OPERA America has released a statement about the leaked emails from its “professional development” listserv.

The organization said, “this past weekend a series of emails that included disrespectful and harmful language was taken out of context and out of order from a private OPERA America listserv and published on social media. We recognize and deeply regret that material on one of our platforms has had this painful impact on the field, particularly on young artists and trans and queer colleagues.”

The statement continued, “OPERA America listservs provide a forum for members of our professional networks to engage in open discourse, learn from peers, and identify issues for discussion in group calls and convenings. The opinions expressed by our members on our listservs do not represent OPERA America’s positions but inform our commitment to engage the field on crucial topics. The emails released this weekend were responses to a call for discussion topics for an upcoming meeting. The fervor of responses has demonstrated the need to facilitate more meaningful relationships between the artist training- and young artist-communities. OPERA America staff are inviting representatives from both groups to come together and develop mutually beneficial solutions, which will be amplified through webinars and various meetings in the months ahead.”

OPERA America concluded, “We will use this incident as an opportunity to improve our service. We will circulate new community guidelines to all listserv users in the coming weeks. We will not tolerate hateful and hurtful discourse in these spaces. We are committed to maintaining a forum for healthy conversation, where differences of opinion can be addressed without breaching trust. We invite members to engage with OPERA America directly and work with us in support of collective learning. The released emails and subsequent responses underline just how much work we must do still to create a thoroughly inclusive environment for everyone working in opera. We at OPERA America are committed to leading the field every step of the way.”

The statement comes days after emails were leaked that showed many staffers complaining about young artists and noting the year had been a nightmare.