The sociological investigation of the audience of the Opera of the National theater in Belgrade

pages: 295-312

Abstract

The Opera of the National Theater in Belgrade was founded in 1920, but it is well known that opera performances were held long before its official opening. Despite the fact that this is the sole opera house in Belgrade (and one of the only two in Serbia), as well as the fact that it did not face any strong audience fluctuation, it is unusual that no one ever tried to investigate and profile its audience. During the last decades we were witnessing the popularization of the opera via various medias, as well as development and extention of the music industry, which surely changed its social status. The aim of the investigation that is going to be presented is to discover if this social life of opera changed its audience and does it still consists of - according to stereotypes - elderly, high educated individuals of certain professions and high material standards, i.e. at which level the opera is present in the private and public sphere of their lives. Keywords: The Opera of the National Theater in Belgrade, audience, socio-demographic profile, private cultural participation, public cultural participation