Public Relations – Diversity in the Arts
Attracting new audiences to an art form like the opera is no small feat. When the Arizona Opera had two major productions—the Copper Queen Film and El Milagro del Recurdo—with all the characteristics that would resonate with diverse audiences, RIESTER public relations went to work.
Not only was The Copper Queen Film Arizona Opera’s first ever all-female director/conductor/designer team, but several of its cast and creative members were also LatinX. More, this production was transformed into a film from a conventional opera because of the pandemic but its digitization was designed to broaden appeal. RIESTER developed unique news media angles and capitalized on Hispanic Heritage Month to garner press that resulted in more than 5 million local media impressions.
RIESTER strategically deployed the “diversity in the arts” pitch leading up to Hispanic Heritage Month and secured a full-feature article in the Arizona Republic newspaper online and print editions. The stories were proof of the Arizona Opera’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. They positioned the organization as welcoming, innovative and groundbreaking.
RIESTER’s “diversity in the arts” pitch also landed the Arizona Opera two separate Telemundo segments, one featuring an interview with The Copper Queen Film’s Puerto Rican director and another interview conducted in Spanish featuring a cast member from the Arizona Opera’s mariachi opera, El Milagro del Recuerdo.