DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.23293340
Jon Silpayamanant

This resource is an updated version of the New Opera Organizations1 list first posted in 2014 and last updated in 2015. For a few years following that last update I started keeping separate databases2 of the opera companies formed since 2000 in the largest US cities which I hadn’t made public. This current page aggregates all of those separate sources and has been updated to include opera companies3 formed in the past 8 years or so.

One of the motivations for creating the initial list was the latest “classical music crisis” debate (ca. 2008-2016)4 and, in particular, cries of the “Death of Opera.” I felt things were overstated, especially as I’d been performing with a few of these newer organizations5 during the time. The resource has been useful for a number of folks opposite the side of those seeing opera’s death knells.6

As with all of the resources, bibliographies, and lists here at Mae Mai, this is a work in progress so please bookmark and check back in occasionally. For regular updates on this page and other resources, please follow me on twitter @Silpayamanant. And as mentioned in the earlier version of this page, feel free to comment below, email me (silpayamanant@gmail.com), or post to my social media (see sidebar) for anything I might have missed or for any info that needs to be corrected.

PUBLISHED 5/29/2023; UPDATED 6/05/2023 (439 Organizations)

IMAGE:

  • tl: “Omar” (2022) music by Rhiannon Giddens/Michael Abels; libretto by Omar ibn Said/Giddens
  • tr: “Lotus Lives” (2011) music by Su Lian Tan; libretto by Anne Babson; video by Tim Bartlett
  • bl: “Ke Kaua o Kuamoʻo” (2019) music/libretto by Herb Mahelona
  • br: “Ìrìn Àjò” (2018) music/libretto by Olabode Festus Omojola

2000 (15)

  1. Capital Opera Harrisburg (Harrisburg, PA) – [URL]
  2. Columbia Musical Theater Society (New York, NY) – [URL][FB]
  3. dell’Arte Opera Ensemble (New York, NY) – [URL]
  4. First Coast Opera (St. Augustine, FL) – [URL]
  5. Heartland Opera Network (Columbus, OH) – [URL]
  6. Henry Street Chamber Opera (New York, NY) – [URL] not active
  7. MORE (Manhattan Opera Repertory Ensemble) Opera (NY, New York) – [URL]
  8. Opera Coeur d’Alene (Coeur d’Alene, ID) – [URL]
  9. Opera Company of Brooklyn (Brooklyn, NY) – [URL]
  10. Pineda Lyric Opera Company (Scotch Plains, NJ) – [URL]
  11. Riverside Lyric Opera (Riverside, CA) – [URL]
  12. Salt Marsh Opera Company (Stonington, CT) – [URL]
  13. Solo Opera (San Francisco, CA) – [URL]
  14. Wichita Grand Opera (Wichita, KS) – [URL]
  15. Youth Opera of South Jersey (Ocean City, NJ) – [URL]

2001 (21)

  1. AACC Opera (Arnold, MD) – [URL]
  2. The A. J. Fletcher Opera Institute (Winston-Salem, NC) – [URL] merger of National Opera Company with the University of North Carolina School of the Arts School of Music’s graduate opera program
  3. Concert Operetta Theater (Philadelphia, PA) – [URL]
  4. Coney Island Opera and Symphony Orchestra (New York, NY) – [URL] not-active
  5. Downtown Opera (Long Beach, CA)  – [URL] dead link, inactive? for info go here: [LINK]
  6. Elgin Opera (Elgin, IL) – [URL] dead link; closed in 2013 [LINK]; founded as Opera Professional Entertainers Repertoire Association (O.P.E.R.A.) in 2001.
  7. Elgin OPERA Training & Performing Ensemble (the “EOTPE”) (Elgin, IL) – [URL] dead link
  8. Gotham Chamber Opera (New York, NY) – [URL] not-active
  9. Harlem Opera Theater (New York, NY) – [URL]
  10. Inland Northwest Opera (Spokane, WA) – [URL]
  11. The Italian Opera Company of Chicago (Chicago, IL) – [URL]
  12. New England Light Opera (Lexington, MA) – [URL]
  13. New Musical Theater of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA) – [URL] formerly Not Quite Opera Productions
  14. Opera AACC (Arnold, MD) – [URL]
  15. Opera Quad Cities (Moline, IL) – [URL]
  16. Opera Theatre of Weston (Weston, VT) – [URL]
  17. Palmetto Opera (Columbia, SC) – [URL]
  18. Pikes Peak Opera League (Colorado Springs, CO) – [URL]
  19. Sun Valley Opera (Ketchum, ID) – [URL]
  20. Syracuse University Opera Theatre (Syracuse, NY) – [URL][LINK]
  21. VOICExperience (Palm Harbor, FL) – [URL]

2002 (15)

