Since becoming President and CEO of Opera America in January, Michael Bobbitt has been spending his first year checking in with opera companies, listening as they discuss the challenges facing the industry and some of their innovative ideas to expand audiences and create sustainable programming. His goal is to use that information to help guide opera companies in determining the root causes of their challenges and exploring new tools and models that are better adapted to the shifting economic, social and cultural trends they currently face.
A Tempo host Rachel Katz spoke with him last month about some of his findings so far and his belief in the value that opera, and all the arts, hold for individuals and society.