Performative Representation of “Others” in the Opera Genre

Western opera has a longstanding tradition (from Giovanni Battista Pergolesi to Astor Piazzolla) of the representation of the lower strata of society, which usually involves appropriation of the performativity of social groups other than the composer’s own. Such procedure is made for transgressive aims in order to affect the status quo of public discourse and improve social reality. The aim of the research presented in this article is to empirically establish whether the performative representation of a socially vulnerable group in opera affects and empowers individuals belonging to the group. A case in point is a contemporary opera Have A Good Day! (2011) by Lithuanian authors Lina Lapelytė, Vaiva Grainytė, and Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė, which represents the professional activities of supermarket cashiers. The article presents the results of empirical research on the reception of the opera. The research was undertaken by showing the opera to participants who actually work as cashiers. Consequently, the participants were interviewed, and a qualitative content analysis of the gathered data was conducted. The argument of the article is based on theoretical insights on empowerment by Grant Kester, who suggests that artists, in an attempt to empower, might still be exercising unequal power relations. Thus, the real transgression might never take place. The argument of this article is that Have a Good Day! attempts to, but fails to empower its subjects.