7Inboth
thesecases,therespondentincludedthemselvesinthetargetagerange,andfeltthatthe
clipwassuccessfulinattractingyoungpeoplelikethem.
Incontrasttothose(above)whosuggestedthatthefilmwastryingtoattracttheirown
group,butfailing,regularopera-goerMarkwasattractedbytheclip,thoughhethoughtit
wasaimedatagroupotherthanhimself.Markrespondedverypositivelytotheclip,
sayingthatitwas‘intriguing’and‘goodfun,’with‘snapshotsofbitspickedoutfromthe
plot.’8Heidentifiedthetoneas‘outreach;tryingtogettoadifferentaudience.’9
Respondentsfrequentlymadeparalleljudgementsaboutaclip’sattractivenessto
themselvesanditspotentialattractivenesstootherpeople.Thereisclearlyacomplex
processofgroupidentityinvolvedinthewayrespondentsinterpretthetoneoftheclip.
Mark,forexample,isafrequentopera-goerandisknowledgeableaboutopera.Heis
emotionallyengagedintheoperaindustry’sendeavourtomoveawayfromnegative
stereotypes,whichhedescribedas‘fatman,fatlady,sortofstandingtheresortofblasting
outatyou.’10Heoftentakespeopletotheoperawhoarenotfamiliarwithit,andwas
excitedbythisclipandhowhecoulduseittoencouragepeopletowardsopera.
Groupswhowerelesspositiveabouttheclipalsofeltittargetedyoungpeople,butdidnot
alwaysbelieveittobesuccessfulinthataim.
Q7 Ithought,ifyou’retryingtogettheyouthin,you’renotgoingtogettheyouthinon
that. (Dora,Non-opera-goersA,p.6)
Q8 Mykindofage[latetwenties]ordemographicwouldn’t…Iwouldn’tgotothat.
(Francesca,Non-opera-goersA,p.6)
Theserespondentsfelttheclipwasaimedat‘operalovers;’‘peoplewhoknewwhatthey’d
see’and‘whoknewwhatit’sabout.’11Equally,regularopera-goerssaidthatwhiletheclip
was‘tryingtocatchamodernaudience,’itmightnotsucceed,becausesomeyoungpeople
mightbeinterestedinfilmsofthetwenties,butmanyprobablywouldnotbe.12
Insummary,itwasgenerallyfeltthatthisclipwasaimedatyoungpeople.However,inthe
contextofourrespondents,itwasmostsuccessfulamongstthosewhowerealready
knowledgeableaboutandengagedbyopera.
3) Technical
6Vince,Non-opera-goersB,p.3;NealaandDeborah,RegularOpera-goersA,p.5.
7Alisa,YoungOpera-goersB,p.3;Clara,MousetrapA,p.4.
8RegularOpera-goers,p.3.
9Ibid.
10Ibid.
11Non-opera-goersA,p.6.
12NealaandDeborah,RegularOpera-goersA,p.5.
20
Positiveresponsestothetechnicalaspectofthisclipfocusedonthefilmicstyle.Some
respondentsenjoyedthecinematographicapproach,andusedtheword‘cinema’aswayof
expressingapprobationofthewayitwasmade,asinthefollowingexamples:
Q9 It’sareallycoolpieceofcinema. (Alisa,YoungOpera-goersB,p.3)
Q10 Ithoughtitwasashort,pacything.Thecinematographywasverynice.
(Robert,Non-opera-goersA,p.4)
Q11 It’scutquiteslickly.Ithinkit’sactually…it’sgoodcinema.
(Mark,RegularOpera-goersB,p.4)
Respondentswhoofferednegativecriticismofthetechnicalsideofthefilmreportedalack
ofcontinuityorcoherenceinthescenes.Vanessaexpresseditas‘noflow-through,’Carly
as‘disjointed,’Renéeas‘confusing.’13Thetechnicalstandardofthefilmproductionwas
alsocriticized,as‘amateur’and‘abitlow-budget;[…]likeastudenthadcreatedthatfilm.’14
ForVanessa,thefilmseemedamateurbecauseofthedisjointednatureofthescenes.For
Francesca,itseemedlow-budgetbecauseitwaslackingintheglamoursheexpectedof
opera.
Respondentswhohadanegativeviewofthetechnicalaspectsoftheclipcarriedthatview
intotheirexpectationsoftheproductionitself.Thus,Vanessafeltthat‘itseemedlikeit
wouldbealmostlikeanamateurdramaticslevelofperformanceandshow.’15Francesca
thoughttheperformancewouldbe‘abitdownanddreary.’16
Summary
Ourparticipantsdisplayedsomeconfusioninrelationtothisclip.Frequentopera-goers
seemedtoreadtheclipmoreeasilythanothers,andsomeofthemrespondedvery
positively.Non-opera-goersfounditdifficulttointerpret.
HeadlineFinding
Therewasmixedabilitytorelatethecliptotheproduction.Theclipwasmoreattractiveto
young,highly-engagedopera-goersthantoeithernon-opera-goers(ofanyage)orolder,
regularopera-goers.
Chapter3:WertherinRehearsal
Thisclipwasshownsecond,aftertheHoffmanntrailer.
Summary:PositiveorNegative?
Mostgroupsrespondedpositivelytothisvideo,asfollows:
Stronglypositiveresponse:
MousetrapA+B
Non-opera-goersA
13YoungOpera-goersA,p.4;Non-opera-goersA,p.4;RegularOpera-goersA,p.5.
14Vanessa,YoungOpera-goersA,p.4;Francesca,Non-opera-goersA,p.4,5.
15Vanessa,YoungOpera-goersA,p.5.
16Francesca,Non-opera-goersA,p.6.
21
Positiveresponse:
YoungOpera-goersA+B
Non-opera-goersB
RegularOpera-goersC
Neutralresponse:
RegularOpera-goersA
Negativeresponse:
RegularOpera-goersB
Theresponsetothisvideocanbedividedintofoursections:Content,Tone,Function,
Technical.
1) Content
Participants’responsestothecontentofWertherinRehearsalwerelargelypositive.They
reportedthattheclipgavetheminsightintorehearsalprocess,plot(includingcharacters),
andreducedorchestration.Responsetothepeoplefeaturedwasalsofavourable.Itwas
generallyremarkedthatinclusionofmusicwouldimprovetheclip.
EverygroupapartfromthetwoMousetrapparticipantsreactedstronglytotheabsenceof
musicintheclip.
Q1 Ijustsowantedtohearthemusic.[…]That’sallIkeptthinking.[…]Andyoucansee
himplayingthepiano.[…]Thatwasreallyinteresting,hearingwhattheyhadtosay,
andIfounditreallyinformative,hearingaboutallthedifferentcharacters,andthe
situationthatthey’rein,andthatwasreallygreat,[…]butIwasjustsodesperateto
justhavesomebackgroundmusic.Tojusthearthepiano.
(Sara,YoungOpera-goersB,p.6)
Q2 TheonethingIwasn’tsokeenonwas[…]itwasbetterwhenthesoundtrackwas
matchingwhatyouwereseeing,Ithought.Therewasabitwheresomeonewas
playingthepianoandtherewasnomusic.Ithoughtthatwasabitodd.
(Carly,Non-opera-goersA,p.7)
Q3 Ithinkabitofthemusicwouldhelp.
(George,RegularOpera-goersC,p.7)
Q4 Thatmusicisn’tnecessarilytoeveryone’staste,eventhoughthestorymaybe
intriguing[…]butintheabsenceofanysound,youdidn’tknowactuallywhatthat
experiencewouldfeellikeandlooklike. (Mark,RegularOpera-goersB,p.5)
Q5 FormepersonallyIthinkthatitwouldpersuademetogotoseemoreifthereis
actuallyaglimpseof[the]stageorsomethinglikethat.Oralittlebit[of]singing.
(Vince,Non-opera-goersB,p.9)
Forsomerespondents(representedherebyMarkandSara),theabsenceofmusicwasa
sourceoffrustration,whileforothersitwassimplysomethingtheythoughtwouldimprove
theclip.Vincerepresentsasectionofrespondentswhoreportedthattheadditionofmusic
wouldmakethemmorelikelytoengagefurtherwiththeproduction.
Respondentswereengagedbyseeingwhathappens‘behindthescenes.’Seeingthe
processofrehearsalgavepeopleasenseofinclusionintheactivity.
22
Q6
Youcouldseestageplaceslaidoutonthefloorandeverything.Yeah,youactually
feltlikeyou[were]…partoftheproduction.
(Robert,Non-opera-goersA,p.7)
Participantscontrastedwhattheysawoftherehearsalroomwiththeirexpectation.Its
‘normality’wasofinterest,withsomerespondentssuggestingthatitwasnotwhattheyor
otherviewersmightexpect:
Q7 Obviously,duringtherehearsalit’salwaysso,butyoudon’tthinksousually–that
theywearnormalclothesinsteadofcostumes,orforexamplethedirectororthe
conductordon’twearanelegantsuitorsomethingsimilar.[…]Maybeforpeople
whothinkaboutoperalikesomethingreally…aristocratic,thismayallowpeopleto
haveaglimpseofadifferentreality.
(Giovanni,YoungOpera-goersA,p.9)
Q8 They’reallcasual,insortof,youknow,rehearsalgearandstuff,whichisfine,butit’s
nicetoseepeopledressedupandallthataswell.
(Neala,RegularOpera-goersA,p.8)
Q9 Ilikethefactthatyouseetheminrehearsalprocessanditkindofbreaksdownthe
barrierbetweenaudience,performers,andthat’sreallynice.[…]It’sjustnice,I
think,toseetheminrehearsalinnormalclothesbeingnormalpeoplehavingachat.
(Sara,YoungOpera-goersB,p.6,7)
BothNealaandGiovanni(above)identifybeing‘dressedup’aspartofwhatisassociated
withopera.Theclipdisruptstheirexpectation;Giovannienjoysthe‘normalclothes’
featuredintheclip,whileNealawouldenjoyseeingsomethingmoreglamorous.Sara(Q9)
usesslightlydifferentterminology,referringtoa‘barrier’betweenaudienceand
performers,whichisdispersedbyseeingtheperformersinaninformalsetting,innormal
clothes.Inallcases,thecasualdressoftheperformerschallengestheexpectationthat
operainvolvesadistantor‘other’modeofbeing.Manyrespondentsfoundthe‘normality’
oftheclip,andoftheproduction’ssetting,attractive.
Thefollowingtworespondentsmakeasimilarpointaboutinformalityand‘normality’to
thoseabove,butinthiscasetheyrefertothesetting,ratherthanthepeopleintheclip.
Q10 That’stheproblem,Ithink,withallofthese,especially…traditionalperformances.
They’resometimeswrappedintimeswecan’trelate,andtheironingboarddoesthe
jobtobringittous. (Matteo,Non-opera-goersA,p.8)
Q11 Ithinkoperadoeshaveakindofsnobbery,middle-class-nesstoit.Somepeople
mightfeeltheycan’treallykindofattachthemselvestoitorgettounderstandit,but
thisiskindofbasicallylikeasoap,likeafamilydrama,thatIthinkmaybeyounger
peoplewillbeabletorelateto. (Francesca,Non-opera-goersA,p.8)
The‘everyday’qualityoftheproductionwasnotwhatnon-opera-goersexpectedfrom
opera;theyusedwordslike‘glamorous’,‘dramatic’,‘kingsandqueens’toexpresstheir
expectations.17Nonopera-goersfoundWertherinRehearsaleasierto‘read’thanthe
Hoffmanntrailer,andtheywerebetterabletopickupinformationabouttheproduction
style.Participantswhohadmoreexperienceinattendingoperasometimesfeltthat
WertherinRehearsalwasnotinformativeenoughabouttheproductionstyle:
17Non-opera-goersA,p.12.
