Thank you for inviting me to appear before you today as you consider the changes under way at CBC 2 and what they mean for Canadians.
Opera.ca is a national association for Canadian opera. We represent opera companies, organizations, and artists from coast to coast. Our members are integral parts of their communities, enriching the lives of Canadians with opera productions and performances across the country. CBC radio is an extremely important part of the Canadian cultural ecosystem, bringing opera and classical music to Canadians who cannot, for whatever reason, participate in a live performance.
More than 330,000 tickets are sold to main stage opera performances by Opera.ca members each year. Saturday Afternoon at the Opera, arguably one of CBC radio's flagship shows, expands that audience as almost 240,000 Canadians tune in each week. That represents 6% of the total English language radio audience for that time slot.
The CBC is clear in stating that Saturday Afternoon at the Opera will remain an important part of CBC Radio 2's schedule. Indeed, the past year or so has seen some real enhancements to the program. Working with opera companies and organizations across Canada, the CBC is bringing Canadians the significant stories and successes happening in opera music theatre across the country.
Radio broadcasts of works like Manitoba Opera's Transit of Venus by Victor Davies and Maureen Hunter allow all Canadians to share in the experience of this new Canadian opera, an important arts event by any measure. Expanding this reach, as the CBC does, strengthens and validates the work of all opera companies. We commend the CBC for this.
However, the CBC's impact on the Canadian opera sector and classical music in general extends far beyond Saturday Afternoon at the Opera. CBC radio and its programming play a unique and extremely important role in promoting Canadian opera and singers throughout the program schedule. It does a good job in celebrating Canada's classical artists, so that we as Canadians know about them and the impact they are having on the world stage.
We acknowledge the need for CBC to find new audiences. We all have to do that. Working together, we'd probably all be more effective. As the CBC moves forward to revamp its programming to be more inclusive of all genres of music, we encourage them to consider the implications, not only for their own audiences, but also for those in the rest of Canada's cultural ecosystem.
CBC radio is an important and integrated part of the Canadian arts infrastructure. It does not stand alone. The decisions at CBC have implications for all organizations and artists that together make up a significant part of Canada's musical culture. Unlike commercial television, driven by ratings and advertising revenue, we don't see CBC as a competitor; we see it as more of a partner. Decisions of CBC radio don't just affect them; they have ripple effects throughout the arts sector.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the area of understanding the meaning of new technologies. Cultural organizations around the globe, including the CBC, are trying to understand what the changing technological opportunities mean. Opera.ca understands and supports the need for the CBC to move forward. None of us can stand still. Opera, perhaps more than any of the other artistic disciplines, has seen the potential of technology.
The Metropolitan Opera is a high-definition opera broadcast that brings opera to more than 600 movie theatres across the United States, Canada, and the world. This profoundly affects how we bring this form of cultural expression to audiences, something companies across the country are studying in order that we may make use of the opportunity that it offers.
Canadians account for 30% of the Met's HD broadcast audience. The energy created around these broadcasts reinforces the excitement and appreciation that Canadians have for opera. It is not a museum art form reserved for an uppity, exclusive elite. The CBC, and the resources it brings to the table, has the potential to work with the Canadian opera sector to affect similar profound change in our country. Through things like the coverage of the COC's Ring Cycle, or more recently, John Estacio and John Murrell's Frobisher, a co-production of the Calgary Opera and the Banff Centre, we've seen the possibilities that the CBC can open for Canadians and opera.
The Canadian opera sector has signaled its interest in working with the CBC to more fully understand these possibilities. We would welcome an open and collaborative dialogue.
In summary, Mr. Schellenberger, Opera.ca recognizes the critical role of CBC in providing access to opera for all Canadians and their invaluable support in promoting the work of our companies and artists across the country. We ask that the changes being contemplated consider this, with a view to building audiences for all art forms.
We believe that the nature of the arts ecosystem in Canada, and the interrelated relationships among all aspects of the sector, are integrally connected. Actions and initiatives do not happen in isolation from one another. Changes at CBC Radio 2 will have a profound impact throughout the arts sector, one that is already teetering on a fragile foundation in this country.
Finally, Opera.ca appreciates that the CBC needs to adapt to new technological and audience realities. We are not necessarily advocates for the status quo. Rather, we would welcome the opportunity to work with the CBC to better and more fully understand how we can work together to more fully celebrate the broad spectrum of Canadian culture.
Mr. Chairman, the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage is undertaking an important analysis of the role of CBC Radio 2. We urge you to consider and acknowledge the integrated and interrelated role CBC Radio plays in sharing and celebrating the richness of our country's classical musical culture. The CBC's decisions ripple widely, and they impact Canada's opera and music theatre-producing artists and our audiences. They are not making decisions alone. They affect us all.
To that end, we need to strengthen our relationship with CBC radio. Your recommendations in this regard would be most helpful and welcome.
Thank you.