When they were discussing, Qin Fangge did not put forward any constructive suggestions, these aspects were not what he was good at.

Xi Wanqing's business talent is full, but it involves Qin Fangge's interests, fame and influence are counted in it, and she is also very active. Before this, Zhou Xiuying and Qian Feifei knew that she was playing the role of Qin Fangge's agent.

Not to mention a big-name star like Qin Fangge, a slightly famous opera singer, singer, performer, etc., basically will have their own agent, and talking about commercial cooperation, advertising endorsement or something, it is also an agent's business. Musicians and artists are all concentrating on art, of course, the agent does not work in vain, there is a percentage or more of a commission.

Qin Fangge is better, he has a professional company to take care of his career, and the mastermind behind this is undoubtedly Xi Wanqing. His parents, Ning Xiupei and Qin Huakai, were originally ordinary teachers, and they didn't have that much energy.

The people of the National Center for the Performing Arts, represented by Qian Feifei and He Xiong, know the inside story better, including the ambiguous relationship between him and Xi Wanqing.

Zhou Xiuying also knew, but she didn't interfere, even when he was in love with Lin Baoqing, she just needed Qin Fangge to appear on the opera stage, and the rest! Young people are energetic, especially Qin Fangge, it's strange that he doesn't toss something out.

When they were chatting, Zhou Xiuying answered the phone, just looking at her heavy face, everyone suddenly felt that the atmosphere became solemn.

Qian Feifei and the others all gave Qin Fangge a look, Qin Fangge was stupid and bold, and asked directly, "Mr. Zhou, is something wrong?"

Zhou Xiuying lost the smile on her face, and sighed loudly, "It was Sun Wei, a Chinese violinist from the Symphony Orchestra of the Roman Opera House, who called and said that the Roman Opera House has changed a lot recently, and it is said that they are going to disband their symphony orchestra and choir, and they are ready to strike and protest! Is the situation already so bad?"

This news also shocked Qin Fang, Song Xi, Wanqing, Qian Feifei and the others, although it was not a collapse of the sky, but the impact was still quite large.

Qian Feifei couldn't believe it and said, "Although I knew that the Roman Opera House had suffered serious losses and that the employees had gone on strike, but this time, the management was playing too much!"

He Xiong also said, and even had some sympathy, "It's not like this to save costs, it sounds like a big deal!"

Qin Fangge was relatively calm, or he didn't realize the seriousness of the matter at all. But He Xiong and Qian Feifei are both more sensitive, and their identities are also determined. If they were to be laid off by the Grand Theater, their mood would definitely not be much better.

Zhou Xiuying also calmly analyzed, "I am afraid that the management of the Roman Opera House wants to play seriously this time! Their economic situation has not been good, not to mention the debt, and the Italian government and the Roman government have also reduced their investment in opera due to economic reasons. People are also protesting against the government, spending money on these flashy arts...... In short, there are many deep-seated reasons behind it. I'll call again and ask!"

Zhou Xiuying didn't mess with herself, she also believed that what Sun Wei said was true, but it was better to confirm it in many ways.

Qian Feifei and He Xiong both looked at each other, Qin Fangge and Xi Wanqing were fine. Qian Feifei felt that it was because Qin Fangge had more ways to retreat, even if he didn't sing opera, it didn't seem to have any effect on him. How much is the concert directly, at the concert, arrange to sing a few opera excerpts, and you can easily conquer the audience with his perfect voice and super tenor.

But they were originally engaged in the opera industry, but they can't be compared with Qin Fangge, even Zhou Xiuying is the same, she has invested a lifetime in opera, and she definitely doesn't want to see opera, the "crown jewel" of art, fall to the point where it is now.

However, the global environment is a sign of the shrinkage and decline of classical music, not only in opera, but also in other symphony orchestras, piano and violin concerts. But there is no doubt that opera has suffered the greatest impact.

What they learned was that in recent years, the Italian government's spending on the arts had shrunk dramatically due to the economic crisis. Therefore, after Sun Wei said such a thing, Qian Feifei and the others never doubted it.

