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When the major UK opera company, English National Opera, suffered severe cuts to their funding in November , a chorus of outrage could be heard from the arts sector. They would survive, but only with radical changes. Their plight raises many issues about who pays for the arts and how it relies on sponsorship and funding by individuals, charitable organisations, as well as government funding. The arts have always been at the cultural heart of societies, including fifth-century Athens.
So, is there anything we can learn from the Ancient Athenians about funding the performing arts? ENO was founded over ninety years ago with the aim of bringing opera to everyone.
To be accessible, they perform in English, and have a number of free and concession tickets to bring in new audiences. Consequently, one in seven attendees are under 35 years old. Similarly, drama in fifth-century Athens was performed by the people for the people, in festivals attended by thousands of citizens, resident aliens, women and slaves. The cultural importance and popularity of these performances is evidenced by the fact many have survived, and we can read and perform 46 of them today.
But who paid for them? The arts in the UK today are supported by three main sources: ticket sales, private donors, and government and charitable organisations. While the costs of tickets are generally regarded to be quite high, organisations such as ENO manage to keep prices low by using the latter sources to subsidise these and other costs. The government funds are drawn from tax-payer money, making the funding of the arts something everyone contributes towards, but a slightly different system was in place in fifth-century Athens.
The main event for the production and performance of plays in Athens was the Dionysia, a festival for the god Dionysus which brought in audience members from all over the Greek world. The plays were performed by citizens of Athens, not professional actors, and each tragedian wrote three tragedies and a satyr play for the Dionysia, all performed on the same day.