  1. American Opera Theater (Washington D.C.) – [URL] no longer active
  2. Bethesda Summer Music Festival (Bethesda, MD) – [URL]
  3. Capital Opera (Raleigh, NC) – [URL] dead link, merged with  Opera Company of North Carolina to form North Carolina Opera (2010)
  4. Emerald City Opera (Steamboat Springs, CO) – [URL]
  5. Fort Worth Opera Studio (Fort Worth, TX) – [URL]
  6. Lyric Opera of Los Angeles (South Pasadena, CA) – [URL]
  7. Motor City Lyric Opera (Detroit, MI) – [URL]
  8. Northern Light Opera Company (Park Rapids, MN) – [URL]
  9. Opera New Jersey (Princeton, NJ) – [URL] dead link, closed
  10. Opera Pacifica (West Olympia, WA) – [URL] dead link, no longer active?
  11. Opera Steamboat (Steamboat Springs, CO) – [URL]
  12. Real Time Opera (RTO) (Contoocook, NH/Oberlin, OH) – [URL] dead link
  13. Remarkable Theater Brigade (New York, NY) – [URL] not-active
  14. Rice Light Opera Society (Houston, TX) – [URL]
  15. Sugar Creek Opera (Watseka, IL) – [URL]

2003 (21)

  1. Astoria Opera Company (New York, NY) – [URL]
  2. Bel Cantanti (Washington D.C.) – [URL]
  3. Boston Wagner Society (Boston, MA) – [URL]
  4. Connecticut Lyric Opera (New London, CT) – [URL]
  5. East Harlem Opera (New York, NY) – [URL] dead link
  6. Greater Worcester Opera (Rutland, MA) – [URL]
  7. High Desert Opera (Grand Junction, CO) – [URL]
  8. Intermezzo: The New England Chamber Opera Series (Boston, MA) – [URL] (disbanded 2014)
  9. International Opera Theater (Philadelphia, PA) – [URL]
  10. Jacksonville Opera Theatre (Jacksonville, AL) – [URL]
  11. Opera Boston (Boston, MA) – [URL] closed in 2012
  12. Opera in the Slope (New York, NY) – [URL][FB]
  13. Opera Moda (Chicago, IL) – [URL] dead link
  14. Opera Unlimited (Albuquerque, NM) – [URL]
  15. Opera Unlimited (Boston, MA) – [URL][LINK]
  16. Nevada Chamber Opera (Reno, NV) – [URL]
  17. The New Opera (Williamstown, MA) – [URL]
  18. Repertory Opera Company (Pamona, CA) – [URL]
  19. Soo Opera (Sault Ste. Marie, MI) – [URL]
  20. Sounds of South Dakota (Sioux Falls, SD) – [URL]
  21. Skagit Opera (Mount Vernon, WA) – [URL]

2004 (16)

  1. The American Center for Puccini Studies (Derwood, MD) – [URL]
  2. Brown University Gilbert and Sullivan (Providence, RI) – [URL] dead link
  3. Chelsea Opera (New York, NY) – [URL]
  4. Diamond Opera Theater (Hudson, NY) – [URL] formerly Hudson Chamber Opera
  5. East Village Opera Company (New York, NY) – [URL] not active??
  6. Imagine Opera (Minneapolis, MN) – [URL]
  7. the Little Opera Theatre of New York (New York, NY) – [URL]
  8. Living Opera (Garland, TX) – [URL] link dead, closed in 2010: see following for info [LINK]
  9. Lyric Opera of the North (Duluth, MN) – [URL]
  10. Miami Lyric Opera (Miami, FL) – [URL]
  11. Nickel City Opera (Buffalo, NY) – [URL]
  12. Object Collection (New York, NY) – [URL]
  13. Opera Company of Middlebury (Middlebury, VT) – [URL]
  14. Opera Exposures (New York, NY) – [URL]
  15. Opera Western Reserve (Youngstown, OH) – [URL]
  16. Underworld Productions Opera Ensemble (New York, NY) – [URL]

2005 (29)

