The Scene Room

The Scene Room
Podcast Description
The Scene Room Podcast delves into the performing arts’ evolution, focusing on innovative marketing, leadership, and the importance of collaboration. With a keen eye on audience trends and cultural shifts, we explore how artists and organizations are connecting with communities, shaping the future, and redefining what it means to engage and inspire.
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This podcast explores key topics in the performing arts, including innovative marketing strategies, community collaboration, and the evolution of audience engagement. For example, episodes delve into the role of emotional resonance in marketing classical music or how augmented reality can enhance opera accessibility, highlighting the intersection of traditional artistry and modern technology.

The Scene Room Podcast spotlights the movers and makers redefining the performing arts—focusing on innovative marketing, leadership, and the importance of collaboration. Hosted by Elizabeth (Lizzie) Bowman, with a keen eye on audience trends and cultural shifts, the goal is to explore how artists and organizations are connecting with communities, shaping the future, and redefining what it means to engage and inspire.
Ever wondered what drives the International Opera Awards? British entrepreneur Harry Hyman takes us behind the curtain of the Awards, revealing how a passion project has transformed into a pivotal force in the opera world.
The awards serve a triumvirate of purposes – distributing roughly $100,000 annually in bursaries to emerging talents, celebrating excellence across all facets of opera production, and perhaps most crucially, dismantling the elitist stereotypes that keep potential audiences away. ”People from a younger generation might be put off by the notion that opera is only for extremely wealthy people, that it's very long and can be very dull,” Hyman explains, highlighting the awards' mission to change these perceptions.
What began as a London-based ceremony has blossomed into a truly global celebration, with previous ceremonies hosted in Madrid, Warsaw, and Munich. The 2025 awards will unfold at Athens' Stavros Niarchos Foundation Opera House on November 13th, with nominations open until August 31st. Last year saw over 16,000 nominations flooding in across 24 categories, each carefully evaluated by a distinguished jury of opera experts.
The real magic happens in the careers launched and elevated through these recognitions. Previous Young Singer winners like Ermonela Jaho and Aigul Akhmetshina have rocketed to international acclaim, while bursary recipients gain priceless exposure performing before the opera world's luminaries. As one judge aptly dubbed them, these aren't the Oscars but the ”Toscas of opera” – a fitting tribute to an art form that, as Hyman reminds us, speaks to our most fundamental emotions: ”lust, envy, love, seduction, deception.”
Ready to nominate your opera heroes? Visit operaawards.org and become part of this remarkable celebration of an art form that continues to evolve while honoring its rich traditions.
All episodes are also available in video form on our YouTube Channel. All episodes are hosted by Elizabeth (Lizzie) Bowman.
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