Leaders say arts aren't dumbed down

PITTSBURGH -- Pearl Jam and The Boss at the ballet? Jerry Springer and Palm Pilots at the opera?\nParticipants at the National Performing Arts Convention, the first of its kind, acknowledge that the high arts are changing, but they say barbs from some traditionalists that works are being dumbed down simply don't ring true.\nOn the contrary, directors of ballet, opera and dance companies say they're going after audiences that might never have considered Bach or Puccini as a Saturday night must.\nFrom Ballet Boyz and "Jerry Springer -- The Opera," to the still-developing Concert Companion -- a program for personal digital assistants like the Palm Pilot that describes what's going on during classic musical scores -- the high arts are working to demonstrate that there is nothing too scary at the performance hall.\n"There are real and perceived barriers that have separated the high arts from other cultural activities," said Marc Scorca, president and chief executive officer of Opera America. "Those lines are blurring."\nOver five days and through the weekend, associations representing various performing arts discussed, among other things, how to mesh modern influences with centuries-old culture.\nA crucial shift occurred in the 1980s when opera companies began displaying scrolling translations of Italian- and German-language works above the stage.\nAttendance at operas in the United States jumped by 46.6 percent from 1982 to 2002, Scorca said. The translations were one of the biggest reasons for the rebound, he said.\nNew interest also has been generated by American themes in opera, such as Arthur Miller's "A View From the Bridge," and the hybridization of opera as well as ballet with modern acts.\nArtistic directors are taking sometimes extraordinary risks to bring more people into the audience. The Texas Ballet Theater, for example, performed to the music of the Dixie Chicks.\n"Did that open us up to criticism that we were dumbing down ballet? I'll take the criticism," said David Mallette, executive director. "On the same program were two inarguable masterpieces by George Balanchine."\nThe Texas Ballet also has used swing and big band music that is every bit as sophisticated as Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky, Mallette said.\nMusic by Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen have been used during recent ballets in Pittsburgh.\n"There are examples all over the country of how the classical arts have intersected with pop and everyone wants to recreate this as some marketing tool," Mallette said. "No one here sees that as a dilemma or says 'Oh my God, I'm doing this art form a disservice.'"\nTechnology above and beyond scrolling translations is also finding its way into the orchestra and opera halls. The Concert Companion, similar to audio tours in art galleries, has been tested at a handful of concert halls and has received rave reviews.\n"This is really an embryonic attempt at providing that contextual element to those who are unfamiliar with the music without imposing on anyone else," said Jack McAuliffe, chief operating officer of the American Symphony Orchestra League, a service organization that represents about 2,000 orchestras.