Dear Vocalist:
I wanted to share with you the letter I have just written to WETA, the public broadcasting station serving Washington, DC, concerning broadcast of opera and the Met. I hope my letter encourages many to do the same, and also to keep the drums beating so WETA doesn't think we're going to go away and forget about it.
Peggy
May 10, 2001
Ms. Susan Richmond Senior Vice President WETA 2775 South Quincy Street Arlington, VA 22206
Dear Ms. Richmond:
It was very interesting to receive your letter to me dated May 7, 2001, which reported that "These are tumultuous times for media companies" and "Independent locally owned broadcasters like WETA are fast becoming an endangered species." Funny, I didn't think WETA was owned by anyone. In fact, I had the silly idea that is was a public broadcasting institution. Names like "National Public Radio" and "the Public Broadcasting System" must have given me the wrong impression.
Be that as it may....The reason I am writing is to inform you that in spite of your eloquent letter of May 7, 2001, and your offer of a free Newsweek subscription, I have decided not to contribute to WETA at this time. However, I hope this is a temporary state of affairs, and I am going to tell you the reason for my decision, and under what circumstances I will change it.
First a little background. On April 30, 2001, it was apparent that the commercial classical music station in Washington, DC, WGMS, had stopped playing opera, and this was confirmed by an article in the Washington Post on May 2 that the station had dropped the Metropolitan Opera and all opera broadcasting. Of course, this is a privately owned station, so public opinion, the needs of the community, and the value of the opera broadcasts are secondary to the need to make money for the Bonneville Corporation.
I therefore sent an electronic communication to WETA via your website urging you to at least consider carrying the Metropolitan Opera and other opera broadcasts to fill what now is a huge cultural gap in the Washington, DC area. In return, I got a completely unsatisfactory response from Connie Hassan, your "Audience Services Coordinator", which stated, "Program content is always under consideration, however, there are no plans at this time to introduce any program changes on WETA FM." This response is unsatisfactory, because what you should be saying, in my opinion, is that you are giving serious consideration to carrying opera broadcasts.
When John Kennedy was elected President in the early 1960's, Washington, DC was a cultural backwater. He arranged for the creation of the National Endowment for the Arts, and before he died, he started the process to create the National Center for the Performing Arts, now known as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In the 40 years since, this metropolitan area has become a significant cultural force in the nation. However, with the loss of opera broadcasts, the public in the Washington, DC area has lost an important cultural resource, which even many small cities and towns in this country have.
Opera may not have mass audience that popular or semi-classical music and performers have. However, opera is an enduring art form, for which great artists have created masterpieces, throughout the ages, and into the present, from Mozart to Verdi to Stravinsky to Bugs Bunny to John Corigliano. In fact, it could be argued that opera is now the most vital classical art form. Companies across the United States are growing. New opera houses are being built. Our opera singers are the best in the world, and many from abroad come here to study and make their artistic life. New American operas are performed every year.
Washington now has one of the foremost opera singers in the world running our local opera company, which started less than 50 years ago on a shoestring. Yet we can't see our way clear to broadcast the Metropolitan Opera - arguably the greatest opera company in the world, one that the far more grandly titled Royal Opera House of Covent Garden has emulated in recovering from its recent near-demise.
This is a disgrace, and WETA should be ashamed of itself for not immediately and publicly promising to seriously consider running the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts. When you do, I will resume my contribution to WETA, and when you run the broadcasts, I will increase my contribution substantially. I am confident that many opera fans will follow me, and you will create thereby many new and loyal WETA contributors.
Sincerely,
Margaret L. Harrison
-- Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA "Music for a While Shall All Your Cares Beguile" mailto:peggyh@i...
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