23
Q12 Ithinkwiththesecondone[WertherinRehearsal]yougetmuchlessofanidea
aboutthestyleoftheproduction[…]becausethey’reinrehearsal,andyoudon’tsee
costume…thefirstone[Hoffmanntrailer]gavequitealotofjustvisualinformation
aboutwhatthestyleoftheproductionmightbe.(Sara,YoungOpera-goersB,p.9]
Bothgroupsofyoungopera-goerswantedtoseemoreoftheproductiondesigninWerther
inRehearsal,andmanyoftheregularopera-goerswantedtoseesomethingofthefinal
productionintercutwiththerehearsalmaterial.
Storyandcharacterswereimportanttoourparticipants,andtheyenjoyedtheinsight
offeredbytheclipintothesematters.Somerespondentsreportedafeelingofstrong,
personalidentificationwiththecharacters,whileothersexpressedawarminterestinthe
storyandcharacters.
Manyofourrespondentswereinterestedinthereducedorchestration.Ononehand,they
enjoyedtheinsightthisinformationgavethemintothecreativeprocess,andontheother,
ithelpedmanagetheirexpectationsofwhattheywouldencounteriftheyattendedthe
performance.Therewassomefrustration,however,aboutnothearinganymusicinthis
sectionoftheclip.
Insummary,participantsenjoyedthecontentofthisclip,butwantedittocontainmusic.
Somerespondentsalsowantedittocontainmoreimageryfromtheproductiondesign.
2) Tone
Awiderangeofourrespondentsfeltthatthisclipwasappropriateforthem.They
indicatedthisappropriatenessbysayingeitherthatitwasaimedatthegeneralperson,or
bysayingthatitseemedtobe‘for’them.
Q13 Interviewer:Whodoyouthinkthisvideoisaimedat?
Dora:
Everyone,really.
Carly:
Ordinarypeople.
(Non-opera-goersA,p.8)
Q14 Yougotthefeelingthatitwasmadeforyou,orme,orwhoever.
(George,RegularOpera-goersC,p.6)
Q15 Ithinkit’saimedatalotofpeople.[…]It’squiteopentoalotofpeople.
(Vanessa,YoungOpera-goersA,p.9)
Aconversepointofviewwasputbytworespondentswhoremarkedthatclipmightbe
seenbysomeviewerstointellectualizetheopera,andthattheoperaitselfmightseemtoo
emotionallyintenseforthoselookingforlight-heartedentertainment.
Q16 Ratherthanplayingit,it’skindoflike,intellectualizingit,whichplaystosome
audiences,butequallyotherpeoplewhojustwanttogoandhaveaniceeveningand
relaxwithsomemusicandalltherestofit,thatsoundsabitintense. (Mark,RegularOpera-goersB,p.5)
Q17 Priya[respondent’sdaughter]wouldbeputoffbecauseshe’dsay:‘Yeah,it’sallvery
well,Imean,it’sabitintellectual,isn’tit,Mummy?’[…]Butshe’smissedthewhole
point.It’saboutemotions!
(Clara,MousetrapA,p.5)
24
Insummary,apartfromthetwocommentsabove,respondentsacrosstherangeofgroups
feltincludedbythetoneofthisclipandfeltitaddressedthem.
3) Function
Forthemostpart,ourviewersregardedthisvideoasinformational.Somedescribeditasa
documentary,or‘makingof.’18Otherscomparedittothematerialshownduringthe
cinematransmissionsofopera.19Thesewerepositiveresponses,buttheywerenot
directlyrelatedtotheimpulsetobuyaticket.
Q18 CinemaLivedothatalot,inboththeMetandtheRoyalOpera.[…]Butyou’rethere.
[…]It’snotinthatcontextwherethey’retryingtogetyoutogotoit.[…]I’dpreferto
hearsomemusic,actually.I’mnotsosurethatIwant…I’mhappytohavetheroles
explained,butIpreferitifI’mactuallyphysicallythere,eitheratthebeginningorin
themiddle,Ithink. (Neala,RegularOpera-goersA,p.8)
Nealaneedstohearthemusicforthecliptohave‘sales’value,andthelackofmusicdid
seemtohaveanimpactontheclip’sfunctionformanyofourrespondents,acrossboth
youngopera-goersandregularopera-goers:
Q19 Alisa:Itsays‘Booknow,’andIwasthinking,actually,mynextstepwouldbeto
listentothemusic,notbook.
Sara:Yeah.AndIthinkifIhadheardthemusicinthatclip,aswellasthespeaking,I
would’vebeenmuchmoreinclinedtogoandbook.
(YoungOpera-goersB,p.7)
Q20 Youknow,itwasmorelikeaninformativepiecethansomethingthatwouldsellitto
me,coslikeyousaid,there’snomusicinit.Sotomeit’snotanadvert.
(Vanessa,YoungOpera-goersA,p.6,7)
Forsomerespondents,however,theclipdidactasasalestool.Threerespondents(in
threedifferentgroups)respondedverystronglytotheplotofWertherasexplainedinthe
clip.Thesethreehadanenthusiasticreactiontotheplot,charactersandsetting,and
identifiedwiththe‘real-life’approachoftheproduction.Allthreestatedthattheywanted
toseetheperformanceasaresultofhavingseentheclip.
Q21 Iwouldgotothat.[…][because]theyexplainthestoryand[…]howit’sabout
everydaypeople[…]andwesawthem,like,usingtheironingboard,andusingthe
tables.[…]bringingitintoreal-lifesituations,everydaykindoffamilydynamics.
(Francesca,Non-opera-goersA,p.7)
Q22 Thisreallyappealedtome,cosIfeltthatitwastalkingtome.Ithought,youknow,
thiscouldbeme!ThatCharlottecouldbeme![…]Idefinitelywanttogoandsee
this. (Clara,MousetrapA,p.4)
Q23 Ilovethatplot.Thatreallyisappealingtome,becausethatismylife,really.[…]I
woulddefinitelygoandseethat. (Jennifer,MousetrapB,p.4)
Forthesethreerespondents,thestoryandhowitispresentedactasasalestool;theyare
attractedbytheprospectofseeing‘everydaylife’reflectedonthestage.
18YoungOpera-goersA,p.7;YoungOpera-goersB,p.9;Non-opera-goersA,p.7;RegularOpera-goersC,p.7.
19RegularOpera-goersC,p.6;RegularOpera-goersA,p.8.
25
Insummary,apartfromthosewhohadastrongfeelingofidentificationwiththestory,
respondentswantedtohearthemusicbeforedecidingwhetherornottoattend.
4) Technical
Therewasverylittlediscussionofthetechnicalaspectsofthisvideo,whichwesuggestis
anindicationthatthetechnicalqualitymettheexpectationsoftheviewers.Theduration
seemedtobeaboutright,theshotsandmontageseemedtokeeppeoples’attention,and
thevisualandsoundqualitywerenotremarkedupon.
Onerespondentwascriticalofthebrandingofthevideosgenerally;inthiscase,identifying
the‘BookNow’bannerasinconsistent:
Q24 ‘BookNow’:Ididn’tliketheredwiththewhite[…]cositdoesn’tmatchthe
beginning,andyourcolourforoperaispurple,isit?Orlikeapinkycolour?[…]Soit
doesn’ttiein…ifIsawthatonyourwebsite,thebeginningbithasyourbranding
and[…]thenyourendis…well,yourfont’sdifferentandyourcolour’sdifferent.
(Vanessa,YoungOpera-goersA,p.8)
SummaryandHeadlineFinding
Thisclipwaswellreceived,butrespondentswantedittocontainmusic,andtheclipwas
lesseffectiveasasalestoolbecauseitdidnotincludemusic.
Chapter4:‘PourquoimeRéveiller’
Thisclipwasthethirdoneshown,afterWertherinRehearsal.
Summary:PositiveorNegative?
Forthemostpart,responsestothisclipweremorepositivethannegative,asfollows:
Positive:
RegularOpera-goersA
Non-opera-goersB
Positive,butwithspecificreservations:
YoungOpera-goersA+B
Non-opera-goersA
Neutral:
RegularOpera-goersC
MousetrapA+B
Negative:
RegularOpera-goersB
Theresponsetothisclipcanbedividedintofourcategories:Function,Content,Technical,
Audience.
1) Function
Thiscliphelpedviewersaligntheirexpectationsoftheproduction.Theywereableto
assessthequalityofthesingingandtheproduction,anddecidewhetherthemusicand
stagingweretotheirtaste.Accordingly,theclipwaseffectiveasasalestool,because
26
viewerswereabletomakeaconfidentassessmentofwhetherornottheywantedto
attend.WenotethatourrespondentssawthisclipimmediatelyafterseeingWertherin
Rehearsal,andthereforethetwofunctionedtogether.Somerespondentsremarkedonthis
connection,sayingthattheywouldnothaverespondedsopositivelytothisclipiftheyhad
notpreviouslyseenWertherinRehearsal.
Theobservationmadeattheconclusionofonefocusgroupdemonstratestheusefulnessof
showingaudiencememberswhattoexpectfromaperformance:
Q1 IthinkI’dbemorelikelytogotoseeWerthersimplybecauseIknowsomething
aboutwhatit’sgoingtosoundlike,whatit’sgoingtolooklike,andIdon’tknowthat
abouteitherofthosetwo. (Carly,Non-opera-goersA,p.28)
Weknowthatfamiliarity(withplace,repertoire,performers,style,andsoon)playsan
importantpartinaudiencemembers’decision-making;inthisquotation,Carlyshowsthat
thecliphasincreasedherfamiliaritywiththeproductionandthereforemadehermore
likelytoattend.20Seeingaperformanceexcerptgaveourrespondentsconfidenceand
reassurance:
Q2 IlikeditthattherewasalmostnodoubtofwhatIcouldexpectifIwentthere.
(Matteo,Non-opera-goersA,p.11)
Intheabovequotations,CarlyandMatteo(bothnon-opera-goers)identifynegative
feelingsassociatedwithnotknowingwhattoexpect:‘Idon’tknow’(Carly)and‘doubt’
(Matteo).Expectationmanagementwasimportantforregularopera-goersaswell,though
theyarticulateditinslightlydifferentways.Theydidnotemphasizethenegativefeelings
mentionedbyMatteoandCarly,butstilldescribedtheusefulnessofseeingwhattoexpect:
Q3 Andyoucanimmediatelysaynow:‘DoIlikethatvoice?DoInot?’Whatstandard
theyare.Whattheythinkabout…theirproduction.Thatis…certainlymighttempt
mein.
(Renée,RegularOpera-goersA,p.9)
Q4 Itwouldbeuseful,cosyouwouldknowboththatyouweren’tgoingtogetsome
massivelyrictenor,andalsothatyouweregoingtogetverylimitedorchestration.
(Samuel,RegularOpera-goersC,p.12)
Q5 Yeah,that’sdefinitelythekindofthingthatIwouldclickonandIwouldbelike:
‘Yeah,Iwanttogoandseethis.’Like,themusicspeaksforitselfand,like,Ilikedthe
lookofthe1940skindofstyle. (Sara,YoungOpera-goersB,p10)
Inthefirstquotation,Renéeisinterestedinquality,andtheclipinformsheraboutit.Inthe
second,Samuelisinformedaboutscaleandreducedorchestration,andinthethird,Sara
findsoutifthemusicandproductionaretohertaste.Thesethreerespondentsarticulate
indetailwhatspecificinformationtheclipconveystothem,whilethenon-opera-goersfelt
reassuredbyseeingwhattheperformancewouldbelike,butdidnotdescribewhatthey
discoveredinpreciseterms.Foreachgroup,theclipshowsviewerswhattoexpectfrom
thevisualandmusicalaspectsoftheproduction,andthathelpsthemformajudgement
aboutwhetherornottheywouldenjoyit.