  1. Arlington Opera Ensemble (Arlington, VA) – [URL]
  2. American Lyric Theater (New York, NY) – [URL]
  3. Boston Opera Collaborative (Boston, MA) – [URL]
  4. Brown Opera Productions (Providence, RI) – [URL] dead link–inactive?; Facebook [FB]
  5. The Bostonian Opera & Concert Ensemble (Boston, MA) – [URL] ruling date is 2005, founding date unclear
  6. Center Stage Opera (Reseda, CA) – [URL]
  7. Chatham Opera (Chatham, NJ) – [URL]
  8. Citywide Youth Opera (New York, NY) – [URL]
  9. Collective Opera Company (New York, NY) – [URL]
  10. Commonwealth Lyric Theater (Boston, MA) – [URL]
  11. Duluth Festival Opera (Duluth, MN) – [URL]
  12. Green Mountain Opera Festival (Waitsfield, VT) – [URL]
  13. Loveland Opera Theatre (Loveland, CO) – [URL]
  14. Lyric Light Opera (Mount Vernon, WA) – [URL]
  15. Lyric Opera Northwest (Seattle, WA) – [URL]
  16. Mercury Opera Rochester (Rochester, NY) – [URL] merger of Opera Rochester, Rochester Opera Factory, and the Opera Theatre Guild of Rochester [LINK]
  17. Opera Academy of California (San Francisco, CA) – [URL]
  18. Opera Collective (New York, NY) – [URL]
  19. Opera Fairbanks (Fairbanks, AK) – [URL]
  20. Opera Leggera (Kingwood, TX) – [URL]
  21. Opera Naples (Naples, CA) – [URL]
  22. Opera on Tap (Brooklyn, NY; New Orleans, LA; Chicago, IL; Boston, MA; Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; Denton, TX; Atlanta, GA; Ann Arbor/ Ypsilanti, MI; Seattle, WA; The Twin Cities, MN) – [URL]
  23. Opera on the James (Lynchburg, VA) – [URL]
  24. Opera Theater Oregon (Portland, OR) – [URL]
  25. Phoenix Opera (Phoenix, AR) – [URL]
  26. Pioneers Go East Collective (New York, NY) – [URL]
  27. The Princeton Festival (Princeton, NJ) – [URL]
  28. South Texas Lyric Opera (McAllen, TX) – [URL]
  29. Young Opera Company of New England (North Reading, MA) – [URL]

2006 (30)

  1. Ardea Arts (New York City, NY) – [URL]
  2. Bellissima Opera (Chicago, IL) – [URL]
  3. Beth Morrison Projects: Indie Opera and New Music (New York, NY) – [URL]
  4. Black Box Opera Theater (Seattle, WA) – [URL]
  5. Boston Midsummer Opera (MA) – [URL]
  6. Brooklyn Repertory Opera (New York, NY) – [URL]
  7. Chicago Folks Operetta (Chicago, IL) – [URL]
  8. Chicago Opera Vanguard (Chicago, IL) – [URL] dead link
  9. Eastside Lyric Theatre (Bellevue, WA) – [URL]
  10. Light Opera of New York (LOONY) (New York, NY) – [URL]
  11. Maryland Concert Opera (Frederick, MD) – [URL]
  12. New Moon Theater (Baltimore, MD) – [URL]
  13. North Shore Opera Hour (Chicago, IL) – [URL]
  14. Opera Cabal (Chicago, IL) – [URL]
  15. Opera Cleveland (Cleveland, OH) – [URL] closed 2010. Merger of Cleveland Opera and Lyric Opera Cleveland
  16. Opera del West (Boston, MA) – [URL]
  17. Opera Parallèle (San Francisco, CA) – [URL]
  18. Opera Per Tutti (Chardon, OH) – [URL]
  19. Opera Vista (Houston, TX) – [URL]
  20. OperaGram.com (Chicago, IL) – [URL]
  21. OperaSouth (Atlanta, GA) – [URL]
  22. Operation Opera (New York, NY) – [URL]
  23. Panoply Performance Laboratories (PPL) (New York, NY) – [URL]
  24. Pennsylvania Lyric Opera Theater (Stroudsburg, PA) – [URL]
  25. Puget Sound Opera (Seattle, WA) – [URL]
  26. Really Spicy Opera (Boston, MA) – [URL]
  27. Rockford Operetta Party (Rockford, IL) – [URL]
  28. thingNY (New York, NY) – [URL]
  29. Undercroft Opera (Pttsburgh, PA) – [URL]
  30. Ventura County Gilbert and Sullivan Company (Camarillo, CA) – [URL]

2007 (21)

  1. Baltimore Rock Opera Society (Baltimore, MD) – [URL]
  2. Empire Opera (New York, NY) – [URL]
  3. Fremont Opera (Fremont, CA) – [URL]
  4. Guerilla Opera (Boston, MA) – [URL]
  5. Lone Star Lyric Theater Festival & Cabaret (Houston, TX) – [URL]
  6. Loudonn Lyric Opera (Leesburg, VA) – [URL]
  7. MetroWest Opera (Boston, MA) – [URL]
  8. Opera Frontier (San Francisco, CA) – [URL]
  9. Opera Louisiane (Baton Rouge, LA) – [URL]
  10. Opera OGGI New York (New York, NY) – [URL]
  11. OperaHub (Boston, MA) – [URL]
  12. Pacific MusicWorks (Seattle, WA) – [URL] formerly Pacific OperaWorks
  13. Petite Opera Productions (Des Plaines, IL) – [URL]
  14. Pineda Lyric Opera Company (Cranford, NJ) – [URL]
  15. Reimagining Opera for Kids (ROK) (Bloomington, IN) – [URL]
  16. Rhymes With Opera (Baltimore, MD & New York, NY) – [URL]
  17. Roundabout Opera for Kids: Cincinnati (Cincinnati, OH) – [URL]
  18. St. Petersburg Opera Company (St. Petersburg, FL) – [URL]
  19. Taos Opera Institute (Taos Ski Valley, NM) – [URL]
  20. Winter Opera St. Louis (St. Louis, MO) – [URL]
  21. Yale Baroque Opera Project (New Haven, CT) – [URL]

