# What makes a season interesting?



## Der Fliegende Amerikaner (Feb 26, 2011)

It's season announcement time for the 18/19 season for the major houses. San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Houston announced theirs last week. I just received an e-mail from Paris notifying their season announcement for January 29. A Met employee (calling me for a donation in addition to my annual donation) told me they will announce their season in mid-February. Chicago should be coming along soon, followed by the other major European houses, capped of by La Scala's.

On a certain opera website (named after a pricey Met seating section), both California announcements were panned. "This is definitely the post-Ring Cycle cost-saving year" for San Francisco. LA will be "boring the public to death".

The aforementioned Met employee voluntarily conceeded that the current season was "conservative". Zachary Woolfe wrote in the NYT that "this is repertory-wise one of the dullest Met seasons in memory." The Met employee said that next season will be much more intriguing. According to a website that speculates on future Met seasons, I wholeheartedly agree, though I'm surprised Willy Decker's La Traviata is being replaced so soon and I'm dubious about Jonas Kaufmann showing up for La Fanciulla del West after cancelling his last three Met engagements (Carmen 14/15, Manon Lescaut 15/16, and Tosca 17/18)

So what makes a season interesting?


----------



## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

That they stage at least one opera I like and have never seen before.
I also want balance the most popular operas are staged often because they are great so I don't want they go go away but at least one unusual opera and one contemporary opera.


----------



## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

A rare opera, a new commision, a house premier of a contemporary opera, a new production of a familiar opera, a reprise of a great/favourite production, some big-name singers, new-to-house singers, at least one by Mozart, Verdi, Puccini & Wagner.

(It's not rocket surgery.)


----------



## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

My standards are pretty minimal for this. Just don't program two operas by the same composer in the same season WITHOUT some compelling reason for the second one's inclusion (performer group, new staging/proudction, etc.).


----------



## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

I really think what makes a season interesting (in the eyes of most of these critics) having a good number of operas they want to see, including some they are really excited about. I had a longer post that was about the idea of a season as a thing in itself (that I may still post, eventually) that creates context for the operas... but that's not what is driving comments that the seasons at these houses are dull.

It's about exciting singers, (your) favorite operas, operas that are new (to you, at least), and good/interesting/new/effective productions.

I like the 2018/19 San Francisco Opera season more than some because other than Carmen, I have not seen any of these operas in the house before. I think _Roberto Devereux_ and _Rusalka_ have great casts, and I'm also really looking forward to _Arabella_ and _Orlando_. And other than Rusalka (on the Operabase most performed list at #34) they are relatively rare works (all in the mid-100s on that list). Of course this may be less exciting for people that don't like these operas, or have been seeing live opera for longer than I have, and/or in a town like New York where there are many more performances available per year.

The rest of the season is either brand new (It's a Wonderful Life from 2016) or warhorses (Cav/Pag, Tosca, and Carmen). And I will likely see some of it, just because.


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

I am happy with what they serve, baggers can't be choosers, as long as I am no boss at a opera house nothing matters, how har we scream.
Just pick the ones you like, *thank heaven for seeing Tosca tonight from the Met.*


----------



## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Don Fatale said:


> A rare opera, a new commision, a house premier of a contemporary opera, a new production of a familiar opera, a reprise of a great/favourite production, some big-name singers, new-to-house singers, at least one by Mozart, Verdi, Puccini & Wagner.
> 
> (It's not rocket surgery.)


I think you've hit the nail on the head with your formula for the perfect season. Most houses can't afford a new commission every season, so perhaps if they did a new commission OR a house premiere of a contemporary opera. The latter doesn't seem to happen very often. Houses like the prestige of new commissions, but the repertoire isn't going to be added to if successful new operas elsewhere aren't given further performances beyond the commissioning cycle.

N.


----------



## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Until some major venue in the United States brings back "Mefistofele", I ain't talkin'!


----------



## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

I'm doing two this year. Orange in France a Roman amphitheatre for sure and I hope to return to Prague for their basic but nice version. Still dream of seeing Nerone though.


----------