20SeePitts,StephanieE.andChristopherP.Spencer,‘Loyaltyandlongevityinaudiencelistening:
investigatingexperiencesofattendanceatachambermusicfestival,’MusicandLetters(2007),Vol.89,No.2,
pp.227-238.
27
Bythesametoken,forsomerespondents,seeingwhattheproductionislikedemonstrates
tothemthatthey(orpeopletheymightbring)wouldnotenjoyit.
Q6 Well,thetwoputtogetherseemtobeanexerciseinlimitingexpectations,don’t
they?Imean,they’retellingyouthatit’sasmallproductionorwhatever.SoI
supposethatit’saimedatsomeonewhomightbedisappointediftheywentand
didn’tseeafullproduction.
(Dan,RegularOpera-goersC,p.12)
Q7 Isupposethegoodthingaboutitiswhatitsaid:‘Thisiswhatyou’regoingtoget,
guys.’[…]Butitdidn’tenticeme,personally.Ifthemusichadbeenmoretomy
taste,[it]wouldhavedone,maybe.OrifithadbeensomethingthatIknewalready.
(Mark,RegularOpera-goersB,p.6)
Insummary,forpeoplewhohadbothpositiveandnegativeresponsestoit,thisclip
informedthemaboutthestyle,scaleandqualityoftheproduction.Suchinformationhasa
directbearingontheirlikelihoodtoattend,andenablesthemtomakeadecision.
2) Content
Respondentspickedoutparticularaspectsoftheclip’scontentsforcommentary.Many
werepleasedtohearmusic,havingfounditlackinginthepreviousclip.Indiscussingthe
music,ourviewerscommentedonthequalityofthesingingandofthediction.Thestyle
andscaleoftheproductionwerepointsofinterestforsome,andanumberofpeople
mentionedemotion.Somerespondentsalsoidentifiedinformationthattheyfeltwas
lackingintheclip.
Thepresenceofmusicwasthefirstpointofinterestformanyrespondents:
Q8 It’snicetheyhadthemusicproperly.Youknow?Youknow,evenwithoutknowing
it,it’sstillsomethingthataffectsyouimmediately.Becauseyou’regettingthereal
thing.
(Robert,Non-opera-goersA,p.11)
Responsetotheuseofmusicintheclipshouldbeseeninthecontextofparticipants’
criticismoftheotherclips,noneofwhichfeaturedanysingingoranymusicperformedby
ETO(theHoffmanntrailerusedstockorchestralfootage).Participantswereconsistently
frustratedbytheabsenceofmusicandsingingintheotherclips,anddisplayedreliefand
pleasureattheuseofsinginginthisone.Aswehaveseenin‘Function,’inquotations3and
4,forsomerespondents,hearingthesingerallowedthemtomakeconsciousqualitative
judgmentsabouttheperformance.Robert(above)representsasectionofourrespondents
thathadanenjoyment-basedresponse,althoughtheymayalsohavebeenmakingimplicit
qualitativejudgments.Roberttalksaboutenjoyinghavingmusicintheclip;othersmadea
similarbutslightlydifferentpoint:
Q9 Ilikedthemusic.Itsoundedquiteromantic.(Denise,RegularOpera-goersC,p.11)
Inthisquotation,Deniseismakingastatementaboutthemusicitself,ratherthanitsusein
theclip.Thissentimenttiesinwiththequalitativejudgmentsidentifiedin‘Function’;
respondentsareabletodecidewhetherornottheylikethemusicenoughtowanttoattend
aperformance.
28
Themusicintheclip,then,performsdifferentfunctions.Firstly,foraviewerwholikesthe
music,itmakestheclipitselfpleasurabletowatch(asperRobert,Q8).Secondly,itallows
theviewertodecidewhethertheywanttoseetheopera.
Intheresponsetothisandtheotherclips,viewerssometimesdisplayedemotion;they
mightgetenthusedorexcitedbytheclips,ortheymightfindthemirritatingandannoying.
Equally,intheclipsfeaturingindividualswhopresentinformation,ourrespondents
commentedontheemotionalcharacteristicsoftheindividuals–whethertheycameacross
aspassionate,boring,committed,andsoon.InPourquoimeréveiller,however,
participantstalkedabouttheemotionalimpactoftheclipitself,asinthefollowing
example:
Q10 It[thesinging]wasfulloffeeling.[…]Veryfulloffeeling,whichI…whichiswhatwe
want.Youknow,wegotheretohaveourheartstringstugged.Anditwasdefinitely
doingthat. (Clara,MousetrapA,p.7)
Q11 Icouldfeeltheenergy.Icouldfeelthesentiment.Icouldseehimbeingquite
tactile,youknow,withher.SoIcouldtellitwasalovestory,inaway.
(Jennifer,MousetrapB,p.5)
Q12 Itfeltlikeitwasn’tsomethingyoucouldjustgotoandrelax.Itfeltlikeitwasgoing
tobeachallengingproduction.Thatitwasgoingtobequiteemotionallydraining,
andyouwouldneedtoreallywanttoengageinit.
(Mark,RegularOpera-goersB,p.8)
Allthreerespondentsidentifytheemotionalcontentoftheclipasindicativeofthe
emotionalcontenttheywouldexpectintheproduction,andallthreedescribetheirown
feelingsinresponsetothatemotion.Thisstyleofresponseisquitedistinctfromtheways
emotionfeaturesinresponsestotheotherclips.Here,respondentsarereactingasthough
toaliveperformance.Wesuggestthatusingfootagefromtheproductionenablesviewers
tosampleandtogaugetheirownpotentialemotionalresponsetothatproduction.
Somerespondentsfelttheclipwaslackinginformation.Inallbuttwoofthegroups
(RegularOpera-goersB,MousetrapA)somebodyeitherremarkedthattheyreliedon
havingseenWertherinRehearsalfirst,orcommentedthattheyneededmoreinformation.
Q13 Isitme?CosIdon’treallyknowwhatthestorylineisabout?[…]I’mconfused.[…]
I’mjustthinking,whatwasthestoryabout?
(Amy,YoungOpera-goersB,p.10)
Amydisplaysfrustrationthattheclipdoesnotexplaintheplot.Otherrespondentsmade
thesamepoint,butwithlessemotionalengagement.
Q14 Iwouldhavehadsomesentenceslike…yes,likeinanormaltrailer,[that]can
explainwhatyouarelisteningtoorwhatyouarewatching.
(Vanessa,YoungOpera-goersA,p.10)
Francesca,inQ15below,thoughtthestorylinewasclearfromtheclip,butwouldhave
beenconfusedbythesmall-scalestagingifshehadn’tlearnedaboutitfromWertherin
Rehearsal:
Q15 Ithinkthestoryline,yes,butIwouldn’treally[have]understoodwhytherewas,
like,atableandchairs.Iwouldn’tunderstandthatthey’rebringingitintothe
29
modern-daysoapkindoffamilydrama.Becauseifyouthinkofanopera,youjust
assumethewholeglamorouskings,queens,andeveryonebeingverydramatic.
(Francesca,Non-opera-goersA,p.12)
Ratherthaninformationonthestory,Francescawantedthiscliptoincludemore
informationaboutthestagingdecisions.
Afurthersub-sectionofourparticipantsfelttheclipneeded‘context-setting.’Seeing
childrenintheclip,perhapsparticularlysincechildrenwerenotmentionedinWertherin
Rehearsal,confusedsomerespondents:
Q16 Denise:[…]What…werethose…washesingingwherethosechildrenwere?Was
thatallpartofthesame…
Interviewer:It’sallpartofthesamestage,yeah.
Patricia:IthinkIwouldwantabitofcontext-setting.Imean,Iwassittingthere
thinking:‘What?What’sgoingon?’
(RegularOpera-goersC,p.11)
Q17 Ididn’tquiteunderstandthechildren.Whatwasthat?(Jennifer,MousetrapB,p.5)
Anumberofrespondentsofferedsuggestions,asVanessadoesinQ14above,astohowthe
desiredinformationcouldbeconveyed.Someproposedthatthisfilmcouldbeintercut
withthepreviousone;otherssharedVanessa’sideaabouttheuseoftexttoaccompanythe
video.OneassumedthatthisclipwasthesecondpartofWertherinRehearsal.
3) Technical
Threeofourfocusgroupscommentednegativelyonthesoundqualityofthisclip.Forone
respondent,theexperiencewassonegativethathewouldnotwanttoattendthe
performance:
Q18 OnethingIdidn’tlike,[…]theaudiowasofbadquality,Ithink.SoifIhearthis,I
wouldprobablynotgototheopera,becausemyimpressionwasthatitwasavery
badperformance,evenif,I’msure–andIhavereadalotofreviewsabout[it][…]I
knowthatitwasaverygoodperformance,andsoprobablyitwasaproblemof
capturingthesound.
(Giovanni,YoungOpera-goersA,p.10)
Q19 Youaskedif…inoneoftheclips,ifyoufoundanythingannoyingaboutit.AndI
thought[…]thestringssoundedreallyclose-miked,andquiteloudinthemix.And
thenitsoundedlike[…]thetenorwasmikedfromagesaway.Soyoucouldkindof
hearthathewas,like,inabigroom,butthenthestringsweren’t.Andthen,his
dictionwasn’tveryclear,forthesamereason.Soifyoudidwanttohearthesong,
you’dbelike:‘Rousemefrommywhat?What?’(Alisa,YoungOpera-goers,p.10,11)
Otherrespondentsstatedanawarenessthattheywouldprobablybelisteningtotheseclips
usingrelativelylowqualityaudioequipment,andthatthereforetheywouldmakean
allowanceforpoorqualitysound.Inordertomakethatallowance,however,viewersofthe
videowouldhavetounderstandinwhatwaytheactualperformancemightdifferfromthe
soundofthevideo–aprocessthatonerespondentdescribed:
Q20 BecauseI’veseeninthepasttrailers,andIknowhowitisinreallife.I’veseen
orchestras,andyouknowit’ssomuchbetter.[…]Ifyoualreadyknowaboutthose
30
things,youshouldn’tjudgeitonthat.[…]Idon’tknowifyouwerecompletelynovice
toit,ifyouheardthat,thenyouwouldwanttogonecessarily. (Vanessa,YoungOpera-goersA,p.10)
Vanessaassumesthatthequalityofwhatshechoosestoattendwillbehigh,andshe
retainsthatassumptionevenifthesoundqualityoftheclipisflawed.However,she
suggeststhatotheraudiencemembersmightnotbeequippedtomakethedistinctionshe
makesbetweentheclipandtheperformance.
TherelatedquestionofdictionraisedbyAlisainquotation19cameupforother
respondentsaswell:
Q21 Dora:AndalsoIdon’tthinkhisdictionwasclearenough.Icouldn’t…Idon’tknow
whatwordshewassaying.
Francesca:Oh,no,Ihaven’tgotacluewhathewas…wordshewassaying.ButI
likedthemusic.
Carly:WasitinItalianorsomething?
Dora:Ithinkitwas…
Interviewer:ItwasinEnglish.
Dora:ItwasinEnglish!
Carly:Wasit?Oh!
Dora:Yes.
Francesca:Oh,IthoughtitwasinItalian.
(Non-opera-goersA,p.12)
Althoughtheserespondentsdidnotunderstandthewords,notallofthemwereputoffby
that.Francesca(above)representsrespondentswhodidnotexpecttounderstandthe
wordsinopera,andsoughtinformationaboutwhatwashappeningfromothersources,
suchasbodylanguageorasynopsis.
