Sing it out loud! The entrepreneurship of SME opera enterprises in Scandinavia

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to contribute new knowledge on the entrepreneurial facets of opera production based on an in-depth study of a dozen SME enterprises. Interviews have been conducted with a semi-structured set of questions. As the studied companies are SMEs, the majority of the respondents are their initiators, their artistic directors and their general managers - in short their entrepreneurs. The analysis shows that opera entrepreneurs do, fundamentally, follow normal entrepreneurial processes in their endeavours. However, along the path of that process there is a wide variety of choices made which influence the outcome, mainly regarding the choice of repertoire and its subsequent staging. For a few, there was some entrepreneurship or project management tuition in prior education. For most, the necessary skills have been acquired through trial-and-error experiences. The study includes an attempt at an 'observed quality' score and a value-for-money assessment.