OPERA America Awards Second Round of 2023 Opera Grants for Women Stage Directors and Conductors

OPERA America has announced the second-round recipients of the 2023 Opera Grants for Women Stage Directors and Conductors.

Opera Grants for Women Stage Directors and Conductors open doors for women artists by incentivizing professional opera companies of all sizes to engage women in key artistic roles. These hires enrich the production and performance of new operas and works from the inherited repertoire and inspire future generations of creative artists who identify as women. The initiative is generously supported by the Marineau Family Foundation as part of OPERA America’s commitment to improve gender parity in the field.

Grants were awarded to four opera companies that are advancing the careers of women artists:

• Arizona Opera (Phoenix, AZ)
• Cincinnati Opera (Cincinnati, OH)
• Opera Parallèle (San Francisco, CA)
• White Snake Projects (Brookline, MA)

Respectively, the grants support company debuts by the following stage directors and conductors:

• Sarah Ina Meyers, who will direct Frankenstein (Gregg Kallor, composer/librettist) at Arizona Opera
• Stephanie Rhodes Russell, who will conduct The Knock (Aleksandra Vrebalov, composer; Deborah Brevoort, librettist) at Cincinnati Opera
• Yayoi Kambara, who will direct The Emissary (Kenji Oh, composer; Kelley Rourke, librettist) at Opera Parallèle
• Roxanna Myhrum, who will direct MONKEY: A Kung Fu Puppet Parable (Jorge Sosa, composer; Cerise Lim Jacobs, librettist) at White Snake Projects

(See below for additional information about the artists.)

Since it was introduced in 2021, the Opera Grants for Women Stage Directors and Composers program has supported the career advancement of 18 stage directors and 10 conductors. OPERA America’s professional opera company members are invited to apply for grants to subsidize up to 50 percent (up to $10,000) of the fees for women stage directors or conductors who will make their company debuts with the companies in these positions. Grants are awarded in two semiannual rounds; the first round of 2023 awardees was announced in February 2023 (read the press release).

“This latest group of the Opera Grants for Women Stage Directors and Composers winners exemplifies the commitment of opera companies across the country to bring new voices into opera. From Boston to San Francisco, audiences will enjoy four contemporary works helmed by the women supported by these grants,” remarked Marc A. Scorca, president/CEO of OPERA America. “We look forward to seeing the work of these women who will shape the future of the art form.”

The Opera Grants for Women Stage Directors and Conductors program is one of OPERA America’s resources aimed at increasing gender parity across the field. Other initiatives include the Opera Grants for Women Composers, Mentorship Program for Women Administrators, and Women’s Opera Network.

Since the inception of its granting programs in the mid-1980s, OPERA America has awarded over $23 million to the opera field to support the work of opera creators, administrators, and companies.

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