Greater Columbus performing-arts groups continue to rebound
Following a wave of cancellations, postponements and largely virtual performances in 2020, Greater Columbus classical music and dance organizations regrouped in 2021.
Although this year began much as last year ended — with virtual shows and a small number of limited-capacity concerts — by the time the summer hit, many groups were again welcoming in-person crowds in much larger numbers.
The road back to normality has not been without obstacles. Foremost among the challenges has been the rise of COVID-19 cases that coincided with the start of the fall arts season.
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But with groups battle-tested over the past two years of adjusting to state health orders and hesitant audiences, no major cancellations or postponements took place in the last year. Even amid great uncertainty, area classical music and dance ensembles continued to make beautiful music and elegant movement.
What follows is an overview of notable happenings among several leading groups:
• BalletMet: Absent from stages from February 2020 through the past spring, BalletMet pirouetted back to performing with “Unlocked,” a series of short dances in its black box theater for just 33 audience members admitted per performance, in June. The company, which cut its annual budget from $7.4 million to just over $6 million, mounted a more robust return with the resumption of the performances of the classic holiday ballet “The Nutcracker,” which opened in the Ohio Theatre earlier in December.
According to Executive Director Sue Porter, “Nutcracker” attendance was down: 3,338 tickets were sold during the opening weekend of shows in 2019 compared to 2,348 tickets during the opening weekend earlier this month. Porter attributed the decline to audience hesitation amid the pandemic as well as some audiences who dislike the policy of requiring vaccination proof or a negative COVID-19 test for all 12 and older.
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• The Columbus Symphony: The symphony kicked off its Picnic With the Pops concerts last summer with some caution: Capacity was reduced for the early concerts in the John F. Wolfe Columbus Commons but gradually increased over the summer. By the time the symphony presented its annual show featuring the Ohio State University marching band in late July, more than 5,000 tickets were sold over two nights — its biggest-ever weekend of concerts with the band, the symphony said.
The fall season kicked off with acclaimed soprano Renee Fleming in September and culminated with the return of “Holiday Pops” in December. As COVID-19 cases have spiked, the symphony said, ticket sales have lagged behind a normal, pre-pandemic season by about 25%, but subscription renewals remain strong.
• The Jazz Arts Group: The organization weathered the pandemic, thanks in part to its JAG TV platform, via which concerts were livestreamed on the internet, but starting in the summer, the parent organization of the Columbus Jazz Orchestra began offering full-capacity, in-person concerts again. Northeast Ohio vocalist Helen Welch helped kick off things in a concert with the orchestra in the Lincoln Theatre in July, and the normal slate of fall concerts began in October.
Attendance was down — the orchestra’s five-day run of “Home for the Holidays” concerts were attended by 3,149 people in 2019 versus 2,530 people in 2021 — and subscriptions were down by about 300, but officials hope that those who have chosen to sit out the present season will return for the 2022-23 season, the organization’s 50th.
• Opera Columbus: In an effort to continue to sing during the pandemic, Opera Columbus took performances outside of its usual home of the Southern Theatre with socially distanced productions of “Don Giovanni” at COSI in late April and early May and “La Boheme” at 400 West Rich later in May. For its season opener this month, a lavish production of “Tosca,” the company returned to the Southern for the first time in 22 months.
Bolstered by fundraising and gifts, the company trimmed its budget only minimally, from about $1.2 million to $1 million, and remains committed to generating new audiences; ticket sales remain slower than normal, but those who bought tickets were often newbies: the company experienced a 30% increase in first-time opera-goers, according to General Director and CEO Julia Noulin-Merat.
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• ProMusica Chamber Orchestra: After setting up shop in a series of nontraditional venues, including the event space The Fives, ProMusica returned to home turf this year. The orchestra offered its outdoor “SummerFEST” at Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens and Dublin Coffman Park Amphitheater in August and resumed shows inside its usual home of the Southern Theatre in October. In a season highlight, Grammy-nominated pianist Simone Dinnerstein made a long-delayed appearance with the orchestra in December.
Although ProMusica, which is not yet selling subscriptions, reports declines in ticket sales this fall from the pre-pandemic fall of 2019, the declines have lessened each month: 41% fewer tickets were sold in October 2021 versus October 2019, while 29% fewer tickets were sold in December 2021 versus December 2019.
Other groups: Numerous area ensembles, including Opera Project Columbus, the Springfield Symphony and the Westerville Symphony, returned to live performances this year, as did the long-standing presenting groups Early Music in Columbus and Chamber Music Columbus; the VIVO Music Festival made an in-person comeback in September; Capital University’s “Christmas Festival” made merry music once again in December; and the Columbus Dance Theatre resumed live performing with “Dancers Making Dances” in October and “Wonderment,” an all-new holiday ballet in the Riffe Center’s Davidson Theatre, in December.
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