OPERA America Awards The 2022 IDEA OPERA RESIDENCIES

OPERA America has announced the recipients of the 2022 IDEA Opera Residencies (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access) program, an initiative that provides New York City-based composers and librettists of color an opportunity to explore opera as an expressive medium. The program is supported by the Katherine S. and Axel G. Rosin Fund of The Scherman Foundation.

The second-year IDEA Opera Resident Artists are:

• Bonita Oliver, composer/librettist
• Yosvany Terry, composer
• Qian Yi, composer/librettist

(See below for additional information about the artists.)

Launched in 2021, the IDEA Opera Residencies are part of a series of programs designed by OPERA America to embrace the talent of BIPOC creators who have not been included adequately in the development of the contemporary American opera repertoire. "The IDEA Opera Residencies celebrate OPERA America's conviction that different perspectives, cultural histories, life experiences, and personal stories will enrich the contemporary American opera repertoire," explained Marc A. Scorca, president/CEO of OPERA America. "This year's residents illustrate the future of contemporary opera and its potential to reflect the world around us."

Each IDEA Opera Resident Artist will receive a one-year residency at OPERA America's National Opera Center and awards totaling $22,500, including grants for the exploration of opera as an artistic medium, career and promotional support, and facility and recording services. In addition, they will receive mentorship from industry leaders, introductions to the field through Opera America Magazine and OPERA America's digital and social platforms, and participation at national convenings including the Opera Conference and New Works Forum.

The IDEA Opera Residencies program is designed to allow Resident Artists the greatest flexibility to advance their careers through opera. As a 2022 Resident Artist, Qian Yi expressed her excitement for the space "to explore and experiment with my own alchemy, to create my own future song from an ancestral promise."

The 2022 grantees were selected from an applicant pool of 14 by an independent adjudication panel of industry experts consisting of Raehann Bryce-Davis, mezzo-soprano; Kamna Gupta, conductor; Kristin Marting, director; Paul Pinto, composer, writer, and multidisciplinary performer; and Huang Ruo, composer and conductor.

The 2022 Resident Artists join the 2021 grantees whose residencies have been extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 IDEA Opera Residencies are Laura Jobin-Acosta, composer; J. Mae Barizo, librettist; and Tamar-kali Brown, composer.

OPERA America's grant programs are designed to increase the depth and breadth of the contemporary American opera repertoire. Since the inception of its granting programs, OPERA America has awarded over $20 million to the opera field to support the work of opera creators, companies, and administrators.

Applications for the next round of IDEA Opera Residencies will open in the first quarter of 2022. More information about OPERA America's grant programs is available at operaamerica.org/Grants.

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