2.5.2025
Doctoral thesis on the value and meaning of opera in contemporary society
M.A. Inka-Maria Nyman’s doctoral thesis in musicology will be put forth for public defence at The Faculty of Arts, Psychology and Theology at Åbo Akademi University.
The thesis is entitled Negotiating Opera. Discursive Representations, Democratic Accessibility and Social Media Branding.
The public defence of the doctoral thesis takes place on 9 May 2025 at 1PM in auditorium Armfelt, Arken, Tehtaankatu 2, Turku. You can also follow the defence online. Docent, University Lecturer Milla Tiainen, University of Turku, Finland, will serve as opponent and Professor Johannes Brusila, Åbo Akademi University, as custos.
Summary
The thesis highlights the value and meaning of opera in contemporary society. Through a critical examination of practices aimed at making opera more accessible, such as digital distribution and social media marketing, the thesis shows how opera is still perceived as high culture of high quality. This suggests that the need to express, create and maintain hierarchies shapes culture in contemporary Nordic welfare societies.
The findings of the thesis therefore call for greater consideration of the impact of cultural meanings on cultural economy and consumption in policymaking.
The thesis analyses the cultural meanings of opera in newspaper debates and on social media. The analysis shows how debates about opera in the early 21st century are about art, economy, elitism and democracy. These perceptions of opera can be placed in larger ideological-historical contexts, concerning the role of national cultural institutions in society more generally.
The thesis shows how perceptions of opera are balancing between technological development, different mediums and political intentions. Elitism becomes an “elephant in the room”, a perception of opera that both opera producers and financiers try to distance themselves from. However, since the meaning of opera is linked to an understanding of high quality, this idea of undisputed quality has to be repeatedly detached from the idea of exclusive high culture. Therefore, opera is simultaneously presented as a democratic right – for all – and as a privilege – for few.
In addition, the thesis examines the accessibility of opera among Swedish-speaking Finns. While digital technology has made opera more accessible in some respects, it has not changed the perception of opera as an elitist art form. In Swedish-speaking Finland, one can therefore see how opera still makes visible the division into so-called cultural Swedishness and rural Swedishness.
Inka-Maria Nyman was born in 1988 in Helsinki. She can be reached by phone +358 50 479 3575 or email inka-maria.nyman@abo.fi.
The doctoral thesis can be read online through the Doria publication archive.
Click here for a press photo of the doctoral student.
Instructions for following the doctoral defence remotely:
To follow the defence, you need the Zoom software or the Google Chrome browser. You do not need to create a Zoom account to follow the defence. If you install the application, you participate by clicking on the meeting link, after which you should allow the link to open in the Zoom app.