Insummary,thesoundqualityofthisclip,particularlyinrelationtothesinger,wasnot
optimal.
4) Audience
ThisclipdidnotelicitthestrongemotionalreactionoftheHoffmanntrailer,whichviewers
feltwashighlytargeted.Whenweaskedourfocusgroups‘Whodoyouthinkthisisaimed
at?’theresponsewasmeasuredandunemotional,andpeoplefeltitwasaimedquite
broadly:
Q22 Sara:Itdidn’tfeelliketherewasacleartargetaudience.
Alisa:It’ssellingtheopera,asopposedtosellingittoyou,ifyouknowwhatImean.
It’smorebroad.
(YoungOpera-goersB,p.11)
SaraandAlisa’sviewwaswidelyheld,thoughexpressedindifferentways:Valeriesaidthat
itwasaimedat‘us’;Clarafeltitwas‘justitself’;Vincesaiditwasaimedat‘general
people.’21Anumberofrespondentsdidsuggestthatitwasaimedatpeoplewhoalready
knewsomethingaboutWerther,becausetheclipwashardtounderstandotherwise.
Summary
21RegularOpera-goersA,p.10;MousetrapA,p.7;Non-opera-goersB,p.7.
31
Thisclipofferedrespondentsanopportunitytotesttheirreactionstotheperformance
itself,andthatwasusefultothemindecidingwhetherornottoattend.Viewersfeltthatif
theyhadnotalreadyseenWertherinRehearsal,theclipwouldneedsubstantial
contextualisationandadditionalinformation.
HeadlineFinding
Thisclipfunctionswell,butneedsadditionalcontextualisation.
Chapter5:SeasonIntroduction
Thiswasthefourthclipshown,after‘PourquoimeRéveiller.’
Summary:PositiveorNegative?
Thisvideoreceivedavariedresponsefromourparticipants.Mixedreactionstotheclip
makeitdifficulttogeneralizefullyaboutgroupresponse.However,thefollowingbroad
generalizationsarepossible:
Positiveresponse:
YoungOpera-goersA
MousetrapA+B
Negativeresponse:
YoungOpera-goersB
RegularOpera-goersB
Non-opera-goersB
Mixedresponse:
RegularOpera-goersA+C
Non-opera-goersA
ResponsetotheSeasonIntroductioncanbedividedintofourcategories:Tone,Function,
Content,Technical.
1) Tone
Inthecontextofthisclip,‘tone’referstowhatrespondentsthoughtaboutthewaythe
materialwasdelivered.Itiscloselyrelatedto‘content,’andmanyreactionstotheclip
bringtoneandcontenttogether.
Responsescanbedividedintopositiveandnegative.
(i)
Positive
TherewasastrongpositiveresponsetotheperceivedpassionandenthusiasmofJames
Conwayforhisworkandforopera.Hewasconsideredtobeknowledgeableandtospeak
clearlyandfluently:
Q1 Hewassopassionateaboutit,aswell.Itwasreallynicetoseethatheobviously
loveswhathedoes. (Vanessa,YoungOpera-goersA,p.13,14)
Q2 Themanspeakingsortofseemedverypassionate,[…]believinginwhatheisdoing.
Sowiththat,hesortofsoldtheconcept. (Clara,MousetrapA,p.8)
32
Q3
Ithoughthecameoververywell.Imean,he’sobviouslyenthusiasticaboutETO,as
wellasthoseparticularproductions.Mostofitwentovermyhead,really,Ithink.It
wasn’tinmy‘nightout’scenario. (Dan,RegularOpera-goersC,p.16)
Inthefirsttwoquotations,therespondentsrecognizedConway’senthusiasmandfelt
drawninbyit.Inthethird,theenthusiasminthepresentationiscontrastedwiththe
informationconveyed,andapositivereactiontotheformerdoesnotoutweighthenegative
reactiontothelatter.
Asecondtypeofpositiveresponsetotoneisexemplifiedbythesetwoquotations:
Q4 Itwasn’ttootechnicalortooopera-based.Youcouldunderstanditasalayman,
whichIthink’sreallyimportant. (Vanessa,YoungOpera-goersA,p.14)
Q5 Itwasveryfriendly,downtoearthlanguage.Simplelanguage,thatonecould
understand,beingalayperson. (Jennifer;MousetrapB,p.6)
Thesetworespondents,incompleteoppositiontomostofthenegativeresponses,feltthat
theclipwaspitchedforthelayperson.Jenniferfoundthat,althoughtheideasand
informationbeingdeliveredwereunfamiliartoherasan‘ordinaryperson’(herwords),
theywerepresentedinanaccessiblemanner.Inourdiscussionofnegativeresponses,we
shallseethatotherpeoplewereputoffbyeithertheunfamiliaritytothemoftheclip’s
content,ortheirperceptionthatitwouldbeunfamiliar–andthereforeoff-putting–to
others.JenniferandVanessarepresentasmallsetofrespondentswhodidnotfeel
personallyknowledgeableaboutthematerialdiscussedintheclip,andwhofeltitwas
aimedatpeoplewhoknewmorethanthey,butwhowereneverthelessintriguedbythe
unfamiliarmaterial.Theserespondentsfelttheywantedtoknowmore,andapproached
theclipasausefullearningtool.
Q6 Tobeabletounderstandhisthinking,youwouldhavetocomefroma
backgroundwhichwaslikeyours[theinterviewer]22,perhaps,[…]ratherthan,you
know,ahousewife,oranofficeworker,whojustwantstohaveagoodtime.[…]But
Imean,itwasveryhelpfultounderstandthevision,whatitisthatthey’retryingto
do,whytheywouldhavechosenthesethreetitles.
(Clara,MousetrapA,p.8)
Respondentsespousingtheusefulnessoftheclipexpressedadesiretolearnmoreabout
thesubjectsdiscussed.
(ii)
Negative
Thenegativeresponsecanbesubdividedinto‘assumptionofknowledge,’and
‘interpretation.’
Assumptionofknowledge
Manyrespondentsfeltthespeakerassumedtheaudiencesharedspecificknowledgewith
him.Thereweretwofacetstothisresponse.Firstly,somepeoplewere,themselves,putoff
byasensethatthespeakerwasspeakingtoamoreknowledgeableaudiencethanthey
consideredthemselvestobe.Secondly,somepeoplewereputoffimagininghowother
audiencemembersmightrespondtotheassumedlevelofknowledge.Itwasthoseinthe
secondcategorywhoweremostemotionalintheirnegativeresponse,asfollows:
22Theinterviewer’sbackgrounddidnotformpartoftheconversation,sothisreferenceisbasedonthe
respondents’ownideas.
33
Q7
Sara:Itseemedreally,reallytailoredtoaspecificaudience[…]
Alisa:Yeah,itassumesapriorknowledgethatIdon’thave,andIloveopera.[…]
Sara:Yeah.Itseemsverytargetedtopeoplewhoknowalotaboutoperaalready,
andevenwithin…Imean,like,ifIshowedsomepeoplethatwho…who
weren’t…they’dbelike:‘Whatishetalkingabout?Who’sGoethe?Who’sMassenet?I
haven’tgotaclue.’…it’s…yeah,ifyoudon’talreadyknowyourstuffthenIwouldbe
reallylost.
Alisa:Ithinkevenmorethanthat,it…itnotonlykindofblocksoutquitealarge
amountofpeopleinthecontent,butalsothewayit’sdelivered.Because…youknow,
it’snotsimplelanguagehe’susing.AndI’mnotsaying…I’mnotsayingthatalloperagoerstendtobewell-educated,but,like,if…ifsomeonewaswantingtogetinto
opera,andwerelike:‘Sanitisingthestage?What?Likebleach?What?’
[…]
Sara:Yeah.Ijustsortoffoundmyselfgettingabit…notbored,justirritatedcosI
waslike:‘Thisis…’Imean,Iunderstandwhathewastalkingabout,but[…]ifIput
thisinfrontofmyhusband,whoisn’tmusicalatall,hewouldbelike:‘Whatishe
goingonabout?Ihaven’tgotaclue.’
[…]
Sara:Yeah.Itjustseemsreallyinaccessibletopeoplewhoaren’treallycluedup
on…evenon,yeah,thisspecificFrenchopera. (YoungOpera-goersB,p.12,13)
Inthisexchange,Alisastatesthatshedoesnothaveasmuchknowledgeastheclipassumes
theviewerwillhave,whileSarasaysthatshedoes,butisannoyedbyhowtheclipwould
bereceivedbypeopleofheracquaintancewhodonot.Thisresponsedemonstrates
participants’desiretousetheclipstoencourageoperaattendanceamongsttheir
acquaintances.
Respondentswhoreferredtothemselvesaslessknowledgeablehadamore
straightforwardreactiontotheclip:
Q8 It’sreallyaimedatsomeonewhohasknowledgeonit.Like,somebodywhoisreally
intellectual.Forme,Idon’tevenknowwhathe’stalkingabout.
(Vince,Non-opera-goersB,p.10)
Q9 Hekepttalkingaboutstorieswiththepresumptionthatyoualreadyknewwhathe
wastalkingabout.AndIdidn’treallyunderstand,becausehedidn’texplainthe
stories.[…]Iwouldn’thaveunderstoodwhenhewaslike:‘Oh,thisiswritten,and
it’sevenmoreknownnowinitsoperaworldthanitwasbefore.’AndIwaslike:‘I
don’treallyknowwhatyou’rereferringbackto.’SoIthinkhe’salreadytalkingto
peoplewhoalreadyhaveaninsightorknowledgeonopera. (Francesca,Non-opera-goersA,p.17)
Theserespondentsfeltthattheclipwasaimedatpeoplewithmoreknowledgethanthem,
theywerepersonallyputoffbythat,buttheydidn’tdisplaythestrongirritationfeltbythe
respondentsrepresentedbySaraandAlisa.
Wesuggestthatthestrongemotionalreactionagainstperceived‘elitism’(Sara’sandAlisa’s
word)intheclipresultedfromahighlevelofemotionalinvolvementwiththeopera
industry.Theserespondentsarealreadyengagedintheculturaldebateaboutperceptions
ofoperaamongstthewiderpublicandthepotentialattractivenessoftheartformtononopera-goers.Thosewhofeltlessfamiliarwiththematerialdiscussedintheclipviewedit
34
withlessemotion,eithersaying‘Idon’tunderstandwhathe’stalkingabout;that’snotfor
me’or‘Idon’tknowmuchaboutthissortofthing;I’dliketoknowmore’(paraphrase).
Interpretation
Somerespondentsdisplayedirritationwhentheyperceivedthatthespeakerwas
interpretingthequalityoftheseasonontheirbehalf.
Q10 Wehad‘compelling’alot.AndIthought:‘Idon’tneedtobetoldaboutsomething
beingcompelling.Ijudgethat.’ (Deborah,RegularOpera-goersA,p.12)
Q11 Idon’twantsomebodyelsetointerpretsomethingonmybehalf[…]Ratherthan
encouragingmeintotheart,he’sstandingasabarrierbetweenmeandthe
performance,andthatreallyirritatesme.(Mark,RegularOpera-goersB,p.9)
Insummary,responsetothetoneofthisclipwasmostlyfocussedonthelevelof
knowledgeassumedbythespeaker,whichmanyrespondentsfoundoff-putting.
2) Function
SomerespondentsfelttheSeasonIntroductionwouldhavemadesenseofeverythingelseif
theyhadseenitfirst,whileotherswouldturntoitafterhavingseentheproduction.The
responseshadcommongroundintheirfocusoninformation,andhowtherespondent
wouldwanttousethatinformation.Thevideoisseenaseducationalandinformative.
