What is the future of opera after Covid turned the arts world upside down?
This episode explores the future of opera in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic's disruption to the arts. Hosts Dan Perkin, musical director of Welsh National Youth Opera, and singer/vocal coach Sian Cameron discuss fostering new generations. They are joined later by Welsh National Opera's Aidan Lang and Opera Holland Park's James Clutton to address the current emergency and long-term development.
The conversation references Welsh National Opera's production of Janáček's *The Cunning Little Vixen*, which features a children's chorus. The company engages in school programs and youth groups to provide early exposure. Dan Perkin and Sian Cameron detail their work with the Welsh National Youth Opera to cultivate future audiences and performers. They focus on building upon children's existing natural enthusiasms for the art form.
A central question posed is whether the enthusiasm for opera in young people is innate. Sian Cameron argues that storytelling is a fundamental form of art-making. She believes adding music to create opera makes stories come to life in a powerful way. The episode suggests that early, positive experiences are key to sustaining the art form. The insights from Lang and Clutton are framed as addressing both immediate survival and future evolution.
The tone is conversational and inquisitive, openly grappling with large, unresolved questions about the arts. The style blends interview segments with reflective commentary from the host. Listeners interested in arts education, cultural management, and the post-pandemic future of classical music will find this episode compelling. Those seeking a definitive answer or a purely historical look at opera may find its speculative nature less engaging.
