The Beginning of the End

In the article, "How to be a Creative Writer" Kurt Vonnegut says "The arts are no way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow." The arts used to be a way that many people made a living, and some still do today. The past Saturday, the New York City Opera most likely had its final show before officially closing down. With only a quarter of their fundraising goals met, hope was low. After 70 years of miraculous performances, this final show brought tears to many peoples eyes. Though, it was not unexpected. The New York City Opera "drastically cut back on the number of operas it gave each season — from 115 performances a year a decade ago, to 16 last year." With nearly 100 less shows each year, funding became impossible and they had to file for bankruptcy.

The New York City Opera is not the first example of the arts falling; it is also not the last. Orchestras. theatre companies, musicians, actors, other operas have been going bankrupt all over. Reason being that people have stopped attending the performances. It is astonishing to me that things that used to be so valued by society are struggling to stay in business. It also led me to think about what people are doing instead of going to these shows in their free time. Movies, too busy with work, parties? But weren't most of those things still existent when these shows were so popular? It's not that people have all together stopped going but rather they go once every couple of years, or even once a decade. Some not at all.

When talking with some of my teachers and other older musicians, they are pretty consistent in what they tell me. "If you really want to help the arts, then go in to business. What the arts really need are good managers to get them going again." I think that this statement to some extent is true. I also think that they need to remember that it's the people and community that funds the arts. The attendance of each performances goes to the salary of the performers. Its impossible for me to think that the arts will just disappear all together, but then again the New York City opera never would have expected to go bankrupt so soon. Maybe one day theatre will only be seen over a screen, and music will only be heard through speakers. If people are choosing other things over going to performances now, then what will make them change their minds? What sort of affect would the loss of the arts have on society?


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/arts/music/city-opera-takes-what-is-expected-to-be-a-final-bow.html?src=me&_r=0