(Re)Claim the Frame: a rethinking of opera and operatic practice in Australia

Abstract

This timely thesis presents an analysis of opera and operatic practice in Australia in 2021. The aim of the research is to interrogate the sustainability, viability and evolution of the Australian operatic field. Situated during the globally recognised Coronavirus pandemic era, this qualitative research project was conducted over the period 2018–2021. The fieldwork component of the research is an investigation conducted through long-form interviews with a selection of the central figures in the operatic field in Australia today. The interviews, conducted in 2018, examine the opera sector from the inside. In 2020 the Coronavirus pandemic disrupted the cultural fabric of Australia, including opera. This accelerated further analysis and acted as a catalyst for the research conclusions. Together, the examination of the interview data and research material, further case studies of operatic works, and the COVID-19 catalyst form a cohesive argument connecting the codified data into three key areas: power and the business of opera; operatic storytelling; and education and pathways. Each area contributes to the interdependent ecosystem of opera in Australia. Bourdieusian Field Theory is employed as the primary framing device. The study also engages Grounded Theory in the data analysis and codification, and employs three definitions of opera in the structure of the thesis: a) artefact (objectified); b) frame (embodiment); and c) evaluative term (institutionalised). The theories and applications of Lukes’ Power Theory and Gaventa’s Power Cube are synthesised into the Opera Dynamic, an analytical and destructuring tool that works in tandem with the Bourdieusian socio-analytical approach to examine the operatic field across these three primary definitions of opera. The Opera Dynamic analyses current industry and creative practice models with a view to feasibly shift the current ‘opera gaze’ to make way for the development of new foundational approaches to the making, performance and reception of opera. The research further explores a ‘radical future’ that incorporates the history and evolution of opera, the imported opera artefact, contemporary operatic practices, business and power relations within the operatic field, and the positioning of Western opera in contemporary Australia.