Model of cultural policy and the governance and management of cultural institutions: comparative analysis of three European opera houses

Abstract

ABSTRACT Comparative research on cultural policies has advanced in recent decades in specifying the differences between cultural management models. However, less attention has been paid to how ways of managing large cultural institutions shape outcomes. Opera houses are a special case here. That is because they are large institutions with a long history and exhibit socio-institutional inertia, which partly explains the similarities between them regardless of their geographical and political context. However, there are also significant differences in governance modes, management and leadership styles, as well as how they respond to one of the great challenges facing opera houses in the twenty-first Century, namely social inclusion and gender inequality. This paper compares three great opera houses (Royal Opera House, Opera National de Paris, Royal Swedish Opera) belonging to different European models to assess the significance of these differences in cultural management models.