2008 (25)

  1. The Bluegrass Opera (Lexington, KY) – [URL]
  2. Boston Metro Opera (Boston, MA) – [URL]
  3. Charleston Chamber Opera (Charleston, SC) – [URL]
  4. Chicago Opera Playhouse (Chicago, IL) – [URL] dead link
  5. Different Voice Opera Project (Boston, MA) – [URL]
  6. Grand Strand Opera Workshop (Myrtle Beach, SC) – [URL]
  7. Greater Chicago Opera Company and Guild (Chicago, IL) – [URL] dead link
  8. Hillhouse Opera Company (New Haven, CT) – [URL]
  9. Hubbard Hall Opera Theater (Cambridge, NY) – [URL]
  10. Los Angeles Metropolitan Opera (Los Angeles, CA) – [URL]
  11. Los Angeles Rock Opera Company (Los Angeles, CA) – [URL]
  12. Mimesis Ensemble (New York, NY) – [URL]
  13. Montana Lyric Opera (Missoula, MT) – [URL]
  14. Open Opera (San Francisco, CA) – [URL]
  15. Opera Bob (Minneapolis, MN) – [URL]
  16. Opera Breve (New York, NY) – [URL]
  17. Opera For Humanity (New York, NY) – [URL] dead link
  18. Opera Omnia (New York, NY) – [URL]
  19. Opera Manhattan (Astoria, NY) – [URL]
  20. San Francisco Parlor Opera (San Francisco, CA) – [URL] inactive??
  21. Satori Opera (New York, NY) – [URL]
  22. South Shore Opera Company (Chicago,IL) – [URL]
  23. Vashon Opera (Vashon, WA) – [URL]
  24. Verismo Opera (Fairfield, CA) – [URL]
  25. Wye Operetta Workshop (Wye Mills, MD) – [URL][LINK]

2009 (25)

  1. Amore Opera (New York, NY) – [URL]
  2. Apollo Opera (New York, NY) – [URL]
  3. Baltimore Concert Opera (Baltimore, MD) – [URL]
  4. Bleecker Street Opera (New York, NY) – [URL]
  5. Candid Concert Opera (Chicago, IL) – [URL] [FB]
  6. Chesapeake Chamber Opera (Baltimore, MD) – [URL]; folded 2011?? [LINK]
  7. The Figaro Project (Baltimore, MD) – [URL]
  8. Florida Opera Theater (Orlando, FL) – [URL]
  9. Fresco Opera Theatre (Madison, WI) – [URL]
  10. GLOW Lyric Theatre (Greenville, SC) – [URL] founded as Greenville Light Opera Works
  11. Land of Enchantment Opera (Gallup, NM) – [URL]
  12. Lawrence Opera Theatre (Lawrence, KS) – [URL]
  13. Metropolis Opera Project (New York, NY) – [URL]
  14. Morningside Opera (New York, NY) – [URL]
  15. Opera Dolce (New York, NY) – [URL]
  16. Opera Hispánica (New York, NY) – [URL]
  17. Opera on Tap Chicago (Chicago, IL) – [URL]
  18. Opera Project Carmel (Carmel, CA) – [URL]
  19. operamission (New York, NY) – [URL]
  20. Peach State Opera (Lawrenceville, GA) – [URL]
  21. Pocket Opera NY (New York, NY) – [URL] dead link
  22. Riverbend Opera Company (Arlington, VA) – [URL]
  23. Southern Arizona Opera Company (Tuscon, AZ) – [URL]
  24. Triangle Opera Studios (Durham, NC) – [URL]
  25. UrbanArias (Arlington, VA) – [URL]

2010 (27)

  1. Augusta Opera (Augusta, GA) – [URL] dead link, [FB]
  2. Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Pasadena & Greater Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA) – [URL]
  3. Greater Hartford Opera Company (Hartford, CT) – [URL]
  4. Hartford Opera Theater (Hartford, CT) – [URL]
  5. Haymarket Opera Company (Chicago, IL) – [URL]
  6. International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival – Gettysburg (Gettysburg, PA) – [URL]
  7. Hub Opera Ensemble (Hagerstown, MD) – [URL]
  8. Kansas City Metro Opera (Kansas City, MO) – [URL]
  9. Loon Opera Company (Bemidji, MN) – [URL]
  10. The Microscopic Opera Company (Pittsburgh, PA) – [URL]
  11. Mill City Summer Opera (Minneapolis, MN) – [URL]
  12. North Carolina Opera (Raleigh, NC) – [URL] formed from merger of The Opera Company of North Carolina and Capital Opera Raleigh
  13. North Central College Summer Light Opera (Naperville, IL) – [URL]
  14. Opera Greenville (Greenville, SC) – [URL] dead link, [FB]
  15. Opera Inter Alia (Chicago, IL) – [FB] formerly “Opera Nite”
  16. Opera Players of LA (Los Angeles, CA) – [URL] dead link; [FB]
  17. Opera Povera (Los Angles, CA) – [URL]
  18. Opera Slavica (New York, NY) – [URL]
  19. OPERAnauts (????) – [URL] dead link; [FB]
  20. Poor Richard’s Opera (Philadelphia, PA) – [URL]
  21. Rocky Mountain Opera Company (Colorado Springs, CO) – [URL] dead link; [FB]
  22. Russian Opera Workshop (Philadelphia, PA) – [URL]
  23. Southwest Virginia Opera Company (Wise, VA) – [URL] (UV at Wise organization)
  24. UrbanArias (Arlington, VA) – [URL]
  25. Verismo Opera Theater (Oak Park, IL) – [URL]
  26. West Hudson Opera (Union City, NJ) – [URL]
  27. The Wilbury Theatre Group (Providence, RI) – [URL]

