OPERA America

OPERA America invites proposals for grants of up to $15,000 from composers who identify as women and can document their ability to compose theatrical works for the trained voice and instrumental ensemble.

Eligibility: Applicants must self-identify as women composers and have U.S. citizenship, permanent residence, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status. See the Guidelines below for additional eligibility requirements.

For questions about applications or eligibility, contact us at Grants@operaamerica.org or 646.699.5236.

Those accepted into the 2023 Leadership Intensive are expected to participate fully in all aspects of the Leadership Intensive's active learning environment before, during, and after the summer intensive. The summer intensive week will take place in New York City.

Eligibility: Participation in the Leadership Intensive is available to all individuals (members and non-members) who currently work in or wish to continue their professional careers in the opera field.

The Co-Production Loan Fund offers no-interest, no-fee loans to Professional Company Members to ease their participation in co-production partnerships of new and existing American operas with other companies.

Co-production is time-tested strategy to leverage the resources of several opera companies around the presentation of a single opera. It distributes production expenses across partner companies and ensures the work will have audiences in multiple cities.

Nevertheless, not all companies have the financial strength or liquidity to make advance payments on a production that won’t be presented for several seasons. The Co-Production Loan Fund offers more companies the financial flexibility to take advantage of the benefits of co-producing.

The Co-Production Loan Fund is made possible by the Mellon Foundation.

Loan Details
The Co-Production Loan Fund offers each company in a co-production partnership a loan of up to $100,000, not to exceed $250,000 for a single project, that must be repaid in the fiscal year that the company presents the production.

Eligibility: OPERA America’s Professional Company Members based in the United States may apply.

HOW TO APPLY

Professional Company Member staff can log in to view loan guidelines and application deadlines. To learn about becoming a Professional Company Member, visit Organizational Membership.

New Works Exploration Grants provide travel subsidies for Professional Company Member staff to travel to other cities to attend performances or workshops of new American operas.

Producers must stay current with new work by contemporary composers and librettists in order to make programming decisions in their local communities. The ability to travel to other companies to attend performances allows company leaders to meet with creators, consult colleagues, and lay the groundwork for subsequent presentations or co-productions of works in future seasons.

New Works Exploration Grants are supported by the Mellon Foundation and the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.

Grant Details
New Works Exploration Grants provide each applicant company with up to $4,000 during fiscal year 2023, of which at least $2,000 must be used for attending works by woman-identifying composers. The funds support the costs of transportation and lodging, and they are awarded on a rolling, first-come basis.

HOW TO APPLY

Eligibility: OPERA America’s Professional Company Members based in the United States may apply.

Professional Company Member staff can log in to view grant guidelines and application timelines. To learn about becoming a Professional Company Member, visit Organizational Membership.

The Campbell Opera Librettist Prize is awarded annually to an American librettist who demonstrates exceptional talent and experience for writing opera librettos, with the potential for making a substantial contribution to the American opera literature; and who is committed to making opera a central part of their artistic work and career.

Conceived and funded by acclaimed librettist and lyricist Mark Campbell, the Prize is the first award in the history of American opera that specifically recognizes the opera librettist.

It is designed to highlight the crucial role librettists play in the creation and success of new operatic works, and inspire a new generation of writers to dedicate their pens to opera and music theater

The Campbell Opera Librettist Prize is supported by Mark Campbell.

Prize Details
The Campbell Opera Librettist Prize bestows a $7,000 award each year to a librettist chosen from applicants by a panel of independent experts.

Eligibility: Librettists who are citizens or permanent residents of the United States may apply.

Application Cycle
Application available online: February 2023
Intent to apply deadline: March 2023 date to be announced
Full application deadline: April 2023 date to be announced
Adjudication: April 2023
Applicant notification: May 2023

How to Apply
Review the prize guidelines and application worksheets to apply. All applications must be submitted through OPERA America’s grants dashboard.

Guidelines & Worksheets
Below you will find the guidelines, intent to apply questions, and application questions from the previous cycle of this program. They are for reference purposes only, and are intended to provide an understanding of the program in advance of the release of this year's guidelines and questions.

For questions about applications or eligibility, contact us at Grants@operaamerica.org or 646.699.5236.

Next Stage Grants support Professional Company Members and their producing partners in presenting the second or subsequent production of existing, under-performed North American works.

OPERA America’s multi-decade support of new work has helped make contemporary opera integral to the repertoire in communities across the country. Yet, only a select number of works live on beyond their initial premiere.

Next Stage Grants, first offered from 1995 to 1998, and revived in 2020, allow opera companies to mount new productions of previously performed new operas with the opportunity to edit, adjust, and refine the works for new audiences.

Next Stage Grants are supported by Gene Kaufman, Terry Eder-Kaufman, and New Vision for NYC Opera, with additional support from the Mellon Foundation. From 1995–1998, the program was supported by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Grant Details
Next Stage Grants are offered biennially with awards up to 50% of performance costs: up to $25,000 to present an existing production, up to $50,000 to originate a new production, or up to $75,000 to originate a new production as part of a consortium. Supplemental support is available for score, libretto, or orchestration revisions.

Eligibility: OPERA America’s Professional Company Members based in the United States and Canada may apply.

HOW TO APPLY

Professional Company Member staff can log in to view loan guidelines and application deadlines. To learn about becoming a Professional Company Member, visit Organizational Membership.

The Leadership Intensive, OPERA America’s signature leadership development initiative, is a yearlong program for rising leaders in opera administration.

Chosen from a competitive pool of applicants, each annual cohort convenes at our National Opera Center for a week of seminars and trainings to advance their careers and establish strong professional connections. Throughout the subsequent year, participants come together at the annual conference and virtually to assess their growth and goals with expert faculty.

Established in 2012, the program’s alumni now lead 10 percent of our Professional Company Members.

Program Details
Those accepted into the 2023 Leadership Intensive are expected to participate fully in all aspects of the Leadership Intensive's active learning environment before, during, and after the summer intensive. The summer intensive week will take place in New York City.

Eligibility: Participation in the Leadership Intensive is available to all individuals (members and non-members) who currently work in or wish to continue their professional careers in the opera field.

For the health and safety of everyone involved, all participants in the Leadership Intensive will be required to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19.

HOW TO APPLY

Please direct questions about the Leadership Intensive to Vincent Rutter-Covatto, director of leadership services, at VRutterCovatto@operaamerica.org or 646.699.5237.