Classical Singer Magazine interviews author of 21CS, Susan Mohini Kane:

Questions:
In the Preface of the book, you talk about how little chance there really is to make a living in opera and, as a result, many people with performance degrees stop singing altogether when their professional hopes are not realized. How did we get to this point where the traditional performance opportunities are so few in comparison to the number of trained singers who are out there seeking those jobs?

There have always been more singers than singing jobs. That’s how we keep the quality high: by competition. However, the trend keeps going in the direction of more singers and fewer jobs over that past couple of decades. There is one main culprit: the Internet. Quick, affordable access to information and high definition videos over the past two decades has done the following:

1. The Internet has given opera promoters a much larger platform for promoting opera stars. Consequently we have seen a rise of opera stars in every “glamorous” setting such as being highlighted in movies, commercials, large sports events, and even in TV shows. This “star market” has driven more students into music programs than ever before with the hope of becoming a star. For the first time in modern history, opera stars are becoming the equivalent to movie stars. That is very attractive to young singers and that’s why there are so many more students of singing than ever before.
2. At the same time, these high quality videos and recordings of live operas streaming directly onto computer screens has created a “Netflix Society” where people want their entertainment at the time and place they choose and over their own devices. This contemporary phenomenon has driven fewer audience members into actual theaters to hear live opera. It is simply easier to watch when you have the time, on headphones in your own living room, than to drive downtown, park, pay a ticket price, to sit next to someone who is coughing, get out late, and drive home. Consequently, as audiences have declined, opera houses have been forced to close their doors, no longer able to be financially viable. The live opera broadcasts streaming into movie theaters have been a good compromise for people who want to hear “live opera” and it has enjoyed great financial success too. That is largely how the A houses can keep their doors open. (That, and we still have enough traditional opera fans and donors to keep the shows up and running at A houses.) That’s why there are so many fewer traditional jobs for opera singers than ever before.

I want to make one more comment about this dynamic. Most articles I have read have blamed the recession for these trends. Though it is true that many of the large donors were unable to continue making donations during the recession of 2008, and that same recession sent more people back to school, I believe the recession was a straw man that distracted us from the realities of the 21st century that require long term change. Now that the recession is over, I hope to see more opera companies re-opening their doors but I am guessing we will more likely see innovative performing platforms taking the place of those closed companies.