cost to sponsor a production

[coffee]

Just in general, a round number, what would it cost to sponsor a production of a major opera by one of the major opera companies?

Let's say something along the lines of Enescu's Oedipe, Henze's We Come to the River, Taneyev's Oresteia, etc.... Preferably by a major American opera, along the lines of the San Francisco Opera, something like that.

And to be clear, I'm not asking whether it's $110k or $110k. I mean, is it more like $100k, $500k, or $1 million?

[Monsieur Croche]

Just in general, a round number, what would it cost to sponsor a production of a major opera by one of the major opera companies?

Let's say something along the lines of Enescu's Oedipe, Henze's We Come to the River, Taneyev's Oresteia, etc.... Preferably by a major American opera, along the lines of the San Francisco Opera, something like that.

And to be clear, I'm not asking whether it's $110k or $110k. I mean, is it more like $100k, $500k, or $1 million?

Two Million, or one or several more over that, at a strongly conservative estimate. 

Ground up for a new production:
set and costume designs, the designers fees
cost of materials and the union workers who make them

contracted and paid principal singers

additional rehearsal time because it is 'new to the company'

the score and parts if not in the ensemble's library will have to be purchased or hired
copyright and performance fees for those works under copyright.

an entirely new production, along with the schedule of available guest performers (the more famous are booked five years in advance, takes a helluva a lot of time and planning.

that is just the tip of the iceberg....

(Then, get the general and mainly screamingly conservative opera patrons to willingly attend!)

[Guido]

Here is a quote from a quardian article from a decade ago

One observer's educated guess is that the biggest stars, such as Pavarotti, Bartoli and Alagna, command between £12,000 and £15,000 per performance. But however expensive singers may be, they will not form the main cost of mounting an opera. Production costs - set, props and costumes - will always be the chief expense. "We have capped the expenditure on a new production at £300,000," says Padmore. "But you don't get a great deal in a house of this size for much less than £180,000 or £200,000." At ENO the average cost of a new production is £150,000.

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2001/nov/29/artsfeatures2

However, it's incredibly rare that an opera production will be sponsored by just one person - in fact I've never heard of it. Most large opera houses have 100s if not 1000s of sponsors and get large public subsidies, and ticket sales too. So if you are really trying to push to get something on, you probably wouldn't need to put up the whole cost yourself. probably setting up a meeting asking if they'd ever be interested in putting on the piece in question would be a good place to start, and saying that you are interested in sponsoring them if they put on that piece (or a list of pieces). You could send the same request to several opera houses. There is no point in paying more than you need to!

[Spineur]

Here is a quote from a quardian article from a decade agohttps://www.theguardian.com/culture/2001/nov/29/artsfeatures2

However, it's incredibly rare that an opera production will be sponsored by just one person - in fact I've never heard of it. Most large opera houses have 100s if not 1000s of sponsors and get large public subsidies, and ticket sales too. So if you are really trying to push to get something on, you probably wouldn't need to put up the whole cost yourself. probably setting up a meeting asking if they'd ever be interested in putting on the piece in question would be a good place to start, and saying that you are interested in sponsoring them if they put on that piece (or a list of pieces). You could send the same request to several opera houses. There is no point in paying more than you need to!

Today more and more productions are pooled between major operas houses, typically 3-5.  It also saves a lot of time.  This is a major issue as opera houses are asked to produce more and more operas each year.

The only example I know of an opera which was sponsored by a single person is Arthur Honneger Jeanne au bucher which was sponsored by Ida Rubinstein.  The role of Jeanne was specifically crafted for her so she would only have text to recite and no singing.