Somerespondentswouldliketohavetheinformationfirstofall,beforemovingtowards
findingoutabouttheindividualproductions,whileotherswouldprefertoaccessthe
informationaftertheyhadseentheperformance.
Themanystrongnegativeresponsestothetoneoftheclipsuggestthatthisclipmightalso
performafunctiontodowithgroupidentity.Manyrespondentsfeltirritatedbytheclip,
sayingthatitassumedacertainlevelofknowledgeonthepartoftheaudience,andthat
thisassumptionwasalienatingtothemand(theyimagined)tootherpotentialaudience
members.Itmightbethatsomeaudiencemembers(notrepresentedamongour
respondents)wouldhaveastrongpositiveresponsetothisveryfeature,whichmightmake
themfeelincludedinadesirablegroup.Amongstourrespondents,however,thosewho
weremostengagedwithoperaweremostoffendedbythetoneoftheclip.Itseemsthat
opera-loversfeelthattheclippresentsanoperaidentitytheydonotwanttobeassociated
with,becausetheyfearitperpetuatesnegativestereotypesofoperaamongstnon-operagoers.
3) Content
‘Content’referstowhatthepresenteractuallysays.Itiscloselytiedto‘tone,’andmuchof
whatrespondentscriticizedinthesectionheaded‘tone’wastodowithcontent.Response
tocontentcanbedividedintothree:(i)positiveresponsetoinformationpresented;(ii)
negativeresponsetoinformationpresented;(iii)informationwantedbutnotgiven.
(i)
Positiveresponsetoinformationpresented
Theseveralrespondentswhoreportedthattheyfoundtheclipinformativeandinteresting
alsoreportedtheirownlackofknowledge:
Q12 Itmadesenseofeverything.Youknow,ithadthesethreeseparatethingswesee,
notreallyquiteunderstandingwhattheyare.IfIhadheardthatatthebeginning,it
mighthavemademefeelslightlydifferentlyabouttheTalesofHoffmann.
(Carly,Non-opera-goersA,p.16)
35
Moreknowledgeablerespondentseitherhadanegativeresponsetotheclip,orsaidthat
theywouldwanttohearthissortofinformationonlyifitreferredtoanoperatheywere
alreadyfamiliarwith:
Q13 IfitwereanoperathatIknewandloved,I’dbeinterestedtohearhimspeakabout
it.Buttheproblemwiththisoneis,Ithink,becauseIdon’tknowanythingabout
them,it’skindofgoingovermyhead,really.(Valerie,RegularOpera-goersA,p.14)
Respondentsfounditusefultohearaboutreducedorchestrationandnewarrangements,
thoughonepersonobjectedtoConwayomittingthenameoftheBelgiancomposerhe
refersto.23
(ii)
Negativeresponsetoinformationpresented
Negativeresponsestotheinformationintheclipwerecloselytiedupwithresponsesto
tone.Respondentsobjectedthatthespeakerseemedtoassumetheywouldalreadyknow
thebackgroundinformationtohisdiscussion(asoutlinedabove).Wecouldspeculatethat
theymightnotobjecttotheinformationitself,wereitmorefullyexplained.
(iii) Informationwantedbutnotgiven
Manyrespondentsexpressedadesiretohearmusicinthisclip.Somesuggesteditcould
featurewhenthenameoftheoperaappearedonscreen,othersfelttheclipcouldbe
shortenedandcombinedwithmusicalextracts,andotherssaid,simply:‘Let’shearsome
music.’24
Respondentswhoexpressedapreferencewantedtohearlessabouttheseasonandmore
abouttheproductions,includingstorylinesandwhattheymeanttothespeaker,andhow
theproductiondesignshadcomeabout.25
4) Technical
‘Technical’coversresponsetotheclipasanaudio-visualartefact.
Weassumethatnotcommentingonanytechnicalaspectoftheclipisequivalenttoa
positiveresponsetoit.Forexample,therewerenoremarksaboutthesoundorimage
quality.Wesuggestthatrespondentsexpectedtheclipstobeofahighquality,andonly
noticedtechnicalaspectsthatdisruptedthisexpectation.
Itwasgenerallyfeltthattohaveoneperson,inonelocation,talkingforthewholeduration
oftheclipwasnotoptimal.Respondentswantedtoseethepresenterindifferentlocations,
toseeotherpeople,tohavemusicintercut,andtohaveshortershots.Theresponsetothe
technicalaspectoftheclipissummarisedbyoneregularopera-goer:‘Breakitupabit.’26
SeasonIntroductionSummary
Weencounteredaverymixedresponsetothisclip.Somepeoplequitelikedit;manyhada
strongnegativereactiontoit.Inaqualitativestudywithasmallsample,nostatistical
conclusioncanbedrawnfromthebalanceofpositive-negativereactions.Itmaybethat
otheraudiencemembers,notrepresentedinoursample,wouldhaveopposingopinionsto
23Alisa,YoungOpera-goersB,p.13.
24Renée,RegularOpera-goersA,p.11.
25YoungOpera-goersB,p.2;RegularOpera-goersB,p.9.
26George,RegularOpera-goersC,p.17.
36
ourrespondents.Therefore,ouranalysisdoesnotofferblackandwhiteanswersto
whethertheclipissuccessful.Itissuccessfulforsomepeople,insomerespects,anditis
off-puttingforothers.
Themoststraightforwardaspectoftheresponseisviewers’desiretohavemorevarietyin
theshotsandcontent,includingsomemusic,andtohavethecontentsplitacrossanumber
ofvideosofshorterduration.
Theclipwasperceivedtobeaneducationaltoolwhichcouldinformaudiencemembers’
understandingofindividualproductions,oftheseason,andofthecompany.Opinionwas
dividedastowhetheritwasbestviewedbeforeorafterattendingaperformance.
Differentrespondentshaddifferentdesireswithrespecttopreparingforandfollowingon
fromattendance,andwouldaccordinglyeitherseekoutoravoidbackgroundinformation
atdifferentstagesoftheirengagement.
Thequestionoftoneisclearlyimportant.Althoughsomerespondentsfoundthetone
accessibleand‘friendly,’thepresenter’sassumptionofknowledgeonthepartoftheviewer
wasoff-puttingformany.Amongstourrespondents,itseemedtobeparticularly
problematicforviewerswhodid,infact,havetheknowledgeinquestion,becausetheyfelt
theclipplayedintostereotypesofexclusivityandelitismassociatedwithopera.Amongst
thoseviewerswhodidnothavetheknowledgeinquestion,theyeitherwantedtoacquire
it,orfeltthattheclipwasnotforthem.
Itisdifficulttoseparatetheresponsetocontentfromtheresponsetotone.Manyviewers
inourgroupsrespondednegativelytothecontent,becausetheyfeltitwasdeliveredas
thoughtheyalreadyknewmuchofthebackground.Itmaybethattheywouldhavefelt
morepositiveaboutthecontentiftheyhadfeltitwasfullyexplained.Therewasaclear
negativeresponsetothepresenter’sinterpretationofquality(‘It’sgoingtobecompelling’)
andofhisowndesireswithrespecttoprogramming(‘I’vewantedETOtodoxforalong
time’).Therewasinterestinthereducedorchestrationandnewarrangements.Some
respondentsindicatedthattheywouldliketohearmoreabouttheproductionsthemselves,
includingstyleofsettingsandhearingfromothermembersofproductionteams.
Itwasnotpossibletopredict,usingpreviousopera-goinghabits,ageandbackgroundas
indicators,whatopinionourparticipantswouldformofthisclip.Itispossiblethat
patternsmightemergeifaquantitativestudywereperformedofalargersamplesize.With
theinformationatourdisposal,however,wemightventureatheorythatthegroupa
viewerbelongsto(youngopera-goers,non-operagoers,etc.)islesssignificantapredictor
oftheirresponsethanwhattheyarelookingforfromtheclip,whichdoesnotseemto
correlatewithourgroupings.Forexample,somerespondentswantedasmuch
informationaspossiblebeforeattendingaperformance,includingdramaturgicalmaterial
todowithhowtheseasonwasputtogether;forothers,itwasanathematobeexposedto
suchmaterialbeforeseeingaperformance,buttheywerequiteopentoseeingit
afterwards.Itmaybethatdirectingparticulargroupstowardsorawayfromthisclipmight
bealesseffectivestrategythanensuringtheclipiscarefullycontextualizedsothatviewers
candecideifitisappropriateforthem.
HeadlineFinding
RespondentsdidwanttohearfromtheGeneralDirector,buttheymostlywantedtohear
differentthings,andinadifferentformat,andtheywantedtohearsomemusic.
37
Chapter6:Podcast(Pelléassectiononly)
Thiswasthepenultimateitemdiscussed,aftertheSeasonIntroduction.Weplayedan
excerptfromthepodcast,consistingofthesectiononPelléasetMélisande,andexcluding
JamesConway’scontribution,whichweleftoutbecauseofitssimilaritytotheSeason
Introduction.
Summary:PositiveorNegative?
Mostofourfocusgroupparticipantsreactedinquiteaneutralwaytothisclip.Itisdifficult
togeneralizeaboutapositiveornegativereactionfromeachgroup,becausetheresponse
waslessemotionalthanresponsestotheotherclips.
ThemostpositiveresponsewasfromFrancesca,whoreportedenjoyingtheclip,becauseit
waslikeRadio4andsheisahabitualRadio4listener.27Themostnegativeresponsewas
fromMark,whoreportedbeingputoffgoingtotheETOwebsitebytheideathatitwas
populatedwith‘thissortofstuff.’Marksaiditwas‘criminal’thattherewasnomusic,and
criticizedthetechnicalproductionvalues.28
Theotherparticipantsdidnotengagewiththepodcastinsuchemotionalterms.Many
commentedontheinformationconveyed,andappreciatedthatitmightbesomethingthey
orotheraudiencememberswouldseekoutiftheywereparticularlyinterestedinit.
Generally,theresponsewasneutral,withsomeparticipantsdisplayinganeutraltopositive
response,andothersneutraltonegative.
Theresponsecanbedividedintofourcategories:Content,Function,AudienceHabits,and
Technical.
1) Content
Althoughourrespondentswerenotenthusiasticaboutthepodcast,manydidreportsome
interestinthecontent,andsomesuggestedadditionalcontenttheywouldhavelikedto
encounter.Responsetocontentcanbedividedintothefollowingcategories:(i)conductor
contribution,(ii)plotandcharacter,(iii)sopranocontribution,and(iv)music.
(i)Conductorcontribution
Respondentsseemedtofindtheinformationthat‘DebussyhatedMassenet’interestingand
entertaining.29Threeindividualrespondentshadaspecific,negativereactiontothe
conductor’sdiscussionoforchestration,findingiteithertoo‘technical,’too‘intellectual,’or
justnot‘particularlyinteresting.’30However,atleastasmanypeopleexpressedinterestin
theorchestration.31Onenon-operagoersingledoutthisspecialistknowledgeasoffering
somethingtolistenoutforifhewenttotheopera:
Q1 ThenIhavesomethingtangiblethatIcanthenget[my]handsaround,[rather]than
somefoggy,youknow:‘Oh,it’sjustawonderfulexperience…’
(Matteo,Non-opera-goersA,p.20)
27Non-opera-goersA,p.18.
28RegularOpera-goersB,p.11,12.
29YoungOpera-goersB,p.17;RegularOpera-goersC,p.18.
30Clara,MouseatrapA,p.11;Vince,Non-opera-goersB,p.11;Carly,Non-opera-goersA,p.19.
31YoungOpera-goersB;Non-opera-goersA;MousetrapB.
