The West Australian Ballet is in Adelaide this week for Dracula, but musicians from the company’s long-term partner, the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra, are not.
Instead, the Adelaide performances of the popular ballet, which runs 17 to 22 April, are being performed to a recorded soundtrack.
It’s been a controversial call. In March, the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, the union for media and creative workers, argued strongly against the move, drawing attention to the West Australian Ballet’s decision as part of its ongoing Keep Music Live campaign.
More than 500 orchestral musicians from across Australia and New Zealand added their voices, demanding that the West Australian Ballet engage musicians for the show. The campaign was unsuccessful, though when Dracula makes it to Perth later in May, the performances will again be accompanied by live music.
Performing to recorded music – quick links
MEAA points finger at cost-cutting
MEAA Musicians Director Paul Davies said there was an emerging trend of performing arts companies devaluing live music, which he said was driven by cost-cutting.
‘It disrespects the audience by diminishing their experience, and at the same time it compromises dancers’ ability to practise their art with creativity and integrity and denies musicians the dignity of work,’ he said at the time.
The MEAA campaign also suggested it wasn’t just WASO musicians missing out. One Adelaide musician with whom the union spoke, the violinist Nadia Buck, said she would have liked the opportunity to have been booked to play for Dracula.
‘Being a freelance musician, work can be precarious so it’s quite disheartening to see the contribution of live music devalued in this way,’ she said.
Buck also lent a performer’s viewpoint on the importance of the live dynamic. ‘A live orchestra follows the dancers’ steps in real-time, allowing us to be spontaneous and expressive together. For the audience, recorded music just doesn’t compare to the real thing.’
The loss of the real-time experience
It’s a sentiment backed up by ArtsHub’s own reviewer Dr Diana Carroll, who felt the lack of a live orchestra. In her review of Dracula’s Adelaide run, she wrote the recording ‘obviously lacks the immediacy and tension of live music. The levels are too constant and we lose the intense light and dark, the vibrant tempi, and the personal touch of the orchestra down in the pit.’
Similar concerns were clearly held by the many MEAA members who backed the union’s campaign, including musicians from WASO along with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Opera Australia Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Queensland Symphony Orchestra.
The West Australian Ballet responds
The recording used for the Adelaide performances was made at the Perth Concert Hall, and featured WASO led by Principal Conductor Jessica Gethin. In a footnote on the West Australian Ballet website, the company stated all musicians participating in this recording have been ‘remunerated in accordance with our agreement with WASO’.
The company also released a statement claiming the suggestion ‘West Australian Ballet does not support live music is simply wrong’ and pointing to the difficulty obtaining funding.
‘West Australian Ballet is one of the largest employers of performing artists in Western Australia, second only to the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. Live music is central to what we do, and we have worked closely with WASO for decades – a strong partnership that continues today. In addition, we also work with West Australian Philharmonic Orchestra.’
The statement continues: ‘We are not funded for an orchestra for this season and choose to fund this engagement with WAPO from our own operating expenses because we are committed to supporting live music wherever possible.
‘We have repeatedly explained – publicly and directly to representatives of MEAA – that our upcoming Dracula tour to Adelaide is a short, four-day trial season to test whether interstate touring is viable for the company. Our ambition is not a one-off visit. Our goal is to return regularly and, when we do, to work with live musicians.
‘This initial tour is proceeding without government touring funding. At this stage, the tour cannot sustain the cost of engaging an orchestra. We support MEAA in action that will result in more funding flowing to orchestras and touring.
‘We have offered on multiple occasions, and will continue to offer, to work collaboratively with them to advocate for further funding for all arts sectors that they represent, however they have not pursued this option.’
