OPERA America Awards $165,000 In Next Stage Grants

OPERA America has given grants totaling $165,000 to seven opera companies through its Next Stage Grants program.

Next Stage Grants support subsequent productions of existing, under-performed North American works that deserve additional attention from producers, audiences, and critics. The grants provide opera companies with the opportunity to edit, adjust, and refine the works for new audiences. 

Grants were awarded to seven opera companies:

• LA Opera (Los Angeles, CA) for The Old Man and the Sea by composer Paola Prestini and librettist Royce Vavrek
• Maryland Opera (Baltimore, MD) for Oshun by composer B.E. Boykin and librettist Jarrod Lee
• Nashville Opera (Nashville, TN) for Fortuna the Time Bender vs. The Schoolgirls of Doom by composer and librettist Jason Powell
• Opera Southwest (Albuquerque, NM) for Salsipuedes: a Tale of Love, War and Anchovies by composer Daniel Catán and librettists Eliseo Alberto and Francisco Hinojosa
• Resonance Works (Pittsburgh, PA) for The Jungle Book by composer Kamala Sankaram and librettist Kelley Rourke
• Soundstreams (Toronto, ON) for Pimooteewin by composer Melissa Hui and librettist Tomson Highway
• Washington National Opera (Washington, D.C.) for Treemonisha by composer and librettist Scott Joplin; New performing edition by composer Damien Sneed and playwright Kyle Bass

Next Stage Grants support the costs to present an existing production or originate a new production, and OPERA America's Professional Company Members can apply as a sole applicant or as part of a consortium. The program offers supplemental support for revisions to the score, libretto, and/or orchestration. 

Grantees were selected by an independent panel of experts consisting of Rose Freeman, stage director, teacher, and producer of theater and opera; Daniel Fung, executive director, Youth Music Monterey County; Shawn Okpebholo, composer and conductor; and Pelham Pearce, executive director, Eastern Shore Art Center.

More information about OPERA America's grant programs is available at operaamerica.org/Grants.