Living Opera Interviews

Of all the classical arts, opera is often considered the most hoighty-toighty and its patrons the most snobbish. No other form of entertainment seems as dependent on wealthy patrons. A theater can be created in a repurposed barn, but an Opera House is a palace created to display the wealth of its patrons. This attitude is unfortunate and blocks opera from being as widely enjoyed as it should be

Opera is an important component of classical music, which, in turn, traces its roots to the ancient rhythms and harmonies of folk music. The term opera is rooted in the Italian word for "work", which reflects the enormous effort needed to produce and perform an opera. At the center of all this effort is the performers on stage, but they are supported by an endless staff of costumers, make-up artists, set designers and builders, lighting and sound technicians, musicians, as well as a conductor and a stage director. Such a widespread and collaborative effort deserves wider recognition and enjoyment.

One of the most influential voices in bringing the wonder of opera to the masses was Harlem native Alan Wagner. Like any other kid growing up in Brooklyn, Wagner wanted to be a ballplayer, but somewhere during his education at Columbia University (where he earned a bachelor and a Master's degree) he gained a love for opera and became one of the country's foremost authorities on opera history.

In the 1950s, Wagner joined the Navy and in 1956 he joined a troupe of sailors performing a stand-up comedy routine on The Ed Sullivan Show. After mustering out of the Navy, he began hosting WNYC New York's two-hour Sunday morning program, Living Opera. The show featured backstage stories, recorded excerpts from the Met and the New York City Opera companies, and the interviews featured in this collection. Living Opera broadcast for eleven years.

Before Living Opera went off the air in 1968, Wagner was hired by CBS-TV and in 1976 was promoted to East Coast Vice President of Programming. In 1982, the Walt Disney Company hired him away to serve as the first President of The Disney Channel cable network. Wagner left Disney after a year to open his own production company and serve as an adjunct professor at Yale and Syracuse Universities, lecturing on Television and Opera.