OUGD603 / YCN / Royal Opera House / Opera Stereotypes

The YCN ROH briefs asks for a visual response to encourage younger people to visit the Opera, the UNDRESS FOR THE OPERA campaign led by ENO, Damon Albarn and Terry Gilliam encourages a younger audience through experience, subsequently challenging the preconceptions and stereotypes of Opera's formal, affluent connotations. Cheaper tickets, a informal dress code and an experience more similar to that a younger audience may be used to - informal clubs, bars and party.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/opera/9583849/Wear-jeans-and-trainers-to-the-opera-says-the-ENO.html

'Damon Albarn and Terry Gilliam are leading a campaign to attract more young people to the opera, encouraging first-time attendees to wear jeans and trainers and promising them “club-style bars”.'

Challenging the existing preconceptions:

Opera for the Upper Classes:

'I thought opera was for a bunch of old farts - the bourgeoisie in dinner jackets. I thought it was an art form for the rich and successful and almost dead'

Strict Formality:

'A lot of people think you've got to dress to the nines but that's not true, especially at the English National Opera. Come in what you feel comfortable in.'

Opera for the older generation:

'Rufus Norris, Albarn's collaborator on Doctor Dee, said the word "opera" carried negative connotations for younger audiences but had much to offer.'

Opera is inaccessible:

'People even have a problem with walking through the doors of a big institution. They feel they don't know enough about the art form to appreciate it.'

The new model of Opera to encourage a younger audience conludes with:

“Young people like informality and we want to say that you don’t need ties or tiaras to enjoy opera at ENO,"



Similar to The Telegraph's discussion here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/12200532/Black-tie-at-the-opera-isnt-elitist-say-Glyndebourne-people-just-like-to-dress-up.html

"The media portray us as champagne quaffing toffs on the lawn, but you actually come here and they're pretty down-to-earth, normal people."

“They might be quaffing champagne or they might be having a jar.”