Cultural consumption of performing arts through the pandemic: How Opera Houses and their tourists coped

Guachalla, Adrian (2023) Cultural consumption of performing arts through the pandemic: How Opera Houses and their tourists coped. In: International Conferences on Tourism (ICOT) 2023, 21 - 24th June 2023, Nicosia, Cyprus..

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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic presented extensive challenges to sustain the consumption of performing arts as numerous safety-keeping regulations took place throughout the world preventing users from attending staged live performances at theatres of all kinds. In the context of opera and ballet specifically, the high costs involved in staging productions of the highest quality were heavily compromised as a result and Opera Houses faced the task of keeping international audiences engaged with their contents, artists and works on an off-site basis. To this end, online technologies were used as performances of their most celebrated productions were streamed online by famous Opera Houses popular amongst the music tourism market such as the Metropolitan Opera, the Vienna State Opera and the Royal Opera House in the UK among others. This study tells the story of how, during stringent lockdown restrictions, opera and ballet tourist enthusiasts were given the opportunity to enjoy staged productions through online streaming services which transported the touristic Opera House experience to the lockdown home. Engagement with these online performances presented abundant opportunities to analyse the reasons why viewers treasured this virtual theatrical provision as a solace to cope with the lifestyle changes that the pandemic posed. Their affinity with this type of performing arts and its influence on their travel choices were approached using a qualitative framework through online questionnaires. Findings revealed the correlation between this type of cultural consumption/travel patterns and their personal backgrounds associated with family connections, cultural references and further sociodemographic profiles. This resulted in substantial evidence that consumption of opera and ballet may have deeply held emotional attachments by consumers and the availability of these productions online kept them engaged, motivated and comforted through restrictive and testing times.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Keywords:	Opera Houses, Cultural Consumption, COVID-19
Depositing User:	RED Unit Admin
Date Deposited:	02 Aug 2023 08:12
Last Modified:	08 Aug 2023 07:12
URI:	https://bnu.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/18768

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