OPERA America Supports Artists And Companies With More Than $1,000,000 In 2025

OPERA America is recognizing the nearly 100 artists, companies, and trustees whose creative work and initiatives won grants and awards totaling more than $1,000,000 in 2025.   

The cohort of 2025 winners — 46 opera companies, 42 artists, and seven trustees — were chosen from over 350 applications across 11 programs designed to highlight emerging artists, advance new work, deepen community partnerships, further audience building, celebrate excellence in leadership, and expand equitable pathways in the North American opera field.   “The range of people and projects recognized this year speaks to the breadth, vitality, and imagination of our field,” remarked Jamelah Rimawi, chief programs officer of OPERA America. “We are grateful to our Board of Directors for championing these initiatives, and to our foundation partners whose generosity sustains this work. Most importantly, we commend the dedication of the artists, companies, and trustees driving our field forward.”   Over the past five decades, OPERA America has awarded over $24 million to opera companies and artists across North America.   The 2025 grantees and awardees are listed by program, in alphabetical order. More information about the projects and OPERA America's grant and award programs is available at operaamerica.org/Grants. 

• Detroit Opera (Detroit, MI)
• Florentine Opera (Milwaukee, WI)
• Heartbeat Opera (New York, NY)
• LA Opera (Los Angeles, CA)
• Minnesota Opera (Minneapolis, MN)
• Opera Colorado (Englewood, CO)
• Opera Orlando (Orlando, FL)
• Opera San José (San José, CA)
• Pacific Opera Victoria (Victoria, BC)
• Pittsburgh Opera (Pittsburgh, PA)
• San Diego Opera (San Diego, CA)
• Seattle Opera (Seattle, WA)
• Utah Symphony | Utah Opera (Salt Lake City, UT)
• Vancouver Opera (Vancouver, BC) 

Civic Practice Grants $180,000 awarded | Funded by OPERA America's Opera Fund Supporting the development of authentic partnerships between opera companies and their local communities.

• Boston Lyric Opera (Boston, MA)
• LA Opera (Los Angeles, CA)
• Opera Parallèle (San Francisco, CA)
• Pacific Opera Victoria (Victoria, BC)
• San Diego Opera (San Diego, CA)
• Volcano Non-Profit Productions (Toronto, ON)
• White Snake Projects (Boston, MA)

IDEA Opera Grants $54,000 awarded | Funded by the Charles and Cerise Jacobs Charitable Foundation Supporting creators who identify as Arab, Asian, Black, Latinx, Native American, and/or Pacific Islander in developing new operatic works.

• Amir ElSaffar, composer, and Zahra Ali, librettist, for Ruins of the Encampment
• Alphonso Horne, composer, and Tara L. Wilson Noth, librettist, for Storyville: The Opera
• Alex Wakim, composer, and Gregory Jafari Van Acker, librettist, for The “B!tchelorette” 

Marineau Opera Grants for Women Stage Directors and Conductors $50,000 awarded | Funded by the Marineau Family Foundation Supporting the career advancement of women in key artistic leadership roles. 

• American Opera Projects (Brooklyn, NY) Rebekah Heller, conductor of Barcelona, Map of Shadows
• Dayton Performing Arts Alliance (Dayton, OH)
  Chelsea Gallo, conductor of Carmen
• The Glimmerglass Festival (Cooperstown, NY) Chía Patiño, director of The House on Mango Street
• Houston Grand Opera (Houston, TX) Kaneza Schaal, director of Aida
• Opera Columbus (Columbus, OH) Mila Henry, conductor of The Old Man and the Sea 
• Opera Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA) Jenny Koons, director of Sleepers Awake
• Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera (Sacramento, CA) Sahar Nouri, conductor of La traviata
• San Francisco Opera (San Francisco, CA)  Diane Paulus, director of The Monkey King
• Teatro Grattacielo (New York, NY) Anna Laura Miszerak, director of L'amico Fritz 

New Works Exploration Fund $13,490 | Funded by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Reimbursing travel expenses to see new operas by American women composers and explore future workshops or productions.