38
Moreknowledgeablelistenersfoundthesamethinginteresting,forthesamereason,
althoughtheyexpresseditinmorespecificterms:
Q2 HisideaofitbeinganorchestratedpianoversionwouldinformmylisteningifI
wenttoseeit.
(Alisa,YoungOpera-goersB,p.16)
Reactiontotheexplanationoforchestrationdemonstratesthatparticipantswithadiverse
rangeofoperaexperiencewereinterestedinspecialistknowledgeifitwasspecificand
clearlyexplained.
(ii)PlotandCharacter
Manygroupsidentifiedinsightintothestoryoftheoperaanditscharactersasapositive
feature:
Q3 IthinkIcouldunderstandthestorybetter[havinglistenedtothepodcast],andthey
kindofexplainthecharacters,andtheygavethemakindof…itsoundsabitweird,
buttheygavecharactertothecharacters,ifthatmakessense.Theykindofexplain
theirpersonalityabit,andsoIenjoyedthat.(Francesca,Non-opera-goersA,p.19)
Insomecases,thestoryitselfisanenticementtoattend:
Q4 Interviewer:Didit[thepodcast]makeyouwanttoseeit[Pelléas]?
Amy:Yes.Quiteabit.Especiallywhenshewastalkingaboutwhatthestoryis,
abouthowshefellinlovewithherhalf-brotherorsomethinglikethat.Iwaslike:
‘Oh,interestingstoryline,Iwanttoseeit.’Yeah.(YoungOpera-goersB,p.17)
Forotherrespondents,findingoutaboutthestorywasinteresting,butdidnotnecessarily
makethemwanttoattend;rather,itperformedaneducationalfunction.Theeducational
functionmightinformtheirexperienceoftheproduction,oritmightbesomethingthey
soughtoutafterwards.
Q5 Whenthegirlwasspeaking,thatwasquiteuseful.Youknow,abouttheveryquick
plotofwhatwashappening.Thatmightbeappealingtosomebody,ifyouwere
listeningatschoolandtryingtogetaneducationalsortofthingoutofit.
(Clara,MousetrapA,p.10)
(iii)Sopranocontribution
Ourparticipantswereinterestedinhearingfrompeopleinvolvedintheproduction.Onthe
onehand,theyenjoyedfollowingayoungprofessionalatthestartoftheircareerand
watchingthemprogress,andontheother,theywereinterestedintheperformer’sinsights
intohercharacter.
RespondentsfromthegroupsMousetrapB,RegularOpera-goersA,andYoungOpera-goers
Balldisplayedinterestinthesopranoherself,andherprofessionalprogress:
Q6 Ithinkifitwasjustanarratoralone,Iprobablywouldn’thaveseen[theshow].I
thinkjusthearingfromoneofthekeyplayers,andlisteningtoher,and…whatwas
attractivewastheytalkusthroughherbackground,soshe’sanewgraduateand,
youknow,shetookuponthisrolewhichisquitedeepandcomplex.Yes,soitwould
benicetoseehowshefares.
(Jennifer,MousetrapB,p.8)
39
Therespondentswhodisplayedaninterestinthesoprano’scareerandcharacterinsights
weresometimesfrustratedbyotheraspectsofhercontribution:
Q7 Okay,soshe’slearnedalotandshe’sreallybeenexcitedtosingit,butI’mnotsure
thatthattellsmeanythingaboutit.
(Valerie,RegularOpera-goersA,p.15)
Valerierepresentsrespondentswhowereirritatedbyartistsofferingtheiropinionofthe
valueorqualityofETO’swork.Youngopera-goersexpressedthesamepointsomewhat
differently.Theyhadbeeninterestedinhearingfromthesopranobutweredisappointed
byhercontribution,whichtheyfoundlackingincontentand‘wishy-washy.’32
SomerespondentscomparedthepodcastwithMetOperaLivecontributionsfromsingers,
andwithsingerstalkingabouttheirrolesonRadioThree.Participantssaidtheywere
interestedinhearingfromthesingersabouttheirroles,butnotabout‘whattheyhadfor
breakfastandallthatnonsense.’33
Weconcludethatourlistenerswereinterestedinhearingfromperformersabouttheir
characterandaboutparticularaspectsoftheirwork,butwereresistanttogeneralizedor
unspecificstatementsaboutwhethertheperformerfoundtheirworkenjoyable,rewarding,
interesting,demanding,etc.
(iv)Music
ThestrongestresponsetothelackofmusicintheclipcamefromMark:
Q8 Inthewholefifteenminutes,isthereanymusic?[…]Imean,hesaid[…]‘What’s
amazingaboutthis…’and‘thiswonderfularrangement,’andyoudidn’theara
squeakapartfromhischairatonestage!Andthatwasit!Imean,that’scriminal!
(Mark,RegularOpera-goersB,p.11)
Markdisplayedastrongemotionalreactiontothelackofmusicintheclip;hewasannoyed
byit.Othergroupsalsowantedthecliptofeaturemusic,butnonewereasengagedwith
theideaasMark.
Q9 Itshoulddefinitelyhavesomemusic,atleast.[…]Isawtheproduction:itwas
wonderful,andthemusicisjustgorgeous,soIthinkit’sarealmissedopportunity.
(Samuel,RegularOpera-goersC,p.18)
2) Function
Ourrespondentsidentifiedthepodcastasaninformationalandeducationaltool.Onesaid
itmadeherwanttoattend,thoughparadoxicallyshedidnotlikethepodcastitself,butwas
attractedbythestoryoftheopera.34Forthemostpart,however,thepodcastwasnot
receivedasanadvertisingtool.Someofourparticipantswereinterestedinhowthe
podcastcouldinformtheirlisteningwhentheyattendedaperformance,andothersfeltit
wassomethingtheywouldbeinterestedinonlyaftertheyhadseentheshow.
Fortheformergroup,theywantedtoabsorbtheinformationbeforeseeingaperformance,
butonlyoncetheyhadcommittedtoattending:
32Sara,YoungOpera-goersB,p.17.
33Deborah,RegularOpera-goersA,p.17.
34Amy,Youngopera-goers9,p.17.
40
Q10 MaybeImightlistentosomethinglikethatifI’vebookedticketsalreadytogoand
seeaproduction,andI’mlike:‘Actually,IwanttobereallycluedupbeforeIgo.’
(Sara,YoungOpera-goersB,p.17,18)
AsimilarpointobtainedfortherespondentwhocomparedthepodcasttotheMetLive
intervalmaterial.Inthiscase,thesupportingmaterialisencounteredaspartofthe
performance,ratherthanbeforeorafterattending:
Q11 I’mhappytolistentosingerstalkingattheintervals,somethinglikethat.That’s
normallyinMetOperaLiveorsomethinglikethat,andthere…youknow,it’sasort
ofaperkfortheaudience,isn’tit? (Neala,RegularOpera-goersA,p.17)
Otherrespondentswouldwanttoaccessthematerialafterhavingseentheperformance:
Q12 Ifyou’dbeentoseeit,itwouldbereallyinterestingtolistentoafterwards.Butif
youweren’tgoingtoseeit,Ithinkitwouldbetoolong. (Renée,RegularOpera-goersA,p.15)
Inallthreecases,theexperienceofferedbythepodcastisattractiveinthecontextof
attendingtheopera.Itdoesnotmakelistenerswanttogo,butiftheyarealready
committedtogoing,itenhancestheirexperience.
Therewasalsosomeinterestinthepodcastasaneducationaltoolseparatefroma
particularproduction.Clarafeltthatitwouldbeuseful‘atschool,’whileAmyreportedthat
itwasanewwayforhertoresearchaspecificopera.35Robertfeltthatthepodcastwas‘for
aficionados,’whoalreadyknewaboutoperaandwantedtofindoutinmoredetailabout
thisparticularopera.36
3) AudienceHabits
Inourfocusgroups,listeningtothepodcastengendereddiscussionofaudiencehabits,
sinceourrespondentswonderedabout,orcommentedon,thelikelihoodofthemselvesor
otherpeoplelisteningtoapodcastinthefirstplace.Somerespondentsdidnotknowwhat
apodcastwas;somewerehabituallistenerstopodcastsandcouldcomparetheETO
podcasttoothers;somewereawareofpodcastsbutunlikelytolistentothem.Mostofour
participantsfellintothelattercategory,whichmightexplaintheirrelativelackof
engagement.Theywereabletosaywhattheylikedanddislikedaboutthepodcast,but
therewasanunderlyingfeelingthatsincethey(ortheirpeers)wouldnothavelistenedto
itinothercircumstances,thecriticismhadahypotheticalaspecttoit.
Ourrespondentsrecognizedthatittooksomeefforttolistentoapodcast,andthatitwas
moredifficulttoengageattentionwithoutthevisualaspect.
Q13 Ithinkifyouareavisuallearner,itmighttakesometimetostayfocusedandlisten.
Youknow,itworkswellforsomebodywhoisanauditorylearner.Yeah.Soit
appealstojustoneaudience.
(Jennifer,MousetrapB,p.7)
Q14 Butthatwouldbegreatifit’sgotavideowithit,Ithink.Yeah.Maybe,likehaving
somemusicatthestartthatwouldcatchtheaudienceattention[…].
(Amy,YoungOpera-goersB,p.16)
35Clara,MousetrapA,p.10;Amy,YoungOpera-goers9,p.16.
36Robert,Non-opera-goersA,p.20.
41
Q15 Idolistentopodcasts,soit’snotanunfamiliarform.Butwithsomethinglikeopera,
whichformeisasmuchavisualasanauditorythingtosee,Ijustwanttoknow
whatI’mgoingtobeexpecting. (Alisa,YoungOpera-goersB,p.16)
Listenerswhowerefamiliarwithpodcastsusedspecificpointsofcontrasttocriticizethis
one.Theskillandmannerofthespeakerswasonepointofcontrast:
Q16 But,again,they[thepodcastshelistensto]areradioprogrammeswithspeakerswho
arespeakinglive,evenifthepodcastisn’tlive,obviously,andyoufeelthis.Thiswas
morelikeanaudioguide.Thethingyouuseinamuseum,andIwouldneverlisten
toit. (Giovanni,YoungOpera-goersA,p.16)
The‘neutral’(Giovanni’sword)toneofthenarratorandthefeelingthatsheisreadinga
scriptwerenegativelyreceivedbyanumberofourparticipants:
Q17 Ithoughtitwasunbelievablyboring.Ithoughtthevoiceofthelinkpersonwas…
soundedlikeshewasreadingfromascript.
(Carly,Non-opera-goersA,p.19)
Evenrespondentswhoenjoyedthepodcastagreedthatitdidnotcomparefavourablyto
Radio4,whichactedasabenchmarkfortheirexpectationsofquality:
Q18 Maybethesoundqualitycouldhavebeenbetteraswell.Cosyoulistentoarangeof
them.YoulistentoaRadio4podcastandyouget…youknow,high,professional
quality.Thiswaslike[a]BBCHistoryMagazinepodcast,andit’slikepeoplebeing
interviewedonthetelephoneandstuff.Soitdoesn’thavethatrichness.
(Robert,Non-opera-goersA,p.20)
Thus,amongstourrespondents,peoplewhowereunfamiliarwithpodcastswereunlikely
tolistentoone,andpeoplewhowerefamiliarwiththemtendedtocomparetheETO
podcast,oftenunfavourably,withRadio4.
However,somerespondentsdidenjoythepodcast:
Q19 Ilikedthepodcast.Cosit’sthesortofthingthatIdoputonandthengetonwith
somethingelse.Cosit’sjustlikeswitchingtheradioon.And…podcastsfor
Barbicanproductionsarereallyprettygood.Youknow,twentyminutes,yougetthe
fullinfo.