When Zhou Xiuying inquired on the phone to inquire about the situation, Qian Feifei also explained to Qin Fang the practice of these opera houses, "In order to solve the problem of insufficient funds, opera houses in many countries around the world have adopted external methods for orchestras, such as Spain, France and the Netherlands. Because they want to save money in this way, they also want to be able to compete and get a performance contract, so as to ensure the quality of the art. But I can only say that such an approach, like wanting the horses to run and not giving them grazing, is destined to be unrealistic. ”

He Xiong also said, "Spain, France, and other countries are fine, but this is Italy, the birthplace of opera! If the collective dismissal of the Roman Opera House comes true, it should be regarded as a historical precedent." ”

"There is no way, even the current leader of the world's operas, the Metropolitan Opera in the United States, is struggling. In comparison, I feel that our International Theater is operating quite well, although it is also a perennial loss, but the numbers are at least not so ugly......" Qian Feifei was afraid that Xi Wanqing didn't understand it very well, and briefly explained the current situation of the Metropolitan Opera House in the United States.

Like other opera houses abroad, it is not uncommon for the staff and artists of the Metropolitan Opera to strike and protest or something, so Zhou Xiuying and Qian Feifei are not surprised by this, but they are only surprised by the largesse of the collective dismissal.

In recent years, the Metropolitan Opera has been facing serious financial challenges. Strikes and labor disputes continued, and the financial situation of the Metropolitan Opera has always been a topic of considerable concern in the industry, and Qian Feifei and her sisters have also paid close attention.

According to relevant data, the Metropolitan Opera had a fiscal deficit of $220 million before 2015. According to the credit rating agency, the management of the Met must continue to work hard to control costs and continue to increase fundraising efforts to ensure that it can break even in the next few days.

According to the Metropolitan Opera's budget and box office expectations for this year, its box office revenue is still "weak". The investment services company, while not too optimistic about the Met's pit climb, said the Met Opera is still expected to continue to benefit from "extremely high" donations. In short, it is necessary to have rich people who are willing to invest and burn money in it.

Now everyone knows that the opera house is a money pit, and all the expenses of the orchestra, choir, soloists, actors, sets, etc. of hundreds of people are burned money. Big productions, big-name actors, and rehearsals of new operas burn even more money.

And it's not just the Metropolitan Opera, but since the financial crisis, there has been bad news for donation-funded American opera houses: many have plummeted box office, are riddled with debt, rumors of staff strikes, management chaos, and even some have closed their doors altogether, and almost all have scaled back their seasons. Despite the glamorous aura of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, life is still tight.

New York's Metropolitan Opera's financial situation is not good and is no longer news in the industry. Back in 2010, the Metropolitan Opera began to reduce health insurance premiums for its employees, and proposed plans to cut expenses such as touring and entertainment spending.

"In June last year, the manager of the Metropolitan Opera said that if the Metropolitan Opera did not implement a plan to cut employee wages and benefits, the Metropolitan Opera could face bankruptcy within two or three years. In order to avoid bankruptcy, it is inevitable to reduce the operating expenses of the theater. In August, thousands of Metropolitan Opera employees gathered at Lincoln Center to protest the management's 17 percent pay cut for a new contract due to a labor dispute. But in the face of the cold winter of survival, these protests and strikes have had little effect. Fewer and fewer donations and lower box office prices have forced the management of the Metropolitan Opera to find new ways, reduce costs, and innovate and thrift to get out of the predicament. ”

He Xiong said, "It is estimated that the Roman Opera House has also seen the effect of the Metropolitan Opera House opening up sources and reducing expenditures, and has come up with such a trick! In fact, there is no other good way, but by reducing the rehearsal time, the rehearsal is to pay additional subsidies to the artist." In addition, a series of measures such as reducing travel expenses and streamlining clothing production have saved expenses in an all-round way, and their budget for this year is really pitiful. I don't know what the final result will be?"

