Mannes Opera

The Mannes Opera is led by managing artistic director Emma Griffin and operates within the College of Performing Arts at The New School. With a curiosity for the new and a devotion to craft, we are a training program for operatic artists of the 21st century. Opera is the art of the vivid present. We are making contemporary art, deeply engaged with our present moment. We engage with the rich tradition of classical repertoire as a means of better understanding our world today. We nurture whole artists. Singers are makers, musicians, and storytellers. We train students to be professional artists with agency and control over what they do and how they do it. The better our students know who they are, what they want, and where they excel, the better prepared they are to create the artistic work of the 21st century. We draw on the best opera and theater makers that NYC has to offer. We put our students in direct contact with leading professionals in the performing arts. Collaboration challenges our students to work with greater rigor and commitment, knowing that they are part of the fabric of NYC’s performing arts community. We are musicians and storytellers who use the medium of opera to innovate, improvise, and create.