2011 (33)

  1. American Chamber Opera (Chicago, IL) – [URL]
  2. Comedy Opera Troupe (New York, NY) – [URL]
  3. Dramma Per Musica (New York, NY) – [URL] dead link
  4. Eastern Opera of New Jersey (Warren, NJ) – [URL]
  5. Experiments in Opera (New York, NY) – [URL]
  6. The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Louisville (Louisville, KY) – [URL]
  7. Helios Early Opera (Boston, MA) – [URL]
  8. The Industry (Los Angeles, CA) – [URL]
  9. Intimate Opera of Indianapolis (Indianapolis, IN) – [URL]
  10. Inverse Opera (Seattle, WA) – [URL]
  11. Kyrenia Opera (New York, NY) – [URL]
  12. Little Opera (San Francisco, CA) – [URL]
  13. Lyric Opera Baltimore (Baltimore, MD) – [URL]
  14. Lyric Opera Virginia (Virginia Beach, VA) – [URL]
  15. Minnesota Concert Opera (MN) – [URL]
  16. NY Opera Exchange (New York, NY) – [URL]
  17. Opera Bravura (San Jose, CA) – [URL]
  18. Opera Company of the Highlands (Newburgh, NY) – [URL] dead link
  19. Opera Cowgirls (New York, NY) – [URL]
  20. Opera Fusion: New Works (OF:NW) (Cincinnati, OH) – [URL]
  21. Opera Moderne (New York, NY) [URL]
  22. Opera MODO (Detroit, MI) – [URL]
  23. Opera on Tap Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA) – [URL]
  24. Opera Project Columbus (Columbus, OH) – [URL]
  25. Opera Remix (Modesto, CA) – [URL] (side project of Townsend Opera)
  26. Operation: Opera (New York, NY) – [URL] dead link
  27. Pacific Opera Project (Los Angeles, CA) – [URL]
  28. Palisades Opera (Nyack, NY) – [URL]
  29. Siren Baroque (New York, NY) – [URL]
  30. Thompson Street Opera Company (Louisville, KY) – [URL]
  31. The Unstuffy Divas (New York, NY) – [URL] dead link
  32. Utopia Opera (New York, NY) – [URL]
  33. Vespertine Opera Theater (Seattle, WA) – [URL]

2012 (34)

  1. The 9th Ward Opera Company (New Orleans, LA) – [URL]
  2. Berkeley Chamber Opera (BCO) (Berkeley, CA) – [URL]
  3. Boulder Opera Company (Boulder, CO) – [URL]
  4. Cincinnati Chamber Opera (Cincinnati, OH) – [URL]
  5. Comic Opera Guild (Ann Arbor, MI) – [URL]
  6. Connecticut Summer Opera (Woodbury, CT) – [URL]
  7. Finger Lakes Opera (Rochester, NY) – [URL]
  8. Great Lakes Light Opera (Cleveland, OH) – [URL]
  9. Free Range Opera Theater (Mountain View, CA) – [URL]
  10. Greensboro Light Opera and Song (Greensboro, NC) – [URL]
  11. Handel Opera Project (Berkeley, CA) – [URL]
  12. Independent Opera Company (Los Angles, CA) – [URL] dead link
  13. The Industry (Los Angeles, CA) – [URL]
  14. Kingwood Summer Opera (Houston, TX) – [URL]
  15. Light Opera of Portland (Beaverton, OR) – [URL]
  16. LoftOpera (New York, NY) – [URL]
  17. NEMPAC Opera Project (Boston, MA) – [URL]
  18. New Fangled Opera (New Orleans, LA) – [URL]
  19. New Light Opera (New York City, NY) – [URL][LINK]
  20. New Opera NYC (New York, NY) – [URL] dead link
  21. New Voices Opera (Bloomington, IN) – [URL]
  22. North American New Opera Workshop (Cincinnati, OH) – [URL]
  23. On Site Opera (New York, NY) – [URL]
  24. One Ounce Opera (Austin, TX) – [URL]
  25. Opera Bend (Bend, OR) – [URL]
  26. Opera Charleston (Charleston, SC) – [URL]
  27. Opera NEO (San Diego, California) – [URL]
  28. Opera on Tap Boston (Boston, MA) – [URL]
  29. Opera Piccola San Antonio (San Antonio, TX) – [URL]
  30. Opera San Antonio (San Antonio, TX) – [URL]
  31. PROTOTYPE Festival (New York, NY) – [URL]
  32. Queen City Chamber Opera (Cincinnati, OH) – [URL]
  33. Redlands Opera Theatre (Redlands, CA) – [URL]
  34. Vital Opera (New York, NY) – [URL]

