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<\/a>\u201cPerforming is a conversation. And when you listen it comes back to us, and [with online performances] that doesn\u2019t happen,\u201d says Hass. \u201cFor people who have no connection to opera or classical music, they are so delighted to go down to Dallas Road or to the dog park and hear something beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hass explored the WorkSafeBC guidelines and found that having outdoor performances is possible. POV is employing nine local singers to sing two songs of their own choosing at each location (they have music for five to eight songs, in order to provide variety at the events). There will be clearly marked areas to stand to ensure physical distancing and there will be a crowd manager at each performance to make sure everything stays under control.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are moved by it,\u201d says Hass. \u201cI got teary at every one of those shows because I realized how long it had been since I had heard live singing. And I missed it. I think in a normal summer, this would have been a nice offering and people would think it was sweet, but it\u2019s impacted people very differently because we feel cut off, and we feel sort of isolated, and we\u2019re missing all these things we used to take for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n
These performances are very different for the singers, as they\u2019re usually dressed up and placed under stage lighting, and there\u2019s usually a separation between the artist and the listener.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt comes with an orchestra pit, often, between you and the public, and it\u2019s an art form where we don\u2019t even tend to look people in the eye,\u201d says Hass.<\/p>\n
A sad result of this is that the performer can forget how important connection is in storytelling, says Hass.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, for the performer, it\u2019s so vulnerable,\u201d she says of the pop-up shows. \u201cIt is a terrifying experience for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The singer is standing wherever the show is that day\u2014in a park, on a street corner\u2014stripped of the glam opera singers are used to, and they\u2019re looking people in the eye as they sing. It\u2019s \u201ctaking away all their armour and all their protection,\u201d says Hass, who hopes that when traditional performances can come back, the pop-ups can stay, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s been really crippling about this is knowing how many singers have lost their income\u2026 That\u2019s been terrifying,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd I worry for the long-term impact. In the short term, I think it\u2019s important for myself and all of us who work in the arts to really come up with creative ways to employ artists that we could keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n