Dear Members and dear Opera Friends,
Since I became Juvenilia’s new President, in August during the beautiful event in Salzburg, I have been working on some ideas about Juvenilia’s future. Now that the year is ending, I would like to give you all some news about what happened in the last months and also about the 2010 activities and projects.
First of all I would like to announce that our next General Assembly will take place in Munich in April with a very interesting, challenging, modern opera program (Wozzeck, Dialogue des Carmélites, Palestrina). The detailed programme will be published in the following days.
In Salzburg, talking with the other delegates, it came out that Juvenilia is less active than in the past and we all agreed on this. I think it is time to look at the future with new hopes and new energies. For it we must go to the origins of our Association and have clear in our minds the great idea, the great project, the great value Juvenilia is. It is not only about travelling and seeing operas all around Europe, which is indeed our most important activity and a wonderful thing. But it is also about thinking and being in a regular dialogue about what opera means (and should mean in the future) for the young generation. The Munich GA is a very important step: after ten years of activity it is time to look at the past experience and at the future to find new purposes and issues for Juvenilia.
In October I have been in Budapest for the Opera Europa’s Autumn Conference which has been a truly inspiring experience. I participated to the session about Traditional and Modern in Opera and to the Marketing Forum on “How to reach the Ipod generation”. I believe that we should explore the synergies of a more strong collaboration with Opera Europa, which would certainly be very positive. I remember to you the Opass, European Opera Passport, which gives the possibility to young opera friends under 30 to have five opera tickets in different European theaters for only 90 euros.
The result of the Marketing Forum on “How to reach the Ipod generation” is a final document, which has been prepared in Budapest by several young panellists from all around the world (from the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Georgia, Hungary) and presented in a special session to many Marketing Directors of important european theaters. It should be interesting for all of you and I will publish it very soon.
The Activities Calendar 2010 is of course still opened to new proposals.
For the moment we have the following invitations for sure: the SemperOperBall in January, the event organized by Labo-M in Geneva at the beginning of February, the GA event in Munich in April, the summer event in Salzburg.
I had a very good contact in the last months with the Gruppo Giovani Arena di Verona and we are thinking about organizing a Juvenilia Opera Summer Event in Verona during the Festival, maybe this year or in 2011.
I would like to propose an event in Milan as well: we have an interesting saison program this year, for example “De la Maison des Morts” with Chéreau’s staging, but I have still to discuss with our club’s President and the Scala's Ticket Office.
I am also working on the following ideas:
I hope I will be able to give you good news about all this in Munich at the GA. We will also talk about the new Alumni section, the individual members, Facebook and much more. I think we should fix a list of arguments in order to have a successful General Assembly. Please feel free to contact me for any enquiry or for proposals you want us to talk about.
I believe that Juvenilia will enter in a new and more active period. I think the connection between the clubs, the delegates and the individuals is of fundamental importance: we should share informations and ideas many times in the year and don’t only wait for the GA. Being more often in touch would give Juvenilia more vitality and it would be easier to have ideas and organize things.
The international aspect of life is very important nowadays and Juvenilia is a great idea, a great reality, in our european and global society. We share the same wonderful and huge passion for the opera.
I look forward to seeing you all and I send you my very best wishes for the New Year, a very happy 2010 to all of you!
Best regards from Italy,
Elisabetta Matranga Ammirata
info@juvenilia.org