2013 (21)

  1. Ars Minerva (San Francisco, CA) – [URL]
  2. Chamber Opera Players of LA (Los Angeles, CA) – [URL]
  3. Fire Island Opera Festival (Fire Island Pines, NY) – URL]
  4. Golden Rose Opera Works – G.R.O.W. (Forest Hills, NY) – [URL] [LINK] no website yet, but incorporated in 2013
  5. International Brazilian Opera Company (New York, NY & Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) – [URL]
  6. L’Opera Burlesque (New York, NY) – [URL] dead link
  7. Marylhurst Chorale and the Choral Union (Marylhurst, OR) – [URL][LINK]
  8. Maryland Lyric Opera (Upper Marlboro, MD) – [URL]
  9. MidAtlantic Opera Company (Morristown, NJ) – [URL]
  10. New York Lyric Opera Theatre (New York City, NY) – [URL]
  11. Odyssey Opera (Boston, MA) – [URL]
  12. Opera Animata (Los Angeles, CA) – [URL]
  13. Opera Brittenica (Boston, MA) – [URL] dead link
  14. Opera Park Slope (New York, NY) – [URL] dead link
  15. Opera Theatre of Montclair (Montclair, NJ) – [URL]
  16. Opera Wyoming (Southwest, Wyoming)? – [URL]
  17. Panopera (Brattleboro, VT) – [URL]
  18. Resonance Works | Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA) – [URL]
  19. The Singers’ Theatre of Washington (Alexandria, VA) – [URL]
  20. Theater Plastique (New York, NY) – [URL]
  21. This Side Up Ensemble (Tallahassee, FL) – [URL]

2014 (24)

  1. Ariadne Project (New York, NY) – [URL]
  2. Bare Opera (New York, NY) – [URL]
  3. Black Tie Opera (Los Angeles, CA) – [URL] dead link
  4. Chicago Fringe Opera (Chicago, IL) – [URL] [FB]
  5. Desert Opera (Palm Desert, CA) – [URL]
  6. Fresh Squeezed Opera Company (New York City, NY) – [URL]
  7. Gulfshore Opera (Naples, FL) – [URL] [FB]
  8. Hartford Wagner Festival (Hartford, CT) – [URL]
  9. Heartbeat Opera (New York, NY) – [URL]
  10. IconoClassic Opera (New York, NY) – [URL] dead link
  11. Island City Opera (Alameda, CA) – [URL]
  12. Journey North Opera Company (Richfield, MN) – [URL]
  13. Light Opera of New Jersey (Basking Ridge, NJ) – [URL]
  14. Opera Cooperative (New York, NY) – [URL] dead link
  15. Opera Elect (Boise, ID) – [URL]
  16. Opera Fusion (South Florida) – [URL] dead link
  17. Opera Upper West (New York, NY) – [URL] expired
  18. Pittsburgh Verdi and Wagner Society (Pittsburgh, PA) – [URL]
  19. Princeton Opera Alliance (Pinceton, NJ) – [URL]
  20. Project Opera (Baton Rouge, LA) – [FB] LSU Ensemble
  21. Respiro Opera (New York, NY) – [URL]
  22. The Secret Opera (New York, NY) – [URL]
  23. Venture Opera (NYC, NY) – [URL] [FB]
  24. WhiteboxLab Sound Lounge (New York, NY) – [URL]

2015 (16)

  1. Angel City Opera (Los Angeles, CA) – [URL] dead link
  2. Apotheosis Opera Company (New York City, NY) – [URL]
  3. Bay Area Opera Collaborative (San Jose, CA) – [URL]
  4. Floating Opera NY (New York, NY) – [URL] dead link
  5. Greve Opera Academy and Music Festival (New Britain, CT/Greve-in-Chianti, Florence, IT) – [URL]
  6. MasterVoices (New York City, NY) – [URL]
  7. Metro East Opera (New York/Philadelphia) – [URL][TW]
  8. OperaRox Presents (New York, NY) – [URL] dead link
  9. Opera Lebanon (Lebanon, NH) – [URL]
  10. Opera Projects for University Singers (OPUS) (Evanston, IL) – [URL]
  11. Opera Theater Unlimited (OTU) (San Francisco, CA) – [URL] dead link
  12. Painted Sky Opera (Oklahoma City, OK) – [URL]
  13. Phénix Opera Company (San Francisco, CA) – [URL]
  14. Shakespeare Opera Theatre (The Plains, VA) – [URL]
  15. Southern Opera Theatre Company (Carrollton, GA) – [URL]
  16. Tabor College Opera (Hillsboro, KS) – [URL]

