A few months ago, Opera America published its study Understand Opera's new audiences. And, as you can imagine, when we saw ‘opera’ and ‘audience’ in the same sentence, we were immediately intrigued by what might come of it.
Right from the start, the study provides some very interesting data: since 2020, performance venues (operas, theatres, etc.) have seen a sharp increase in first-time audience members.
Opera America divides this new spectators into two categories:
→ New-to-opera : those attending an opera for the first time, regardless of the company (12% of participants).
→ New-to-company : those discovering a new company for the first time (16% of participants).
According to this study, in 2021, 11% of new-to-opera respondents said they were attending an opera for the first time. This figure rose to 27% in 2023.
Faced with this growth in new audiences, it is essential for performance venues to better understand who these spectators are: What are their profiles? Why did they decide to discover opera? How was their first experience? What would make them come back?
All these questions are at the heart of the Opera America study.
Key takeaways 👇
Overall, spectators say they go to the opera for the quality of the performance, but new-to-opera are just as motivated by the desire to discover a new experience (59% of respondents, compared to 26% of new-to-company and 12% of regular spectators).
Audiences generally attach importance to the reputation of the opera they wish to see: they are more likely to buy a ticket for a famous opera, but also for premiere performances. Language is also a determining factor for new-to-opera goers: 31% say that understanding the language of the opera influences their decision.
The opera's website, newsletters and physical mailings are the main channels for reaching both new and regular audience members. However, regular spectators are more responsive to direct communications (55%) than first-time audience members (29% for new-to-opera and 33% for new-to-company).
Among the opera experiences enjoyed by audiences, online offerings are a means of discovery that should not be overlooked. Indeed, many people have listened to or watched opera performances online, both as adults and as children. 42% of regular audience members said they had already attended a live-streamed opera performance.
The online offerings developed during the pandemic also had an impact on the interest of new-to-opera: 15% took advantage of this digitalisation to discover opera, mainly for the quality of the content (music and staging), but also for the ease of access and the fact that the activities were free of charge.
Regular spectators were much more likely to enjoy opera online and showed a strong attachment to performance venues, with 42% saying they had used these digital resources to support the opera in question.
While the majority of returning audience members are over 55 (70%), new-to-opera audiences are much more diverse and evenly distributed across different age groups: 33% are between 18 and 34, 36% are between 35 and 54, and 31% are over 55.
An interesting fact about new-to-company audiences is that they tend to be much more culturally active than new-to-opera audiences and regular audience members, and attend a wider range of cultural activities.
In terms of musical tastes, new-to-opera and new-to-company audiences have a broader musical palette: 60% of them listen to pop, rock or classical music, while regular audiences mainly listen to classical music.
Although new-to-opera audiences are looking for diverse cultural experiences, only 22% attend performances more than once a month (compared to 36% of regular audiences). They are also the least likely to have a subscription to a performing arts venue (theatre, cinema, opera, dance, etc.).
Almost 50% of new-to-opera respondents say they consider themselves opera lovers after their first experience, and are also keen to learn more (69%).
They take the time to learn about opera beyond simply attending performances. They are just as likely as regular audience members (and sometimes even more so) to read descriptions, synopses and programmes. It is interesting to note that all audiences are more inclined to read short texts than detailed ones.
First-time audience members have a very positive experience of their first time at the opera and are even slightly more enthusiastic than regular audience members about the musicality, theatricality and staging. They are just as likely to become loyal ambassadors for opera as recurring audiences, with an average NPS of 65.
92% of new-to-opera respondents say they want to attend other performances after their first experience. This is confirmed by the study: every year, the number of operas attended by these new audience members increases. After four years, first-time opera-goers attend an average of nine additional performances.
New-to-opera goers who become regular audience members also change their habits: 60% say they listen to classical music once a week, and 37% listen to opera.
Despite a strong desire to return and recommend the experience, barriers remain for first-time audiences, particularly ticket prices: half of those new-to-opera say that tickets to attend an opera are too expensive. In fact, more of them took advantage of a discounted price when purchasing their ticket for their first experience (28%, compared to 18% for regular audience members).
It is nevertheless interesting to note that 90% of new-to-opera agree that the performance they attended was worth the price they paid.
Other main barriers mentioned include a desire to diversify their cultural consumption, a lack of time and the difficulty of finding someone to share the experience with.
In the study, opera companies are divided into three categories:
Alternative companies attract the fewest new-to-opera audiences (i.e. those discovering opera for the first time), but they also attract the most new-to-company audiences (i.e. those who have already attended an opera at another company). Anchor and Solitary companies therefore play a greater role in attracting first-time audiences, particularly with famous productions.
An interesting data is the reason why audiences decide to visit an Alternative company. These companies are more likely to attract audiences for works presented in a new format or venue (42%), contemporary productions dealing with current issues (29%) or major premieres (18%).
While the main obstacles are similar for Anchor and Solitary, Alternative companies face other barriers: the geographical location of the venue (16%), the performances on offer (12%) and advertising (5%).
Impressed by this first experience, these new audiences represent a real opportunity for opera houses to build loyalty. The goal? To find out more about these first-time audience members, communicate with them in a personalised way and turn them into loyal ambassadors!
To do this, it is important to equip yourself with the right tools that enable you to:
That's great, because that's exactly what we offer at Arenametrix! Our CRM platform currently supports more than 90 performance venues, including the Opéra de Rennes, Château de Versailles Spectacles, the Opéra National du Rhin and the Grand Théâtre de Genève, helping them to offer the best possible experience to their audiences.
With our various modules that can be adapted to the specific characteristics of each venue, our customers have access to a solution designed by and for performance venues to help them achieve their development objectives.
For example, the Opéra de Rennes, with whom we have been working since 2021, had a clear need when they turned to Arenametrix: to identify and build a strong relationship with first-time attendees at each performance. And the results are clear: in just five months, the Opera House was able to add more than 1,700 new contacts to its database!
For its part, the Grand Théâtre de Genève was looking for a solution that would enable it to welcome last-minute spectators through personalised and automated scenarios. Thanks to our Marketing Automation module and personalised support, the teams now achieve an average open rate of 50% on these last-minute communications.
The detailed study in this article confirms that performance venues are experiencing significant growth and now welcome a more diverse and novice audience. At Arenametrix, we are convinced that these venues have everything to gain by leveraging digital technology to attract these new spectators.