A few weeks ago, I came
across an advertising campaign of Folkoperan (Stockholm, Sweden) called “Broccoli vs. Opera”. The idea behind it is that the only think children dislike
more than opera is broccoli. Thus, when having to choose between the two…
they´ll go for the lesser of two evils.
The campaign irritated
me. The prejudiced assumptions behind it irritated me. The way many in the
classical music world avoid addressing the real barriers, the ones raised by
them, upsets me. Do you remember the “Classical Cannabis: the high note series” promoted by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra back
in 2014?
That sort of thing… Anything but trying to understand better what is keeping
people, of all ages, away. Perhaps because a better understanding would require
action; and change.
