THE CRISIS OF CULTURE AND THE CULTURE OF CRISIS

Abstract

“Crisis” in cultural policy is a widespread phenomenon, whose meaning can be exemplified in case of opera. The Berlin, Paris and London opera houses hit a crisis at the end of the twentieth century. At the core of these crises and the discussions surrounding them were funding problems – which were also a point of academic interest. But beyond that, opera seemed to be an arena of discourse where creeping conflicts in the political system and society were debated as fundamental crises of a most cherished cultural heritage. This paper examines how, in these cases, “crisis” proves to be a cultural phenomenon in itself, displaying a symbolic and functional character rather than being defined by references to specific matters and qualities.

Keywords:

• opera
• crisis theory
• cultural policy in capital cities
• constructionist approach

Notes

1. The notion of “functional” refers to how the term of crisis works as a mode of perception or construction beyond its contents and matters. It does not imply functional solutions of crises, but actually the symbolical ones distinguished by Clarke (1999, pp. 7ff, 12ff).