Same friend (I know! She should start a blog, right?) passed me this link. Talk about dangling the cultural carrot. I think the boat ride to the island is my favorite part, though I wonder if this kind of “bragging rights” gimmick carries more cons than pros when it comes to the profile of the performing arts in society. Snob fest creator or innovative attention getter? Perplexingly, I like the audacity, even if it means I won’t get to go.
Transposing the idea across art forms: Maybe classical music is actually too accessible. Do we need concerts every week? Maybe the musicians look bored for a reason. How do you maintain the idea that it’s special when it’s ubiquitous? In most communities, the music just exists in a building downtown. You can go there if you want, but there’s really no fire burning under it to make you think you have to do it now. Premieres don’t even generate that, though sometimes they garner a nice article in the local newspaper. But what if it was a much more unique and finely crafted affair? Fewer shows, but more considered presentations tailored to the music. Concerts would be events, not like when James Blunt fills your astrodome (no one have a heart attack) but similar to when an art museum gets some special limited run exhibit, all the walls get painted a new color, and suddenly you’re immersed in Ancient Egypt or Rothko’s color fields. Would the supply/demand axis shift? If nothing else, I feel like it would help me plug into the music with more focus and intensity.
Then, if we want to get really crazy, we could seriously jack the price. It may sound dumb, but so does the idea of a $10,000 handbag if you ask me, and those sell. Forget boats and islands. How about an evening of Mozart with food and clothes and location straight out of Amadeus (or Marie Antoinette, if that’s your fancy)? The outreach conundrum would be solved; “under-served communities” would be ignored–intentionally! Yeah, we’re probably pretty far away from that attitude adjustment. But if it comes, I’ll take recitals performed as if we were shooting a scene for a Merchant Ivory film. Oh, and a complimentary ticket, please. Maybe Helena Bonham Carter will lend me a hat.