“NESSUN DORMA”: INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIES FOR ITALIAN OPERA HOUSES

Italian Opera is a form of cultural expression that enjoyed significant international exposure in the past centuries and that still today is a major contributor to the global industry of opera performances. Yet, no comprehensive model is available to address the international strategies of opera houses and cultural organizations in general. The paper addresses this gap, providing a framework to classify international activities in opera houses and then applying the model to four prominent Italian Opera Houses: Torino, Venezia, Firenze, Roma. Results highlight both the need for the industry to address the issue of the global presence of Italian opera houses from a business, artistic and cultural standpoint, and the conditions to be met for cultural organizations willing to strengthen their international presence