• American Opera Projects (Brooklyn, NY)
• Austin Opera (Austin, TX)
• Beth Morrison Projects (Brooklyn, NY)
• Central City Opera (Central City, CO)
• El Paso Opera (El Paso, TX)
• Kentucky Opera (Louisville, KY)
• North Carolina Opera (Raleigh, NC)
• Opera Montana (Bozeman, MT)
• Opera Parallèle (San Francisco, CA)
• Pacific Opera Project (Victoria, BC)
• The Santa Fe Opera (Santa Fe, NM)

Next Stage Grants

$165,000 awarded | Funded by OPERA America
Supporting subsequent productions of North American operas to ensure important works reach broader audiences.

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

National Opera Trustee Recognition Awards Funded by Bank of America Honoring outstanding trustees for their exemplary leadership and service on behalf of their organizations. 

• Marc Chalifoux,* Against the Grain Theatre (Toronto, ON)
• Jeffrey Cunard, Washington National Opera (Washington, D.C.)
• Janet Farrell, IN Series (Washington, D.C.)
• Erin Flannery, Experiments in Opera (Brooklyn, NY)
• Liz Kathman Grubow, Cincinnati Opera (Cincinnati, OH)
• Robert Milne,* Pacific Opera Victoria (Victoria, BC)
• Mel Weingart, OPERA San Antonio (San Antonio, TX)

* Recipient of the Association for Opera in Canada's Best in Governance Award.
Opera Grants for Women Composers: Commissioning Grants $135,000 awarded | Funded by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Supporting commissioning fees for new operas by women composers.

• Beth Morrison Projects (Brooklyn, NY) for Star Singer Juhi Bansal, composer (Neil Aitken, librettist)
• Experiments in Opera (Brooklyn, NY) for Emma: A Chamber Opera for Soprano and Percussion Ensemble Annie Gosfield, composer and librettist
• Fisher Center at Bard College (Annandale-on-Hudson, NY) for Suddenly Last Summer Courtney Bryan, composer (Gideon Lester and Daniel Fish, librettists)
• Opera Ebony (New York, NY) for Finding the Light Jasmine Arielle Barnes, composer (Anita Gonzalez, librettist)
• San Francisco Opera (San Francisco, CA) for The Galloping Cure Missy Mazzoli, composer (Royce Vavrek, librettist)

  Opera Grants for Women Composers: Discovery Grants $100,000 awarded | Funded by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Supporting early-stage development of new operas by women creators.

• Jamey Guzman, composer, for Open Heart Surgery (Caroline Cao and Jude O'Dell, librettists)
• Wang Lu, composer, for The Red Thread (Deborah Brevoort, librettist)
• Angélica Negrón, composer and librettist, for Chimera (working title)
• Molly Pease, composer, for HYSTERIA (Divya Maus, librettist)
• Beth Ratay, composer, for The Morpheus Quartet (John Glore, librettist)
• Bahar Royaee, composer and music director, for Nava Avaz (Sholeh Wolpé, librettist)
• Joelle Wallach, composer, for Esperanza (Alejandra Martinez, librettist)
• Emily Wells, composer and librettist, for Cadillac Ranch

Opera RESPECTS Training Awards Supporting respectful, equitable organizational culture and workplace practices. 

• Central City Opera (Central City, CO)
• OPERA San Antonio (San Antonio, TX)
• San Diego Opera (San Diego, CA)

Robert L.B. Tobin Director-Designer Prize $12,000 | Funded by the Tobin Theatre Arts Fund  Supporting visionary director-designer partnerships shaping the future of opera production.

• Héctor Alvarez, director; Salmah Beydoun, set designer; Ashley Kae Snyder, costume designer; and Claire Chrzan, lighting designer, for a production concept for La hija de Rappaccini
• Estefanía Fadul, director; Tanya Orellana, scenic designer; Christopher Vergara, costume designer; and Carolina Ortiz Herrera, lighting designer, for a production concept for La hija de Rappaccini
• Marinette Gomez, director; Hayley E. Wallenfeldt, set designer; John Polles, costume designer; and Seojung Jang, lighting designer, for a production concept for Breaking the Waves
• Rebecca Miller Kratzer, director; Tyler Herald, set designer; Camilla Dely, costume designer; Stacey Boggs, lighting designer; and Anisa Rose Threlkeld, dramaturg, for a production concept for La traviata