Arts as a business: Opera Idaho

This is the fourth in a four-part series on the economic impact of local arts groups.

If you ask Mark Junkert, general director of Opera Idaho, opera is the most complicated art form of all.

“The Boise Philharmonic has an orchestra. We do, too,” Junkert explained. “We have actors like the Idaho Shakespeare Festival who sing and act. We occasionally even have dance. It’s just evolved that way.”

For that reason, unlike some other arts organizations, Junkert acts as both the artistic director and the executive director. In 2008, he became the first to combine the roles.

“There are ways that happens in other worlds, but it happens more often in opera,” he said.

The organization, entering its 47th season, started as Boise Opera Workshop, then Boise Opera, then Boise Civic Opera. Living up to its name, it performs week-long residences and full operas in Pocatello, as well as educational programs and concerts in cities including Ketchum, McCall, Emmett and Weiser.

“It’s important for us to live up to the ‘Idaho’ part,” Junkert said, especially since the organization is the only one of its kind in the state. Coeur d’Alene Opera became Inland Northwest Opera in Spokane, while Idaho Falls Opera performs only every couple of years, he said.

Operas require a lot of people. The orchestra, which typically consists of 24 to 50 musicians, is generally the same from opera to opera, while Junkert draws from a pool of about 100 singers for the chorus. Leads are typically half local singers, with half brought in from outside, he said.

As Opera Idaho has grown, it has attracted a higher caliber of singers who are also more expensive.

“We’re medium-sized now,” Junkert said, noting that the opera’s budget is now over $1 million. (In comparison, the Metropolitan Opera’s budget is $300 million.)

Opera Idaho has often used singers at the beginning of their careers, which made them more willing to return as their careers progressed.

“The hope is that if they start early here, we can afford to keep having them come back,” he said.

Operas are typically performed only for one weekend and cost between $80,000 and $150,000, depending on the number of performers and the location. Some are performed in the Egyptian Theater, with others performed in the larger Morrison Center.

About half of that is production costs.

“Some have a lot of set components to them,” Junkert said. “Anything at the Morrison will have a bigger set than at the Egyptian.”

Typically the organization builds its own sets, rather than renting them, particularly because of the Egyptian’s unusual configuration, he said.

Even with the Morrison, it’s sometimes cheaper to build than rent, due to shipping costs for two semitrucks a set requires.

“Boise’s not exactly near anything,” Junkert said. “Unless it’s going to come from Utah, Oregon or California, the cost starts mounting.”

Shipping costs from New York can top $10,000, he said.

Opera Idaho typically rents costumes if they’re a specialty item, such as kimonos for Madama Butterfly.

“If it’s something contemporary, it’s probably just as easy to go buy it at J.C. Penney or Sears,” Junkert said.

Opera Idaho has five full-time and five ongoing part-time staff members. Staff in general takes up about a quarter of the budget. They also handle relatively new programs such as the children’s chorus and a “rising stars” program for high school juniors and seniors, Junkert said.

About 30% of the organization’s $1.2 million budget is earned income, while the remainder is contributions, either individual or corporate, Junkert said.

“That’s great growth,” he remarked. “It was $430,000 when I came.”

He also differentiates between sponsorships – which require compensation, such as ads, tickets and marketing – while contributions don’t, he said.

Like other arts organizations, Opera Idaho is working to attract young people, such as its Operatinis.

“The whole idea is to get people who might not want to sit through an opera in another language to sit 45 minutes,” Junkert said.