(Martin,RegularOpera-goersC,p.23)
Inthisquotation,Martin’sexistinghabitsoflisteningtoradioandtopodcastsareafactor
inhispositiveresponse.Healreadyhasawayofengagingwithapodcast,andin
particular,withonegivinginformationaboutatheatricalproduction.Otherrespondents
wholikedthepodcastalsohadanexistinghabitoflisteningtotheradioandtopodcasts.
4) Technical
Responsetothetechnicalaspectsofthepodcastcanbedividedintwo:(i)theskillofthe
peoplefeatured,and(ii)thetechnicalquality.Mostofthecriticismfallsintotheformer
category.
Theskillofthespeakersinpresentingmaterialforradiowasapointofmuchinterestfor
ourrespondents.Inparticular,manypointedoutthatthenarrator’scontributionwas
42
scripted,andthatshesoundedlikeshewasreading.Respondentscomparedthis
contributiontoradioprogrammeswherethespeakersseemedmorespontaneous:
Q20 Shereadsverywell,obviously.Butit’stoomechanical,andyoudon’tfeelthelife
in…inherwords. (Giovanni,YoungOpera-goersA,p.15)
Q21 Thevoiceisboring,thewoman’svoice,andIthinkifyou’regoingtodo…I’mjust
thinkingof,like,Radio4,like,Woman’sHour,JenniMurray,hervoiceisvery
dynamic.
(Francesca,Non-opera-goersA,p.20)
Criticismofthenarrator’sskillledrespondentstomakejudgmentsoftheoverall
productionvaluesoftheclip:
Q22 Itdidsoundlikeaschoolchildproduction.Orachildren’sproduction.
(Robert,Non-opera-goersA,p.19)
Q23 There’ssolittlecontext[inapodcast]otherthantheverbal,andsothathastobe
reallyhot.AndIdon’tthinkitwasaparticularlygoodqualityproduction,oravery
slickpresentationeither.Soitreallydidn’tdoit.Youknow,podcasts,Ithinkthey
needtobevery,verycrispinordertobeabletogenerateinterest. (Mark,RegularOpera-goersB,p.12)
Intalkingabouttheothertwocontributors(thesopranoandconductor),ourrespondents
focusedoncontent,ratherthanthetechniqueofspeakingforradio.Wemightconclude,
then,thatanobviouslyscriptedcontributionislessattractivetolistenersthanan
apparentlyspontaneousone.
Summary
Respondentsgenerallyfoundthepodcastlessaccessiblethanaudio-visualmaterial.Those
whodidenjoypodcastswerecriticalofitsquality.Spontaneityanddynamismwerevalued
inspeakers,andthepodcastwascriticisedforlackingthesequalities.
HeadlineFinding
Thisitemwastheleastengagingforourrespondents.
Chapter7:PaperProgramme
Thiswasthefinalitemconsidered.
Summary:PositiveorNegative?
Allgroupsrespondedpositivelytotheprogramme.Withineachgroup,thereweresome
respondentswhohabituallybuyprogrammes,somewhoneverdo,andsomewhobuy
themoccasionally.Eachofthesesubgroupshadapositiveresponsetotheprogramme,and
insomecases,‘non-buyers’reportedthattheywouldbuythisprogramme.Forothers,they
likeditbutwouldnotbuyit.Responsetotheprogrammeisdiscussedintwocategories:
(1)Habitsandexpectations;(2)ETOProgramme.
1) HabitsandExpectations
Amongstthoserespondentswhohabituallybuyaprogramme,therewerethreereasonsfor
theirpurchase;forinformation,asamemento,ortohavesomethingtododuringthe
43
interval(forthosewhoattendedontheirown).Thosebuyingtheprogrammeasa
mementowouldonlydosoforashowtheyconsideredtobespecialandmemorable.For
example,onerespondentkept,and‘treasured,’allhisGlyndebourneprogrammes,butdid
notusuallybuyotherprogrammes.37Anotherrespondentwouldnotnormallybuy
programmesbutwoulddosoforsomethingthatshereallyliked,sothatshecouldkeepit.38
Thoseseekinginformationwereawarethattheycouldfinditontheinternet,andsome
information-seekerswouldnotbuyaprogrammebutwouldresearchwhattheywanted
online.39Anumberofregularopera-goersusedtheBarbicandownloadableprogrammes.40
Respondentswhoboughtprogrammesforinformationusedthemindiverseways.Some
wantedtoreadthesynopsisbeforeseeingtheshow;otherswantedtoreadbiographieson
thewayhome;somewantedtodipinandoutofessaymaterialathome.Respondents
werelookingfordiversethingsfromaprogramme:castlistsandbiographies;synopses;
insightintostoryandcharacter;essays.Tworespondentsmentionedwantingtoknow
whentheintervalwas.41
Thosewhodidnothabituallybuyprogrammesweremotivatedbyvariousreasons:spacesaving;money-saving;dislikeofexcessiveadvertising;gettinginformationelsewhere.
Ourrespondentswerepricesensitive.Somemadeaconscioustrade-offbetweenbuyinga
programmeandhavingaglassofwineoranice-cream.42Somewantedafreealternative:
stapledsheetswithgoodpresentationandkeyinformation.43Therewerealsosome
suggestionsthattheprogrammeitselfshouldbefree.VanessasawtheETOprogrammeas
aseasonbrochure,whichshewouldexpectmemberstoreceiveinthepostasataster.44
Patriciamentioned‘grandoperahouses’inEuropewhereawonderful‘catalogue’wouldbe
giventoaudiencemembersforfree,whereasitmightcost£10inLondon.45Matteofeltit
was‘incongruous’thatprogrammeswerenotofferedtothepublicforfree.46Bothgroups
ofyoungopera-goersfeltthat£4wasinexpensive.Non-opera-goersfeltthat£4wastoo
expensive.Regularopera-goersconsidered£4tobethecut-offprice.
2) ETOProgramme
WeaskedrespondentstospendfiveminuteslookingthroughtheETOprogrammeandto
giveusfeedbackonanythingtheylikedordisliked.Therewasverylittlenegative
feedback.Theprogrammefulfilledtheneedsofthoselookingforinformationand
supportingmaterial,andexceededtheirexpectations.Therewaslessadvertisingandmore
contentthantheyexpected.Itwasconsideredtobecomprehensive.
Respondentstendedtopickoutpagesthatfeaturedeitherimagesorlarge,strikingfonts,
andfavouredpagestowardsthefrontoftheprogramme.Ononehand,thosetendencies
mayhavebeentodowiththelimitedtimewehadforbrowsing,butontheother,similar
conditionsmayobtaininaudiencemembers’actualusageofprogrammes.Claritywas
37Mark,RegularOpera-goersB,p.12.
38Francesca,Non-opera-goersA,p.22.
39Neala,RegularOpera-goersA,p.20;Mark,RegularOpera-goersB,p.20;Jennifer,MousetrapB,p.8.
40RegularOpera-goersC,p.19.
41Jennifer,MousetrapB,p.8;Robert,Non-opera-goersA,p.23.
42Patricia,RegularOpera-goersC,p.19;Clara,MousetrapA,p.11.
43Matteo,Non-opera-goersA,p.26;Valerie,RegularOpera-goersA,p.18.
44YoungOpera-goersA,p.18.
45RegularOpera-goersC,p.18.
46Non-opera-goersA,p.22.
44
importanttoourparticipants,andtheyrespondedwelltothecolour-codingofpagesandto
largetitles.Alackofclarityonspecificpageselicitednegativeresponses.Forexample,
Robertfounditconfusingthaton‘Synopsis’pages,theoperatitleisnotshown,butis
shownonthenextpage.47Amyfoundpage20(‘FromtheTragicalinDailyLife’)confusing
anddidnotunderstandwherethetextcamefrom.48
Eachtypeofmaterialfeaturedintheprogrammewaspositivelyreceived:illustrated
essays;castlists;biographies;rehearsalinsightandphotographs;informationaboutETO.
Thebalancebetweendifferenttypesofmaterialandthelengthofitemsseemedtobeabout
rightforourrespondents.Theprogrammeappealedtoparticipantsacrossthefullrangeof
previousexperienceandknowledgeofopera.
Francescahadanimmediate,positivereactiontopage7,becausetheimageofablack
performerwasnotwhatsheexpectedfromopera,andmadeherwanttoengagewiththe
company:
Q1 Page7.There’sablackpersononthere,andinoperayouneverseeanyoneofan
ethnicminority,andifthey’reperforminginHackney,andtotapintothatkindof
demographic,youneedtostarthavingpeopleofethnicminorityonthere.Ithink
thatwoulddefinitelymakesuchanimpact.[…]Iwouldgotowatchthateven
withoutreadingitjustbecauseit’sgotablackcast.
(Francesca,Non-opera-goersA,p.22)
Otherparticipantspickedoutpagesinlinewiththeirownpersonallivesandinterests,for
exampleClarawasveryinterestedinpage29(Children’sChorus),andwantedtoknow
howthechildrengotselected,andwonderedwhetherherownchildrenwouldhave
wantedtodosomethinglikethatwhentheywereyounger.49
Ournon-opera-goerswereconfusedandsomewhatshockedbytheinsidebackcover:
‘SupportOperathatMoves:’
Q2 Attheveryend,whenyougettothisbitintheend,youstartrealizingthekindof
clientelethatyoumaynotbepartof.(Laughs)(Matteo,Non-opera-goersA,p.24)
Q3 Yeah,I’msorry,I’mconfusedbythis.Areweactually…so…someonewilljustgive
moneyjusttosupportthem?[…]Yeah,ifthisisinHackney,Ijustpersonallythink
thisisthewrong[…]demographic.[…]Fivepoundsamonth!That’salotforsome
people.
(Francesca,Non-opera-goersA,p.24)
Noothergroupsingledoutthispage,andwhenweaskedaboutit,noothergrouphada
negativereaction.Regularopera-goersthoughtitwasusefultohavetheinformation,and
bothMousetraprespondentsthoughtitwasinteresting,buthadnotpreviouslyconsidered
thatanoperacompanymightbeacharity,orwhyitmightchoosecharitablestatus.50
Jenniferwonderedwhatthebenefitstothedonorwouldbe,andcomparedittotheArt
Fundcard,withdiscountsandspecialevents.
47Robert,Non-opera-goersA,p.23.
48YoungOpera-goersB,p.19.
49MousetrapA,p.13.
50RegularOpera-goersA,p.19;MousetrapA,p.13,14;MousetrapB,p.9,10.
45
Participantsrespondedpositivelytotheprogramme’slayout.Apartfromtwonegative
commentsabouttextcolour(inreferencetopinkfontonpages20and23),thecolour
schemeandfontswerewellreceivedandwereconsideredeasytoread.Thefactthatthe
paperwasnotshinywasconsideredtohelpreadabilityintheatrelighting,althoughone
groupthoughtthepaperseemed‘cheap,’sothatthepriceshouldnotbetooexpensive.51
Thephysicalsizeoftheprogrammewasgoodforhandbags.52
Theprogrammeisclearlyincompetitionwithinternetsources.Manyrespondents
preferredtogettheirinformationforfreeontheinternet,andsomewantedtobeableto
downloadmaterial,forfree,fromthecompany’swebsite.
Summary
Theprogrammewasthemostpositivelyreceivedofallthematerialswesharedwithour
groups.Bothitsformatanditscontentappealedtoparticipantsacrossadiverserangeof
knowledgeandexperience.Therelativelackofadvertisingdrewparticularcomment.
