OPERA AMERICA has announced a new initiative, Opera Passport by OPERA America, designed for those who love both opera and travel throughout North America.
Toronto’s Tapestry Opera is a member of the innovative programme that is being called a discount exchange. If you subscribe to one of the member organizations, your reach now extends to 85 opera companies across the continent.
Inspired by similar membership programmes between museums and some theatre companies in the United States, the goal is to help all member organizations build awareness as well as audiences.
The Numbers
Research commissioned by OPERA America paints a picture of the state of opera in the US, and it’s likely the numbers in Canada are similar. They found:
- Average 2022‒2023 ticket sales for opera companies were 22% below pre-pandemic 2018‒2019 levels;
- At the same time, an average of almost 1/3 of all audiences were attending an opera for the first time.
It represents a realistic opportunity, as well as a challenge — audience building depends on returning opera lovers as well as finding new ones.
“Opera Passport by OPERA America encourages audiences to experience opera beyond their hometown,” said Marc A. Scorca, president and CEO of OPERA America, in a statement.
“We’re excited to forge new connections between companies and facilitate affordable access to opera across North America. In this moment of regrowth for the sector, the collaborative spirit of this new initiative — uniting companies large and small, urban and rural — demonstrates our collective role in cultivating the audiences of today and tomorrow.”
The Opera Passport
Along with Tapestry Opera, Canadian companies include Calgary Opera, Manitoba Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, Newfoundland’s Opera on the Avalon, and Vancouver Opera. You can check out Tapestry Opera’s new season announcement in our recent Preview [HERE].
On the US side of the border, there is a long list of participating opera companies from both small and large communities, from Anchorage Opera in Alaska to Ars Lyrica Houston, Boston Lyric Opera, Detroit Opera, LA Opera, Opera Philadelphia, and Hawai’i Opera Theatre.
A full list of participating companies is available [HERE].
Membership, as the slogan goes, has its benefits.
- 10% minimum discounts off tickets at all participating opera companies across North America;
- Available to subscribers and donors at the participating opera companies (some conditions may apply, as determined by each company individually) and to individual members of OPERA America.
If you’re not a member of OPERA America, subscribers can contact their hometown opera company to learn about how to take part in the programme.
Opera companies who are members of OPERA America can still join the programme. To learn more and enrol, company representatives can contact OPERA America at Marketing@operaamerica.org.
What better way to celebrate World Opera Day on October 25?
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Anya Wassenberg is a Senior Writer and Digital Content Editor at Ludwig Van. She is an experienced freelance writer, blogger and writing instructor with OntarioLearn.