Why Nixon in China was worth the risk: Producing an expensive, elaborate contemporary opera during a recession tested the company and community
There has been much debate recently about the effectiveness and long-term benefits of the Cultural Olympiad, especially in a time of significant cuts in provincial arts funding. The irony of this timing, and the fear it has created, is much on the minds of arts administrators, artists, audiences and community leaders across the province. Vancouver Opera’s decision to produce the Canadian premiere of John Adams’s 1987 opera Nixon in China during this time was a tricky proposition. Why risk alienating audiences, subscribers and donors with a daring contemporary work? Why risk breaking a string of fiscally successful years? And why spend a lot of money on something that may not pay off at the box office? There are several reasons why. First, we believed in the artistic merits of the work. Nixon in China may well be the post-Second World War North American opera that becomes a fixture of the repertoire that will be produced 10, 20, 50 and 100 years from now. Thematically, it fit snugly with the goals of the Olympics: Nixon is a work about international diplomacy and risk-taking. And it was important to the company to test our capacity to produce a work with considerable technical and creative challenge.
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