However,evenafterperusingtheprogramme,itseemedthatrespondentswhodidnot
habituallybuyprogrammeswouldstillnothaveboughtit,despitelikingit(becausethey
madethedecisionbasedonsavingspace,forexample),orwouldnothaveboughtit
becauseofanexpectationthatitwouldbefullofadvertisingandlackingincontent.
HeadlineFinding
Thisitemwaswellreceived,butnotallrespondentswouldpayforit.
Conclusion:DiscussionandBusinessImplications
Attheoutsetofthisresearchproject,wewereinterestedinfindingouthowsuccessful
individualclipswereatattractingdifferentaudiencesegments.Thediversityofresponse
suggeststhatthisquestionwouldneedtobeaskedonamuchlargerscaleinordertogaina
statisticallyusefulresult.Giventhediscursivenatureofourresearchdata,andthesmall
samplesize,itisnotpossibletodrawstatisticalconclusionsregardingwhatproportionof
respondentsinanygivenaudiencesegmentarelikelytohaveaparticularresponse.
Rather,ourdatagivesusanopportunitytoexplorehowpeopleusesupportingmaterials,
andwhatfunctionsthematerialsperform.
Weconcludethattheprimaryfunctionofsupportingmaterialsisindevelopingaudience
members’familiaritywiththecompany’swork,atthesametimeasaligningtheir
expectationsofaparticularperformance.BrownandNovak(2007)assessedthe
hypothesisthat‘readinesstoreceive’aperformanceaffectstheintrinsicimpactsan
audiencememberwillenjoy,andconcludedthat‘theexpectationofanenjoyable
experienceisthesinglebestpredictorofasatisfyingexperienceonthenight.’53This
conclusionissupportedbylaterresearch,includingbyWalmsley(2013),whoreported
that:‘audiencememberswiththedeepestexpectationsreapedthehighestvaluefromtheir
51Carly,Non-opera-goersA,p.25.
52Deborah,RegularOpera-goersA,p.22.
53Brown,AlanS.andJenniferL.Novak,‘AssessingtheIntrinsicImpactsofaLivePerformance,’WolfBrown,
January2007,p.11[http://wolfbrown.com/component/content/article/42-books-and-reports/400assessing-the-intrinsic-impacts-of-a-live-performance(accessed5April2016)].
46
experience’.54InBrownandNovak’sstudy,anticipationwasfoundtobemoresignificant
thaneitherknowledgeandexperience,orfamiliarityandcomfortwiththeperformance
situation.Highlevelsofanticipationseemtomagnifyintrinsicimpact,andBrownand
Novaksuggestthat‘presentersshouldfocusmoreonpre-performanceengagement
strategiesinordertocreatehigherlevelsofanticipationbeforetheperformance.’55
Weproposethatthesupportingmaterialsexaminedinthisstudyperformtwo,high-level
functionsforviewers:theyprovideviewerswithashort-cuttofamiliarity,andtheyhelp
viewerstoaligntheirexpectations.Accordingtotheresearchcitedabove,boththese
functionswillenablethepossibilityofincreasedintrinsicimpactfromattendinga
performance.Bothfunctionsoperateonnumerouslevels:inourfindings,weobservethe
clipsprovidingtheviewerwithfamiliarityandmanagingviewerexpectationsinthe
followingareas:
(i)
ThequalityandstandardofETOasacompany
(ii)
Thestyleofproductionandmusicforagivenperformance
(iii) Thestandardofproductionandmusicforagivenperformance
(iv) Storyandcharacter
(v)
Insightintothecreativeprocess
Supportingmaterialshelpaudiencemembersformanunderstandingofthecompanyitself.
Theveryfactthatthematerialsexistindicatestoviewersthatthecompanyisofarelatively
largesizeandisofhighquality,incomparisontosmallerorganisations.Accordingly,
viewersexpectthequalityofclipstobehigh.Thetechnicalproductionvaluesofclipsare
anindicator,toviewers,oftheproductionvaluesofthecompanyasawhole.Ifthesound
qualityofaclipispoor,viewersmakenegativeassociationswiththequalityofa
performance.Iftheeditingdoesnotappearslickandprofessional,thesameexpectation
transferstotheperformances.Thetechnicalstandardofclipsisasignificantsalestool.
Wefoundthatsupportingmaterialshelpviewersknowwhattoexpectiftheyattenda
performance,withrespecttothescale,style,andqualityofbothproductionandmusic.In
ordertoperformthisfunction,eachclipneedstohaveastraightforwardandeasily
understoodrelationshiptothestageproduction.Amongstthematerialsweconsidered,
thesimplestpathwaytothisfunctionwastoreproducefootagefromaproduction,asin
‘PourquoimeRéveiller.’Ofthetwoclipsthatattemptedtofulfillthesamefunction,but
weremadebeforetherewasstagefootagetofilm(theHoffmanntrailerandWertherin
Rehearsal),thelatterwasmoresuccessfulthantheformer,althoughneithersucceededin
givingviewersatasteofthemusicasperformedintheETOproduction.
Clipsgiveviewersinformationthatenhancestheirexperienceofseeingaperformance.
Ourrespondentswantedtogaininsightintothestoriesandcharactersofanoperathey
werethinkingofattending.Theywereinterestedininformationthatwouldinformtheir
listening,forexampleaboutreducedorchestration.Theywereintriguedbyinsightintothe
creativeprocessandfeltdrawninbyrehearsalfootage.
Wefoundthataudiencemembersdifferregardingwhentheywouldliketofindout
informationaboutaproduction.Someareinterestedindiscoveringasmuchaspossible
beforetheyattend.Othersprefertoaccesssupportingmaterialaftertheyhaveseena
54Walmsley,Ben,‘”Abigpartofmylife”:aqualitativestudyoftheimpactoftheatre,’ArtsMarketing:An
InternationalJournal,2013,Vol.3,No.1,pp.73-87;p.81.
55BrownandNovak(2007),p.20.
47
performance.WehaveseenfromBrownandNovak’sandWalmsley’sresearchthathigh
levelsofanticipationareassociatedwithhighlevelsofimpact,andourreportshowsthat
thesupportingmaterialscanincreaseandalignviewers’anticipation.Thoseaudience
memberswhoarealreadyhighlyengagedwithoperamaybelikelytohavehigherlevelsof
anticipation,giventheimportanceofoperatothemandtheirexistingknowledgeabout
whattoexpect.Thisgroupmayhavelessneedfortheexpectationmanagementofferedby
digitalmaterials;however,aswehaveseenamongsttherespondentsinthisstudy,highly
engagedaudiencemembersarelikelytoshareclipsasawayofencouragingothersto
attend.Theymayalsousetheclipsasameanstofacilitatereflectionandon-going
engagementafteraperformance.Theproducingcompanycannotknow,inadvance,which
audiencememberswanttoengagewiththematerialsbefore,andwhichafterattending;
viewersneedtobeenabledtomakethatdecisionthemselves.Inordertomanagethe
diverseneedsofviewers,aclipshouldbecontextualizedwithenoughinformationsothat
viewerscandecidewhetherornottheywanttowatchit,andwhentheymightprefertodo
so.
Finally,wereturntoETO’squestions:
1.DoaudiencesengagewithETO’sadditionalcontentasitstands?
Veryfewofourrespondentsdid.
2.Didtheyknowthatthiscontentexisted?
Asabove.
3.Iftheydidengage,howdidtheydiscoverthiscontent?
ThoserespondentswhodidengagehaddiscoveredthecontentthroughbrowsingtheETO
website.
4.Ifnot,whynot?
Mostrespondentswerenotinthehabitofbrowsingwebsites,butwantedtoreceivethe
materialdirectlythroughemaillists,orinsomecasesthroughTwitterorFacebook.
5.Whatkindofmaterialwoulddifferentaudiencesfindengaging?
Existinghabitsaresignificanthere.Allofourrespondentsenjoyedthepaperprogramme,
andwereconfidentinusingit.Peoplewhoalreadylistenedtoradioandpodcastswere
mostpositiveaboutthepodcast,whileotherscouldnotimagineengagingwithit.
Respondentswhowereleastconversantwithusingtheinternetforentertainmentwere
leastlikelytoenjoyanyofthevideos,whilethosewhoweremostusedtothemedium
foundthevideoseasiertointerpret.
6.Whatmediawouldtheyliketoreceivethemthrough?
Theolder,regularopera-goersweremoreinterestedinusingpaperitems(forexample,
Kobbé’sOperaBook)toresearchoperas,whileyoungerparticipantsorthosemorefamiliar
withusingtheinternetforentertainmentwantedtoreceivetheclipsthroughemaillists.
7.Whatshouldthetonebe?
Therearetwomainfindingsrelatingtotone:(i)ourparticipantswereresistantto
presentersinterpretingqualityontheirbehalf;(ii)presentersshouldnotassume
knowledgeonthepartoftheiraudience.
8.CanETOmonetisesomeofthecontent?
Ourrespondentswerepricesensitiveandwereunlikelytopayforanyoftheitems,except
theprogramme.
9.IstheresomethingETOismissing?
ETOhaschangeditspracticeasaresultoftheresearchfindings,asoutlinedbelow.
ThereporthaspracticalimplicationsinthreeareasofETO’sbusinesspractice:(i)content
production;(ii)deliverysystem;(iii)widermediaengagement.
48
Asregardscontentproduction,theETOmarketingdepartmenthasrevisedthenumberof
clipsproducedandthewaytheyareproduced.FortheSpring2016tour,thepodcastand
SeasonIntroductionhavebeendiscontinued.Aprofessionalcrewhasbeencommissioned
tofilmDonGiovanni,inordertotacklethevideo/audio-qualityissuesthatfocusgroups
participantspointedoutwhenwatchingthe‘Pourquoimeréveiller’video.Musichasbeen
introducedintothetrailers,despitethetechnicalandcopyrightchallengesinvolved.The
newcinematictrailer,incomparisontotheHoffmanntrailerdiscussedinthefocusgroups,
wasmademoreaccessibletoviewersthatwerenotfamiliarwiththeplotoftheopera.
Comparingtheperiodof1August-1October2015(pre-Autumn‘15opening)to4January4March2016(pre-Spring‘16opening),theDonGiovannitrailerhasbeenviewed14,860
timesonYoutubeandanadditional32,094onFacebook,whiletheHoffmanntrailerhad
beenviewed1,039onYoutube,plus18,647onFacebook.TheDonGiovannitraileris
alreadythemostwatchedvideoETOhasevermade(thesecondmostwatchedisthetrailer
forthe2011productionofAMidsummerNight'sDream,with9,502lifetimeviews).There
havealsobeenhigherviewsfortherehearsaltrailers:‘Piade'TolomeiinRehearsal’has
beenwatched1,074times,comparedto‘WertherinRehearsal,’whichhad402views.
Regardingdelivery,theETOteamwasinterestedtodiscoverhowmanypeopledonot
engagewiththeonlinecontentbecausetheydidnotknowaboutit,orbecausetheyprefer
tohaveitdelivereddirectlytotheiremailinboxorsocialmediafeeds.ETOisusingthe
remainderoftheBOOSTgranttoprototypeanappthatwilldelivercontentdirectlyto
audiencemembers’phones.TheappwillbetestedduringtheAutumn2016season.
Regardingwidermediaengagement,theresearchfindingsmadecompanymembersaware
thataudiencemembersrespondmorepositivelytoinformation,ratherthanqualitative
judgment.Accordingly,GeneralDirectorJamesConwayhaschangedhisapproachto
discussingthecompany’sworkinmediainterviews.
Inconclusion,theresearchfindingshavechangedthepracticeofthecompanyinengaging
withthepublicoutsidetheperformancespace.InitialviewingfiguresfromtheSpring
2016tour(seeabove)indicatethatthischangeinstrategyhasbeenhighlysuccessful.
49