OPERA America Grants $300,000 To 14 Companies To Test Audience Retention Strategies

OPERA America has announced 14 recipients of its new A/B Testing Grants, created to support experimentation in building opera audiences.

Inspired by the organization’s 2024 Understanding Opera’s New Audiences study, the grants encourage companies to design and measure tests aimed at improving newcomer retention, generating fieldwide learning on effective strategies.

Made possible by The Dr. M. Lee Pearce Foundation, Inc., and building on the 2025 publication Engaging Opera’s New Audiences: A Resource Guide to Turn Research into Action, the program supports projects from August 2025 through August 2026. An independent panel of industry experts selected the winners from 48 applicants, with case studies to be published in late 2026.

Grant Recipients and Projects

• Detroit Opera – Tests influencer marketing to frame opera as a fun, social night out.

• Florentine Opera – Compares newcomer retention via email-only versus SMS-enhanced communications.

• Heartbeat Opera – Creates a branded “Opera Virgins” community for first-timers with tailored messaging.

• LA Opera – Tests simplified, curated ticket offers versus generic discounts to reduce decision fatigue.

• Minnesota Opera – Offers personalized digital experiences to demystify productions for newcomers.

• Opera Colorado – Sends “Instant Replay” performance recap videos to encourage second visits.

• Opera Orlando – Adapts donor stewardship techniques—thank-you calls, notes, invitations—for audience retention.

• Opera San José – Compares newcomer response to behind-the-scenes videos versus artist performance clips.

• Pacific Opera Victoria – Tests gamified “scratch-to-win” offers against standard discounts.

• Pittsburgh Opera – Compares one-time discounts to low-cost subscription “Opus Pass” models.

• San Diego Opera – Tests fixed-dollar versus percentage-off discounts for effectiveness.

• Seattle Opera – Places personalized seat cards with show tips and second-show recommendations.

• Utah Symphony | Utah Opera – Examines the impact of pre-show versus post-show customized communications.

• Vancouver Opera – Enhances newcomer emails with exclusive content to encourage reattendance.

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