OSCaR: Pioneering Sustainable Practices in Opera Production

From December 2019 to December 2021, OSCaR, a collaborative initiative, worked diligently to revolutionize the world of opera production by placing sustainability and circular economy principles at its core. OSCaR aimed to explore innovative approaches to designing, producing, and managing opera sets.

Fueled by a grant from the Creative Europe Programme of the European Commission, OSCaR project had a wide array of partners from across Europe, each contributing unique expertise and perspectives. Among these partners were Lyon Opera (France), Gothenburg Opera (Sweden), Tunis Opera (Tunisia), the UNESCO Chair for Life Cycle and Climate Change in Barcelona (Spain), Cité du design in Saint Etienne (France), CIRIDD, the International Resources and Innovation Center for Sustainable Development also based in Saint Etienne (France), and AdMaS (Advanced Materials, Structures, and Technologies), a science centre and comprehensive civil engineering research institution and part of the Faculty of Civil Engineering at Brno University of Technology in the Czech Republic.

OSCaR’s primary objective was to provide European opera houses with practical and scientifically supported information about the environmental impact of opera sets. This knowledge aims to guide opera houses in decision-making processes during the design and construction phases, so that their choices better benefit the environment. Furthermore, this initiative did not only focus on technical aspects and manufacturing processes but also on the role of production management in enhancing the environmental sustainability of opera sets. As its second objective, the project aimed to bridge the gap between production management and design methodologies, seeking to determine how these methodologies could facilitate the integration of environmental sustainability into production management practices at opera houses.

OSCaR’s mission is driving a positive change within the world of opera production, embracing sustainability and the principles of the circular economy. Project Buttefly shares this mission, working towards not only a boosting of environmental awareness in Opera creation but also to engage its customers as well.