OPERA America Releases an Encouraging 2024 Annual Field Report
By Afton MarkayOPERA America has released its 2024 Annual Field Report.
These findings provide leaders in the field with a comprehensive overview of the financial health and productivity of opera companies in North America. The report is a tool for those working at and supporting opera companies to understand recent trends in the industry that underpin the operating landscape and to have benchmarks for comparing local progress. Data is drawn from the fiscal year 2023 data submitted by OPERA America’s Professional Company Members (PCMs) in the annual Professional Opera Survey administered by SMU Data Arts. The report aggregates PCMs into five budget groups based on the size of their operating budgets in order to provide general benchmarks for companies of similar size.
The report states, “Opera companies played an important role in their local economies during the 2022–2023 season. They employed and engaged over 40,000 administrators, artists, and trustees in their artistic and civic work. These companies invested over one billion dollars in the economy — a number that grew by 15 percent from the season prior.” It was found that attendance rose 23 percent with 2.09 million in total, that there are 23,700 (+14 percent artists employed, and 15,900 (+12 percent administrators employed.
Other key findings include, “Most New-to-Opera attenders initially come for a new “experience,” and they tend to stick to the classics,” “Many New-to-Opera attenders listen to and watch opera recordings before they attend in person,” with 50 percent having their first experience opera through recordings, “New-to-Opera attenders have positive experiences and are eager to recommend opera to others,” and 52 percent reported that, “Ticket cost prevents audiences from returning more frequently — especially those who are New to Opera.”
OPERA America also found that the top five operas most produced across North America were “Tosca,” “La traviata,” “La bohème,” “The Marriage of Figaro,” and “Carmen.”
The top five operas written by a North American composer produced were “Susannah,” “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” “The Medium,” “Bon Appétit!,” and “The Falling and the Rising” and “Highway 1, U.S.A.” tied in fifth place.
The full report can be found on the OPERA America website.
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