There are myriad ways for opera marketers to build awareness, drive conversion to attract paying customers and retain patrons. With a constantly changing product and ever-evolving market, companies need to test new ideas and adapt their practices to maintain impact over time, but without breaking the bank. This interactive workshop will offer budget-conscious strategies for reaching new customers, engaging dormant audiences and creating brand advocates for your cause. Learn how to:
Improving racial equity in the arts is an urgent and important issue in the field. Opera companies that embrace diversity can harness the strengths of various backgrounds and bolster connections with their local communities. Carmen Morgan, founder and director of artEquity, leads this in-depth seminar for an intimate group of opera practitioners that marks an initial step for coordinated action in the field.
Following the conference, participants who have an interest in personal leadership development and a passion for organizational change will be called upon to help inform OPERA America’s approach to EDI initiatives over the next year.
How can an opera company be seen as a greater source of public value and increase its connections with diverse communities? This central question will guide a workshop on research and capacity-building for community engagement. This interactive seminar will introduce useful frameworks, strategies and language for community mapping/research and authentic collaboration. Participants will leave with a fuller understanding of steps to take for integrating opera into the social fabric of a larger arts and community ecosystem. Rachel Rosner, a professional researcher committed to community building, brings more than 20 years’ experience supporting collaboration across organizations, communities and social movements.
Suggested Advance Reading1:30 p.m. – 1:50 p.m. WELCOME
Laura Lee Everett, OPERA America’s director of artistic services, introduces the recipients of the Opera Grants for Female Composers and shares announcements about upcoming New Works Forum events.
1:50 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. DEVELOPING YOUR AESTHETIC VOCABULARY FOR CONTEMPORARY OPERA
Creators and administrators in opera share a common vocabulary to discuss and critique canonic composers and their work. With contemporary opera’s genre-bending styles of composition and untraditional dramaturgical formats, it can be challenging to identify terminology to describe shared experiences and articulate your personal responses to a new piece. In this session, Ben Krywosz, artistic director of Nautilus Music-Theater, leads exercises on developing vocabulary that can help you define your personal aesthetic and translate it into programming choices for your company and your audience.
3:15 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. BESPOKE OPERA
While many theatrical works strive for global and timeless appeal, the most resonant stories often come from local or personal accounts. Three companies share their perspectives on developing works that are specific to their geographic area. Examine the unconventional paths that led to the creation of these projects and explore the communities’ responses to these tailor-made operas. Garnett Bruce (moderator); Brittany Duncan, programs director, HGOco; Ben Hilgert, U.S. Army Field Band; Andrea Walters, librettist.
4:15 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. NEW WORKS FORUM DISCUSSION
Participate in a facilitated discussion about other topics that arise in the course of the New Works Forum and provide input on what would be most helpful to your work going forward. OPERA America stands at the ready to hear your feedback and shape future programs to address your needs and suggestions.
The New Works Forum is made possible by a generous and deeply appreciated grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Join other running enthusiasts for an early morning jaunt. This three-mile run led by OPERA America’s Dan Cooperman will tour Old Montréal and the Old Port along the St. Lawrence River. Runners of all levels welcome, and maps of the route will be available. Meet in the hotel lobby promptly at 6:00 a.m.
Cost is $7.50 USD per person in advance, $10 CAD walk-up.
Tour group limited to 16 people per day.
Opera.ca invites Canadian members and affiliates to a conference kick-off breakfast. Space is limited, and separate RSVP is required by May 6 by contacting Christina Loewen at C_Loewen@opera.ca or 416.591.7222.
This committee meeting is only open to the members of the Women's Opera Network Steering Committee. Breakfast will be provided.
This roundtable is a peer learning group for alumni of OPERA America’s Leadership Intensive program. By invitation. Separate registration required.
Leadership Intensive is made possible by a generous grant from the American Express Foundation.
Participate in an interactive exercise to test your assumptions about opera titles and season formulas. What kind of information actually informs the success of the productions that are selected by opera companies? OPERA America’s senior research manager, Shannon Jackson, leads this fun exercise, which will be followed by a conversation about the strengths and limitations of available artistic data in the opera field. Open to all.
The new Integrated Media Agreement (IMA) was ratified in spring 2015 following negotiations with the AFM and the Employers’ Media Association (EMA) representing 72 symphony, opera and ballet employers. Is your company taking advantage of the provisions in the new American Federation of Musicians (AFM) IMA for news, promotion and fundraising purposes, in addition to those of streaming and downloading? Has your company developed proposals to negotiate agreements with AGMA? Or if you are not an AGMA company, have you considered revising your employment agreements to include the more liberal provisions of the AFM IMA? Learn how the opera field can utilize these new provisions as part of its marketing and fundraising efforts. This session will inform opera companies that have AFM and AGMA collective bargaining agreements (CBAs), those that subcontract orchestra services from the local symphony orchestra, and those that do not have formal union CBAs but still need agreement on media usage from all participants.
Organizational partnerships that increase opera’s civic impact take careful cultivation, often operating on longer time horizons than a given season. This kind of networking and relationship building requires different capacities and metrics than traditional productions and collaborations. Rachel Rosner, a professional researcher committed to authentic community building, will lead a discussion on effective partnerships to increase opera’s civic impact. How do community engagement goals differ from audience goals? What does successful civic impact look like? Hear from opera practitioners who are putting these ideas into action, and join a conversation about strengthening your own collaborations.