"I think that there may be an increase in their box office revenue, an increase in the number of performances and an increase in ticket prices, which are the most conventional means for him. The Metropolitan Opera has also introduced $25 day tickets and student discounted tickets, which are also good ways to increase ticket sales, but it is difficult to predict whether it will be able to really get out of the financial difficulties. Qian Feifei also said with emotion.

Qian Feifei also said, "Many of the practices of the Metropolitan Opera are worth learning from, such as the high-definition live opera they have been practicing, which is to play high-definition songs in the cinema." The aging of the audience is a problem faced by European and American opera houses, and how to let more young audiences enter the opera house is also a problem that all theaters must face. ”

Xi Wanqing pointed out sharply, "If the audience can see high-definition opera in the cinema, whether they will be willing to spend so much money to listen to the opera live is also a question worth exploring." In other words, those regular customers feel that by doing so, they will reduce the style of the opera a lot, and if they refuse to buy it, it will also reduce the attendance and box office revenue. ”

Qian Feifei's Grand Theater team also has an assessment of this, and there is indeed such a phenomenon, "but compared to cultivating a young market, these are still acceptable." For a behemoth like the Metropolitan Opera, no decision is easy...... The more than 30 million euros of debt of the Roman Opera House is also good. ”

In the rating agency report she saw, it was also noted that the Metropolitan Opera's difficulties and challenges also included an insufficient pension fund and an over-reliance on donations, which were not forthcoming every year. On July 31 last year, the Metropolitan Opera's endowment was estimated at $266 million, which is less than the $300 million in the Opera's annual budget. Although the general manager of the Metropolitan Opera said earlier, the opera house will have a donation of 600 million US dollars over five years, and these donations will support the business activities and project operations of the theater.

However, the appraisal agency believes that the Metropolitan Opera is expected to reduce operating costs within the credit line, but the Met Opera now has a total debt of $115 million. This is a much heavier debt than the Roman Opera House, but they don't dare to lay off employees on such a large scale, otherwise, it really feels like the sky is going to fall. From getting out of financial trouble to fully on a virtuous track, the leading boss of the opera industry still has a long way to go.

A few of them sighed here that the overall situation was not good, but none of them could come up with any good ideas, this was a worldwide problem, even a genius like Qin Fangge would not play a good role. His current influence also radiates to Yanjing in China, and he also performs an opera every six months, which is not a drop in the bucket.

Zhou Xiuying came back after the call, and her face became more and more solemn, "I also contacted the people in the choir just now, and it has basically been determined, as Sun Wei said." The management of the Roman Opera House was really going to take a real step this time, and was going to fire all the resident orchestras and choirs. The contract will end this season, probably before July. ”

"Then what about these orchestra and choir people?" Qin Fangge hurriedly asked, "Aren't there any other arrangements or subsidies?"

"Some personnel may be re-hired on an external basis. In the past, as other opera houses had done, they would sign a contract with them to pay for the performances, and they would have to earn their own living outside of the season. It doesn't matter if you take students, participate in other performances, or score movies and television, or even street art opera houses. Zhou Xiuying was worried, she was no stranger to this, and Qin Fangge, a rookie who didn't want to know the inside story, didn't know.

Qian Feifei was also worried, "It's not that people are panicking at all, but that people are scattered, and it feels even more difficult to ensure the quality of the opera!"

Zhou Xiuying said helplessly, "This is also something that cannot be helped, for the opera house, survival is the first choice." If it is to be liquidated, there is no guarantee of opera performances, and the Italian government is estimated to be particularly anxious. Previously, in order to protect and support traditional opera, the Italian government provided special funds for 13 major opera houses in the country, and the city government and enterprises where the opera houses are located also gave some financial support. Suffering from the double blow of declining revenues and rising costs, coupled with the reduction of the government's investment budget, the current situation was actually expected a long time ago, but I didn't expect it to come so quickly. (The author recommends a free mobile phone client, no ads, no errors, fast updates, members synchronize the bookshelf, please pay attention to the WeChat public account leishidushi (press and hold three seconds to copy) to install the client!