TikTok has undoubtedly changed the way Gen Z consumes content. From bringing back subtitles in movies and TV to cutting movies into chunks, the opera world has also been influenced by this generation’s preference for small chunks of content.
Giacomo Puccini’s operatic masterpiece La bohème, a four-act production telling the story of a bohemian seamstress living in Paris with her artist friends, will be shown in a shorter version next month in Perugia, Italy, in an attempt to appeal to the TikTok generation.
The abridged version of Puccini’s opera reduces the running time from two hours and forty minutes to just ninety minutes, The Times defeated.
It is thought that the play was shortened to appeal to the short attention spans of the TikTok generation, but opera fans are said to be in an uproar over the ‘operacorto’ (short opera) format.
The shortened version’s writer, Gianluca Terranova, who will also play the male lead role of Rodolfo, has explained that he wanted the piece to help people understand opera if they were new to the format. He also fears that younger viewers will be put off by the original’s nearly three-hour running time.
Giancomo Puccini’s opera masterpiece La boheme has gotten the TikTok treatment as a shorter version is set to be released
“This is the first time that an abridged version of an opera has been performed in a theatre,” he told the newspaper.
He added: ‘This is an introduction to the opera and the idea is that you will want to see the whole piece afterwards.’
However, opera puritans have reacted to the shortened version of the masterpiece and have expressed scepticism about the decision to shorten the work.
Opera critic Alberto Mattioli called Puccini’s work “sacred” and argued that removing even a few words from his work would destroy the opera’s impact.
Instead, he suggested using a contemporary version of La Bohème so that younger people could better identify with the story.
Gianluca Terranova (pictured), who created the shortened version of the opera, hopes it will encourage people to go and see the full production
The feud comes as TikTok changes the way Gen Z consumes content.
Last year on October 3, the streaming platform made millennial favorite Mean Girls available for fans to watch in honor of the Lindsay Lohan film on “Mean Girls Day.”
Instead of watching the 98-minute film in one sitting, the film was cut into 23 short clips and posted to the official Mean Girls TikTok page.
It’s also possible to watch a clip-by-clip version of Mel Gibson’s 2000 romantic comedy What Women Want. And season one of the hit US comedy series Killing It became free to watch on TikTok in August, after NBCUniversal announced it would release five clips, each between three and eight minutes long, on the Gen Z-loving platform.
Jane Crowther, editor-in-chief of Total Film magazine, told MailOnline that social media is currently the most powerful promotional tool at studios’ disposal.
‘Influencers and TikTok are increasingly the way studios sell movies. Engagement starts with quick, fast-paced clips that drive customers into the theater.
‘On TikTok, there are a lot of movies that are (illegally) in this format. You can watch a bunch of movies in little chunks if you want – and now studios are just imitating what’s already happening. It’s really a case of, if you can’t beat them, join them.’
Despite Mean Girls being nearly 20 years old, there’s still plenty of life left in the franchise, Crowther says.
In addition, it is believed that the TikTok effect has also had an impact on Generation Z, who now watch television and films with subtitles.
A recent YouGov survey found that 61% of viewers aged 18-25 choose to turn on subtitles when watching television, even if they are not hearing impaired.
Television programs and movies are increasingly being provided with subtitles, including sound effects and song names. Viewers are therefore increasingly choosing to select this option when watching their favorite program.
As the trend grows in popularity, TikTokers have been making fun of their own viewing habits, joking about how they can’t focus on what they’re watching without subtitles on.
One of the people who jumped on the trend was former X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing contestant Fleur East. She posted a video on TikTok of herself watching TV with subtitles, but as soon as she looked away from the TV, she was greeted by a blaring nonsense she couldn’t hear.
London-based psychologist Giulia Bianchi told FEMAIL that younger people are more likely to choose subtitles because their brains are better attuned to multitasking.
She added that using these tools as a viewing aid helps to increase your understanding of the program. It helps you process background noises or a sentence spoken in a softer tone that you might otherwise have missed.
‘Young people watch television with subtitles on [because] “They’re better at multitasking,” Giulia said.
“The human brain is more agile in our 20s. So watching TV while following subtitles or texting or surfing the Internet is usually possible for many young people.”
She added that the improved detail of subtitles also improves the viewing experience for people with hearing impairment (for whom the method was originally intended), making television viewing more accessible.
“Subtitling makes learning material more memorable, more accessible, more understood and more exposed to culture,” she said.
‘I think all of these have a positive impact on the viewing experience.’
While the abridged version of La Bohème continues to be discussed, further changes to the magazine’s format may be forthcoming.