Opera Philadelphia is using the success of the inaugural run of its recently launched digital broadcasting platform to help inform a hybrid approach to its 2021-22 season, which kicks off pre-season programming this month as uncertainty looms around the rise of Covid-19 variants.
Through next spring, Opera Philadelphia is rolling out a mix of content on its recently launched streaming platform Opera Philadelphia Channel while also doing outdoor shows and indoor performances. It’s determining where to take its online service moving forward, potentially establishing content-sharing partnerships with other arts and culture organizations as the nonprofit anticipates persistent digital demand while the pandemic continues.
The nonprofit last fall launched the Opera Philadelphia Channel to create an online space to connect with customers and performers during the peak of the pandemic and associated restrictions. The channel’s first season concluded May 31. Opera Philadelphia says viewing metrics indicate the offering helped maintain relationships throughout Covid-19 with guests who would typically travel from across the country for shows, while also connecting the organization to new customers.
Throughout the last year, Opera Philadelphia Channel was streamed into nearly 2,800 households, fueling about $200,000 in revenue, according to data shared with the Business Journal. That figure includes donated ticket revenue given in exchange for free channel passes at the service’s launch.
According to the data, 36% of households that tuned into Opera Philadelphia Channel had never purchased anything from the nonprofit before, indicating the digital offering tapped into a new customer base while many were stuck at home. The channel also helped reach those located in new markets: While 49% of viewers were located in Greater Philadelphia, 36% were scattered throughout the United States and 3% streamed performances internationally. The remaining 12% of audience members tuned in from unknown locations.
Per a ticket holder survey of pass holders and renters conducted in February, 75% of viewers indicated they were both satisfied with the channel and noted that it “improved their perceptions” of Opera Philadelphia as a company.
The streaming platform largely tapped into a younger and more diverse audience, said David Devan, general director of Opera Philadelphia. Devan attributes that in part to increased accessibility created by the service — which he calls the “HBO of Opera” — that provides those often left out of the performing arts space with an affordable, easy way to tap into content.
As Opera Philadelphia now navigates launching its new season amid increasing uncertainty of what the coming months hold for Covid-19, a major component of the business strategy for the upcoming year is determining the correct mix of digital and in-person shows to offer along with community programming, Devan said.
The nonprofit is partnering with Mann Center for the Performing Arts for a pre-season concert of “Amici e Rivali” on Aug. 26. The performance, which will be the first in-person offering from Opera Philadelphia without capacity restrictions since before the pandemic, will conclude with a fireworks show. A tented dinner fundraiser will also be hosted that night.
Opera Philadelphia will then spend the fall focusing on digital premieres as part of the second season of the Opera Philadelphia Channel, for which streaming passes are currently on sale for $99 per year or $9.99 per month. The streaming platform will again replace this year’s in-person Festival O, Opera Philadelphia’s hallmark Netflix-style festival that lets people see wide-ranging shows in quick succession. The first major film premiere of the second season is set for Sept. 24 with the streaming release of “La Voix Humaine,” which was shot at the Elkins Estate in Cheltenham.
So far, about 40% of subscribers have renewed, said Frank Luzi, vice president of marketing and communications at Opera Philadelphia. Sales are slower than usual for this time of year due to Covid-19 and the subscription deadline being extended into fall.
As it considers where to take its streaming channel platform after its successful first season, Opera Philadelphia is exploring content partnerships with other arts and culture organizations across the country including Boston Lyric Opera, Devan said. It's also in talks with directors holding experience in both opera and film.
Production costs for digital content also vary widely compared to standard in-person performances, Devan noted. For example, producing a show at the Academy of Music has price tag between $1.7 million and $2.1 million, whereas the virtual concert “Soldier Songs,” which Devan said was widely recognized as an “HBO-quality cinematic work” featuring one singer and eight musicians, cost only about $350,000 to produce.
“We're not giving up on the stage, so we need to be very selective,” Devan said. “We make those digital investments so that we make sure that we have enough resources for the other part of our practice, which is stage work and our community programming.”
The in-person portion of the 2021-22 season is slated to kick off in January.
Opera singers’ respiratory droplets travel 12 feet, meaning performers require 15 feet of distance or for everyone to be fully vaccinated, Devan said. While Opera Philadelphia isn’t planning to require proof of vaccination from audience members, the nonprofit is asking unvaccinated customers to wear masks. Staff will also wear masks. Anyone working backstage or with artists must show proof of vaccination, he added.
