Due to the lack of opportunities to develop a love of music, there will be nothing left: there are 934 public music schools in Germany, attended by approximately 1.5 million children under the age of 16. The number of private ones is 4,500. Instrument use is learned at a basic level in primary school, and one in every five children reinforces this learning beyond secondary school. But just one 17% of visitors to the opera or theater A name that covers people who fall into the U30 category, or those who are “under 30”. under 30 years old. The majority of the population consists of retirees, with 28%.
The biggest obstacle to breaking this glass ceiling is, of course, ticket prices. But it should also be said that demography It doesn’t help move the percentage. While 23 percent of the German population of approximately 83 million is between the ages of 40 and 59, the proportion of the population over the age of 60 exceeds 25 percent.
“The German government is determined to promote young people’s access to culture, because the future of the country’s cultural life will depend on them,” said the Minister of Green Culture. Claudia Rothwhile giving his presentation last summer. “Culture Transition” or “Cultural passport”. A kind of 200 Euro gift voucher for everyone who is or will be 18 years old in 2023 and said beneficiaries (about 200,000 people this year) can use it to buy books, visit theaters, operas or any other cultural activity. This is a pilot experience that Roth plans to continue annually. Like almost everything else, it is presented in application format because this is the basic tool of any activity available.
Application of Federalism to Culture
In Germany, everything operates according to the federal model, and this directly affects Culture, which is the direct responsibility of the “Länder” (federated states). The Minister of Culture, strictly speaking, has the rank of Minister of Foreign Affairs. National initiatives such as the cultural passport are isolated examples, as it is up to each of the 16 Countries to manage the cultural offer. However, there are common features to highlight and even a certain rivalry between city-states, for example. Berlin and MunichThe capital of the “Country” most identified with prosperity and economic power.
Berlin is fighting against its status as a deficit city and trying to ensure that it does not invade its cultural fabric, which is the basis of its appeal. As for the offers made to the U30s, “Classic Card”. It is an application that allows the user to find and access the cheapest tickets to any public opera or theater. Between 15 and 13 euros. You have to pay an annual fee, which means 18 euros for 18-year-old users, and increases by 1 euro for each year until you reach the age of 30. So the younger you are, the cheaper it is.
All major public institutions in Berlin – including the three national opera houses that coexist in Germany’s capital, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Deutsche Oper and Komische Oper – offer tickets Up to 50% discounts -though not always for all its functions- for the U30. And the possibility of purchasing “last minute” tickets for 10 or 15 euros, which usually go on sale one to two hours before the performance. The “ClassicCard” app also helps a lot here as it helps find these locations.
Youth card formula to the rest of the country and of course A city competing with Munich, Berlin and also Dresden It ranks first in terms of operas and folk theaters. In any case, the formula for discounted seats for students, minors, unemployed, refugees or other citizens of low status, including in cases where the authorities do not promote these cards or applications that facilitate U30 citizens’ access to the cheapest ticket Income, is valid almost throughout the country, albeit with variable percentages .
standing only
But in the end, the formula that breaks the glass ceiling of prices is the most technologically simple and even legendary: tickets to attend concerts standing or with reduced visibility. These are not only in Germany, but also in neighboring Austria and at least allows listening to opera at prices ranging from 13 to 18 euros, included in the Vienna Staatsoper. The U formula was also applied in Austria, but in this case it applies to those under 27, i.e. U27.
Others, like this Pierre Boulez Saal Founded by Daniel barenboim In the heart of Berlin, they have instead extended the discounted ticket concept to include U35s. This auditorium, next to the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, is part of the academy supported by the Argentinian-Israeli Barenboim and his close friend, the late Palestinian intellectual Edward Said, to support the training of young Arab and Israeli musicians from the Middle East. .