{"id":394,"date":"2024-11-29T15:19:08","date_gmt":"2024-11-29T15:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/omarshahryar.info\/?p=394"},"modified":"2024-11-29T15:41:54","modified_gmt":"2024-11-29T15:41:54","slug":"the-business-of-opera-summit-part-4-of-4-the-emperor-has-no-clothes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/omarshahryar.info\/fr\/the-business-of-opera-summit-part-4-of-4-the-emperor-has-no-clothes\/","title":{"rendered":"The Business of Opera summit (Part 4 of 4): The Emperor has no clothes!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Business of Opera summit (Part 4 of 4): The Emperor has no clothes!<\/span><\/h2><\/div>
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Friday 28 November 2024<\/p>\n

Looking back at my critical\u2014sometimes harsh\u2014words about the Business of Opera<\/em> summit, even I find myself thinking: c<\/em>ome on, Omar, it couldn\u2019t have been that bad, could it? Surely you\u2019re being dramatic.<\/em><\/p>\n

No. I don’t think I am.<\/p>\n

Why? How could it have been that<\/span> bad?<\/em><\/p>\n

Let me explain.<\/p>\n

Even setting aside the incompetent programming<\/a> and the demonstrably negative impact<\/a>, the worst part, for me, was this: no one pointed out that this was wrong. No one.<\/p>\n

\u2026I have to write that out again\u2026<\/p>\n

Not a single person in that room\u2014filled with top representatives from almost every opera institution in the UK\u2014said, out loud, that the way this event was organised was wrong, unrepresentative, redundant and a wasted opportunity.<\/p>\n

Nobody.<\/p>\n

Well, not quite. Nobody with power<\/em> said it.<\/p>\n

After the event officially ended and people were getting their coats, I rushed to the stage and tried to shout into the microphone: \u201cTHIS IS WRONG!\u201d My attempt was clumsy, but I had to try. For god\u2019s sake, someone had to say the truth out loud before we all left.<\/p>\n

Bill Bankes Jones had tried to warn the organisers before the event, but his warnings, too, were ignored. So I’m saying it clearly now.<\/p>\n

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A desperate freelancer rushes the stage and hijacks the microphone at the Business of Opera summit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This summit made us look pathetic<\/h2>\n

Several colleagues approached me afterward to thank me for saying out loud what no one else had dared to all day. But the more I think about those whispered words of gratitude and the friendly pats on the arm as we shuffled toward the door, the more I feel a deep despair.<\/p>\n

I have limited influence in this industry\u2014no assets, no power, and nothing to lose. So I said something, even though it didn’t feel safe. Meanwhile, people in institutions, people who do<\/em> have something to lose, thanked me for speaking up in their place. Their powerful institutions didn’t help them to feel any safer.<\/p>\n

I understand their fear. I feel it too. But they are protected by what they have, whereas I am not. In that room, everyone allowed themselves to be swayed by the power of Lord Laidlaw\u2019s chequebook.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t stop thinking about how this conference made the UK opera industry look so pathetic.<\/p>\n

The function and value of those on the margins<\/span><\/h2>\n

Think about this: as someone on the margins of the industry, I briefly stepped into a role that not one leader from the UK\u2019s greatest institutions could fulfill. They couldn\u2019t bring themselves to say, \u201cThis is wrong.\u201d How much are those CEOs and Heads of Department paid to avoid saying what needs to be said? How much will I, in contrast, be paid or recognized for my Services to the Arts<\/em>?<\/p>\n

My reward is that me and my colleagues will survive. Perhaps my privilege is knowing what is really at stake.<\/p>\n

ONLY a freelancer\u2014those on the furthest margins\u2014can see the glaring weaknesses of the system and dare to speak out. We must listen to those with less power when they say, \u201cOUCH!\u201d because it\u2019s their insight that points to the systemic change we need for everyone\u2019s benefit. The small fish are just as crucial to the ecosystem as the big fish, yet at this summit, we small fish were shoved out. Again.<\/p>\n

This is a perfect example of the ignorant and exploitative dependency institutions have on those with less power. You, the big fish, rely on us\u2014those you exclude\u2014to do what you cannot, will not, or dare not do. Yet, at a prestigious conference like this, you forgot about the thousands of us who weren\u2019t invited. By forgetting us, not only do you disrespect and dishonour us, but you also waste your own precious time. It\u2019s hard to believe that you understand what the ecosystem is, let alone that you see us as an equal, vital<\/em> part of it. Worse, some of you even accuse us of threatening the system\u2014when all you\u2019re really afraid of is change and fairness.<\/p>\n

Your silence is your complicity<\/h2>\n

Since the conference, I\u2019ve questioned every day whether speaking out was wise. Perhaps I\u2019ll regret it one day. But as long as this anger still burns, I\u2019ll say to everyone who was there: your silence is your complicity. You are not bad people\u2014I know most of you personally. But it is 2024\u2014fascists are being voted into government, our nations are at war and industries are setting our world on fire. It is time to stand up\u2014before it feels safe for you to do so.<\/p>\n

And if you genuinely cannot speak out, like you couldn’t the other day, what does that say about you, about me, and about our roles in this ecosystem?<\/p>\n

What are you doing to support the others in the opera world\u2014the ones you rely on to do what you cannot?<\/p>\n

To everyone\u2014whether present at the summit, absent, or in positions of influence past or future\u2014ask yourself this: what is your duty to those with less power? To paraphrase John Singer CBE who spoke that day: what are you doing this for? Who are you doing this for?<\/em><\/p>\n

To read my other posts about the Business of Opera summit, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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