The Problem with Opera
Co-created by Biaggi Arts and Kevin Newbury Productions, Drax Productions is developing a TV documentary series about the behind the scenes of the opera world. The Problem with Opera (working title) takes an honest and incisive look at the challenges of some of opera’s most talented and outspoken artists, as they are reshaping the art form to keep it vibrant.
LOG LINE
Passionate and highly temperamental vocal athletes bare their souls and share for the first time what it takes to sing at the top of their lungs before an unforgiving public.
Can these vocal superstars succeed even when their personal lives are falling apart and the outside world questions their artform's relevance and very existence?
THE SERIES
Opera is larger than life - with charismatic artists, unforgettable characters, and grandiose forces, yet often suffers from a public perception of perpetuating elitist outdated practices.
The episodic documentary OPERATIC takes an intimate look at the lives and challenges of opera's amazing artisans on and off the stage. Each 45-50 min episode follows a performer in their perilous journey, tackles timely subjects facing the industry, and looks for the uniting humanity in all involved
Can a four centuries old artform respond to the changing cultural climate, and reclaim its place in the pop culture conversation?
SAMPLE #1: DENYCE GRAVES - CARMEN MADE ME A WOMAN
"She was showing me the whole time how to be free." - Denyce Graves
In never-before-seen interviews, opera’s most famous Black mezzo-soprano opens up about her journey from 'ugly duckling' to 'radiant queen,' and from singer to director to activist.
The stakes are high – will her new off-stage efforts succeed?
SAMPLE #2: KARIM SULAYMAN - UNHOLY WARS: REFRAMING THE NARRATIVE
“Music has always been my religion - I pray to music.” - Karim Sulayman
The Lebanese-American tenor takes on the Crusades from an Arab point of view, combining baroque opera with new electronic music, Hollywood choreography, and hand drawn yet computer-generated projections - a clash of cultures!
Will his mission to reframe the narrative find open ears?
OTHER EPISODE IDEAS:
The remaining Season One episodes introduce us to the battle of high notes between sopranos and tenors, tackle timely topics such as Black, Asian, and queer opera initiatives, cultural appropriation vs homage, what it takes to make it in opera from young singer to super star, life in the orchestra pit as conductor and musician, the many artists involved in planning and staging a production, and why opera costs so much!
CREATORS’ NOTES
DANIEL BIAGGI
“Opera makers both on stage and behind the scenes are some of the most talented, passionate, daring humans in the world. They live boldly for their art, they leave it all on stage to give the audience the very specific high only a great live performance can provide, and sometimes they fail in spectacular fashion. Opera as all encompassing artform has the potential to heal the world. We want to give the artform wings and bring these amazing artists and their stories into every living room so general audiences can be lit up by these artists' passion and be inspired to live equally boldly."
KEVIN NEWBURY
"I have enjoyed a twenty year career as a director and producer of opera, theatre, film and television and OPERATIC is the culmination of all of my passions and interests. As both an art form and an industry, opera is at a crossroads. Opera is enjoying a Renaissance of artistic innovation while, at the same time, reckoning with a fraught history of accessibility, inclusion and representation and a reevaluation of its fundamental economics. In many ways, the current struggles and innovations of opera are representative of larger trends in America as a whole. Surprisingly, there has never been a mainstream show that examines this rich, complicated art and now is the perfect time to document its evolution."
