Der Trend geht weiter – es sind nicht mehr nur Orchester, die eigene CD-Labels haben, sondern inzwischen auch Opernhäuser, die ihre Produktionen selbst auf DVD brennen und verkaufen wollen. Gerade hat die Royal Opera in London diesen Schritt angekündigt – man habe einen Vertrag mit dem Label “Opus Arte” geschlossen. Geplant sind über 40 gemeinsame Produktionen. “Opus Arte” ist schon jetzt eine der schönsten und erfolgreichsten Klassik-DVD-Labels.

Die vollständige Pressemitteilung der Oper lesen Sie hier.

The Royal Opera House announced today it has bought the internationally renowned classical music and dance DVD production and distribution company Opus Arte UK Ltd from a Dutch holding company Opus Arte BV for £5.7 million. £2 million borrowings already in the company have been refinanced through alternative lenders.  The acquisition was funded through the use of a special fund of accumulated reserves held by the Trustees of the Royal Opera House for the sole purpose of capital and infrastructure projects. This is the first time an opera house has acquired its own DVD production and distribution company.

Ownership of Opus Arte enables the Royal Opera House to capture and disseminate the work of The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet more widely than ever before;  allows, for the first time, easy and affordable international access to Royal Opera House productions and those of other performing companies; provides the Royal Opera House with the skills and capabilities, content and platform for wider industry collaboration,  and the creation of a revenue stream through the sales of DVDs, broadcast, theatrical release in cinemas, Video-on-Demand, Pay-per-View and other forms of developing digital media.

The company will be managed at arms length from the Royal Opera House with a new Board comprising two Trustees, Sir David Lees and Simon Robey, two members of the Executive, Tony Hall and Sarah Kemp in addition to Hans Petri who continues as Managing Director. Other non executives with relevant experience will be appointed in due course.

Tony Hall, Chief Executive said:

“In acquiring Opus Arte we have achieved a multiple win.  We have over 40 wonderful recordings of  productions by The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet available for distribution, Opus Arte has a catalogue of some 140 titles. This gives us a substantial entry into the global DVD and digital marketplace.  As a significant part of our digital strategy it also hugely increases what we have to offer our audiences both in and beyond the opera house, with new material for our website, and for education purposes.  Opus Arte also possesses enviable production and post production skills that would prove a significant accelerator for our own big digital ambitions. ”

Tony Hall added:

“In recent years we identified that in order to guarantee our future success we needed to develop a much stronger commercial arm to the organization.  In response to this we have launched a number of successful licensed brands but always knew that huge potential lay in the broadcast, recording and digital arena.  The initial phase was the partnership with Sony and the installation of a High Definition in-house audiovisual recording facility. This new company completes our broadcast capability from recording through post-production, packaging to world wide distribution.  We will be able to forge ahead with delivering high quality opera and dance both from our own and from our European and international colleagues into the market place with immediate effect.” 

Opus Arte was established in 2000 by Managing Director Hans Petri who will continue in this role under Royal Opera House ownership, and Television Director Dirk Jan Bijker.  Since its formation Opus Arte has grown to become a major player in the production and distribution of classical music and dance DVDs with approximately thirty DVDs released per year, many of which are also produced by Opus Arte. The company has also forged highly successful relationships with a number of opera  and dance companies, filming their work and taking them to the market place.  Opus Arte has anticipated the demand from global broadcasters and filmed over 50 titles in High Definition providing valuable product for the home entertainment and developing digital suppliers.

Dame Judith Mayhew Jonas, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Opera House speaking on behalf of the Board said,

 “The Board is right behind this acquisition.  We recognize that this is an important investment for the future of the Royal Opera House.  We commend absolutely the development of a digital strategy that maintains the Royal Opera House’s international standing, and helps assist other European opera houses and dance companies into the global market place, as well as taking the extraordinary work of the Royal Opera House to a wider audience through new and developing channels.”

Hans Petri, Managing Director of Opus Arte, commented:

“We are delighted that we have been able to agree a deal with the Royal Opera House over the sale of Opus Arte. We have always taken pride in the world-class nature of our product and the companies with whom we work. The Royal Opera House DVD titles in our catalogue are seen as benchmark productions within the industry, and with the Royal Opera House’s acute awareness of trends and tastes in the market place I am looking forward to the next phase of our development. I would particularly like to thank Greenfield Capital Partners and the Opus Arte Shareholders and Supervisory Board members for their loyal support over the past seven years.”

Sarah Weir, Chief Executive Arts Council London, added:

“As the largest client of Arts Council England and therefore our largest recipient of public money, it is important to us that this additional investment provides more access to more people of the high quality art produced by the Royal Opera House.  We have been through the plans for the Opus Arte acquisition with the Royal Opera House and believe that it will do exactly that.”

The Royal Opera House would like to thank Allen & Overy, McKinseys, Morgan Stanley, KPMG, Linklaters and New Boathouse Capital.