2016 (11)

  1. Berkshire Opera Festival (BOF) (Berkshires, MA) – [URL]
  2. Chautauqua Opera Company (Chautauqua, NY) – [URL] dead link
  3. City Lyric Opera (CLO) (New York City, NY) – [URL]
  4. EaDo Lyric Theatre (Houston, TX) – [URL] dead link
  5. Geneva Opera (Geneva, NY) – [URL]
  6. Heartbeat Opera (New York City, NY) – [URL]
  7. New Camerata Opera (NCO) (Brooklyn, NY) – [URL]
  8. Roman Borgman Opera Theatre (New York, NY) – [URL] dead link
  9. Stafford Opera Troupe (Stafford, VA) – [URL]
  10. University of St Andrews Opera Society (St. Andrews, SC)) – [URL]
  11. Wilmington Concert Opera (Wilmington, DE) – [URL]

2017 (14)

  1. American Baroque Opera Co. (Dallas/Fort Worth, TX) – [URL]
  2. American Modern Opera Company (New York City, NY) – [URL]
  3. Four Corners Ensemble: Operation Opera (Various) – [URL]
  4. Gramercy Opera (New York City, NY) – [URL]
  5. Hub City Opera and Dance Company (New Brunswick, NJ) – [URL]
  6. Maryland Opera (Baltimore, MD) – [URL]
  7. Nebraska Opera Project (Omaha, NB) – [URL] dead link
  8. Opera del Sol (Orlando, FL) – [URL]
  9. Opera on the Vine (Richland, WA) – [URL]
  10. Opera Southern (Baton Rouge, LA) – [URL][LINK]
  11. Out of the Box Opera (Minneapolis, MN) – [URL]
  12. Queens Opera Theatre (Queens, New York City, NY) – [URL]
  13. Queer Opera (Portland, OR) – [URL]
  14. Teatro Nuovo (New York City, NY) – [URL]

2018 (6)

  1. An Opera Theatre (AOT) (Minneapolis, MN) – [URL]
  2. Lowbrow Opera Collective (Seattle, WA) – [URL]
  3. New York Opera Conservatory (NYOC) (Westchester County, NY) – [URL]
  4. North Carolina Summer Opera (Cary, NC) – [URL] dead link
  5. Opera Huntsville (Huntsville, AL) – [URL]
  6. Opera Wyoming (Casper, WY) – [URL]

2019 (13)

  1. Alter Ego Chamber Opera (Philadelphia, PA) – [URL]
  2. Atlanta Concert Opera (Atlanta, GA) – [URL]
  3. Bloomington Chamber Opera (Bloomington, IN) – [URL]
  4. Enigma Chamber Opera (Boston, MA) – [URL]
  5. Greylock Opera Collective (North Adams, MA) – [URL]
  6. Holy City Arts & Lyric Opera (Mount Pleasant, SC) – [URL]
  7. Landlocked Opera (Kansas City, MO) – [URL]
  8. Mission Opera (Santa Clarita, CA) – [URL]
  9. Moon River Opera (Savannah, GA) – [URL]
  10. Numi Opera (Los Angeles, CA) – [URL]
  11. Opera4Kids (Oceanside, CA) – [URL]
  12. Opera on The Lake (St. Paul, MN) – [URL]
  13. River City Opera (Richmond, VA) – [URL]

2020 (10)

  1. Catapult Opera (New Yrok City, NY) – [URL]
  2. Charleston Opera Theater (Charleston, SC) – [URL]
  3. Franklin Light Opera (Franklin, TN) – [URL]
  4. Helios Opera (New York/Boston/Houston) – [URL]
  5. La Selva Opera (Broadway Heights, OH) – [URL]
  6. Radio Opera Workshop (MA) – [URL]
  7. Strange Trace (Various) – [URL]
  8. Texas Opera Alliance (Austin/Dalla/Fort Worth/Houston/San Antonio) – [URL]
  9. Up Till Now Collective (New York City, NY) – [URL]
  10. Zombie Opera (Jersey City, NJ) – [URL]

2021 (4)

  1. Amelia Island Opera (AIO) (Fernandina Beach, FL) – [URL]
  2. Cabaletta Productions (Eugene, OR) – [URL]
  3. Chandler Opera Company (Chandler, AZ) – [URL]
  4. The Why Collective – (New York City, NY (Chelsea/Manhattan)) – [URL]

2022 (8)

  1. Marshall Opera (New York City, NY) – [URL]
  2. Mystic Side Opera Company (Malden, MA) – [URL]
  3. Opera Arlington (Arlington, TX) – [URL]
  4. Opera Cecilia (Camas, WA) – [URL]
  5. Opera in the Pines (Portland, ME) – [URL]
  6. OrpheusPDX (Portland, OR) – [URL]
  7. Paradox Opera (Raleigh, NC) – [URL]
  8. Traverse City Opera (Traverse City, MI) – [URL]

NOTES

1. In addition to the old page (Silpayamanant, 2014a) please also see the two posts with preliminary remarks (Silpayamanant, 2014b and 2014c).