Opera is a powerful, multidisciplinary art form that thrives on collaboration and gives voice to stories of substance. It is in the hands of individual leaders to drive organizations toward being more inclusive, whether it is through hiring, artistic choices or authentic community engagement. With humble curiosity, we gather to learn together and take note from other arts sectors that have made strides to improve equity within organizations and their communities. This presentation and guided conversation will inform coordinated action for the field.
Join your colleagues at the New Attendee table during the Exhibitor Happy Hour to share your first impressions, ask questions of OPERA America staff and build bonds for the rest of the conference.
Tickets ($40) are general admission and may be purchased directly through Chants Libres at 514.871.2224.
In 1976, Patricia Isasa — then a high school student, and just 16 years old — was abducted, imprisoned and tortured by the military junta that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. She was held for two years but never charged with any crime. After her release, Isasa felt compelled to find out who had been responsible for her abduction, torture and detention in a secret prison. Thirty-three years after her abduction, she managed to identify and bring her torturers to justice.For the more adventuresome early morning runners, this four-mile moderate run led by OPERA America’s Dan Cooperman will ascend the city’s namesake mountain, offering views from the Chalet du Mount Royal. Runners of all levels welcome, and maps of the route will be available. Meet in the hotel lobby promptly at 6:00 a.m.
Cost is $7.50 USD per person in advance, $10 CAD walk-up.
Tour group limited to 16 people per day.
This roundtable is a peer learning group for alumni of OPERA America’s Leadership Intensive program. By invitation. Separate registration required.
Leadership Intensive is made possible by a generous grant from the American Express Foundation.
Creative artists in opera are the lifeblood of the art form, and OPERA America is dedicated to supporting their careers. Hear a short presentation on the services that are available to artists as members of OPERA America and participate in a discussion on developing your personal brand. Composers, designers, directors and any other independent contractors are encouraged to attend this session.
THIS EVENT IS INTENDED FOR THE TECHNICAL/PRODUCTION FORUM AND HAS EXTREMELY LIMITED CAPACITY. IF YOU ARE IN TECH/PROD, PLEASE ADD YOURSELF TO THE WAITLIST. E-MAIL NSWEBER@OPERAAMERICA.ORG IF YOU ARE NOT IN THE TECH/PROD TRACK AND YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS TOUR.
Members of the Technical/Production Forum are invited to a special tour of Cirque du Soleil’s international headquarters and costume creation facility. Hosted by the Global Citizenship staff, groups will be taken on a 90-minute tour. Meet in the hotel lobby and travel together. Guests on the tour will need to be on the check-in list and have ID with them to go on the tour. Absolutely no photography or recording of any kind will be permitted once inside.
This working lunch and career strategy session is open to a select number of opera administrators in early stages of their career development. Participants have been nominated by their general directors and accepted into the session by application.
Board members can guide an organization’s overall approach to developing, retaining and investing in staff. While the board does not manage human resources or the functions of staff relations, trustees can set policies and priorities that influence effective human capital practices. Learn about the governance role in human resource management, whether it is supporting executives as the company grows, anticipating staffing needs during transitions or finding resources to help all levels of staff contribute to the company at a higher level.
A company’s health is challenged when board members remain satisfied with superficial awareness of organizational issues without seeking deeper understanding of pressing concerns or exciting opportunities. Good governance emerges from board members taking personal action based on their understanding. Moving from awareness to understanding to action requires an effective partnership between trustees and staff, as well as constant vigilance. Exploring the ways to achieve this level of engagement will be Holly Mayer, chair-elect of The Dallas Opera; Kevin H. Smith, president of the Minnesota Orchestra, Joseph Spector, and Ryan Taylor, newly appointed general director of Minnesota Opera, led by OPERA America President/CEO Marc A. Scorca.
Cost is $7.50 USD per person in advance, $10 CAD walk-up.
Tour group limited to 16 people per day.
This roundtable is a peer learning group for alumni of OPERA America’s Leadership Intensive program. By invitation. Separate registration required. Box lunch provided.
Leadership Intensive is made possible by a generous grant from the American Express Foundation.
Tradition and innovation, global and local. In a facilitated panel discussion, colleagues representing different aspects of the industry will reflect on these themes and others that emerged throughout the conference. The host of Opera Conference 2017 will extend an invitation to next year’s annual gathering.
Opera Conference 2017 Welcome Video: https://youtu.be/DcZcFXNCpc0
Five different generations are now represented in the nonprofit workforce, each with its own communication style, expectations and motivations. With traditionalists, baby boomers, Gen Xers, millennials and Gen 2020, multigenerational teams can present management challenges. Hear insights from colleagues across generations and learn how to leverage differences, bridge divides and build effective communications at your organization.
APPLYING YOUR AESTHETIC VOCABULARY FOR CONTEMPORARY OPERA
Use the vocabulary developed throughout the conference to engage in constructive conversations about your personal and critical response to the New Works Sampler. Gain a deeper understanding of how to articulate your own artistic vision. Then see how it compares or contrasts to a given new work.
Ben Krywosz, artistic director of Nautilus Music-Theater, facilitates discussions utilizing aesthetic language to help producers plan programs, market seasons and engage audiences.