2. A lot of these other databases were hosted at Airtable or at Google Sheets as I was testing other ways of presenting the data. I maintained separate spreadsheets for New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Boston, and my home state of Indiana.

3. There’s been at least some debate over what constitutes an “opera company” (see comments on McLennan’s piece, 2016) but those are immaterial for my purposes for several reasons. All of the organizations above perform at opera or operettas either primarily, or partially. Most opera companies nowadays (at least in the US) often perform musicals or musical theater on occasion. Lastly, much new work blur these genres very liberally, or even create hybridized works with other non-European musical dramatic forms. Any definition that would exclude many of these groups would just as easily exclude the vast majority of organizations that most people would have no issues with calling an opera company.

4. Scott Chamberlain (2014) has a nice synopsis and critique of one of some of the controversy, though I’m not sure why he credits the “What is Killing Classical Music?” chart from the New Yorker to Charles Rosen as Will Robin (2014) clearly states it was Andy Doe that created the infographic and is confirmed by Doe (2014). As the New Yorker is no longer hosting the infographic, Doe’s page is where you can find a high res version. The bottom right of the image also has the credits (Will Robin and Andy Doe) right under properdiscord.com (and you might also notice a couple of other familiar names there).

5. I’d performed a number of productions with the Thompson Street Opera Company (while it was based in Louisville, KY) and the Soo Opera (Sault Saint Marie, MI) in addition to sharing a bill with Nanoworks Opera at a Classical Revolution Cincinnati event.

6. See DuBose (2019), McLennon (2016), Rivera (2014), and Sadler (2022). While I hadn’t started the original list when Alex Ross (2013) mentioned the 1681 Christoforo Ivanovich quote about the decline of opera, that quote, and one I’d read about Handel making similar comments about the sate of opera in London, really primed me for compiling one.

REFERENCES

Chamberlain, Scott. (2014, July 20). Greg Sandow and the “Death of Opera” [Online]. Mask of the Flower Prince. https://maskoftheflowerprince.wordpress.com/2014/07/20/greg-sandow-and-the-death-of-opera/.

Doe, Andy. (2014, January 29). What’s Killing Classical Music? [Online]. https://properdiscord.com/2014/01/29/whats-killing-classical-music/.

DuBose, Sequina. (2019). The Impact of Genre Fusion and Improvisational Elements in 21st-Century Operas on Vocal Pedagogy and Performance Practice [DMA Dissertation: University of Maryland]. DRUM (Digital Repository at the University of Maryland). DOI: 10.13016/rkh4-vewe.

McLennan, Douglas. (2016, August 2). Is Opera The Real 21st Century Art Form? [Online]. diacritical. https://www.artsjournal.com/diacritical/2016/08/is-opera-the-real-21st-century-art-form.html.

Rivera, Jennifer. (2014, October 2; updated December 2). The Rumors of Opera’s Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated (Pt. 1) [Online]. Huffpost.com. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ten-organizations-proving_b_5903934.

Robin, Will. (2014, January 29). Classical Music Isn’t Dead [Online]. New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-fat-lady-is-still-singing.

Ross, Alex. (2013, September 15). The Opera Crisis at 332 [Online]. The Rest is Noise. https://www.therestisnoise.com/2013/09/the-opera-crisis-at-332.html.

Sadler, Cindy. (2022). Small Opera, Big Voice: The Role of Small Opera Companies in Eliminating Elitism in Modern Opera Ecology [Masters Thesis: Goucher College]. MDSOAR (Maryland Shared Open Access Repository). https://mdsoar.org/handle/11603/24546.

Silpayamanant, Jon. (2014a, May 26; updated 2015, January January 23). New Opera Organizations: Opera Companies Formed in the US Since 2000 [Online]. Mae Mai. https://silpayamanant.wordpress.com/new-music-ensembles-in-the-us/new-opera-organizations/.

Silpayamanant, Jon. (2014b, May 31). New Opera Companies and New Operas since 2000 [Online]. Mae Mai. https://silpayamanant.wordpress.com/2014/05/31/new-opera-companies-and-new-operas-since-2000/.

Silpayamanant, June. (2014c, June 12). Opera in the 21st Century [Online]. Mae Mai. https://silpayamanant.wordpress.com/2014/06/12/opera-in-the-21st-century/.