The Atlanta Opera’s Board of Directors announced that the company will achieve “Budget One” status in 2024–25.

By reaching the $15 million operational threshold designated by industry service agency Opera America, The Atlanta Opera joins the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera and the opera companies of Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Fe and Seattle as one of just ten top-tier, Budget One opera companies among the 180-plus opera companies in the United States. The accomplishment also marks the company’s 45th anniversary season.

Tomer Zvulun, the Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. General and Artistic Director of The Atlanta Opera is quoted in a press release saying, “As I start my second decade in a city that has become a real home for me and my family, it heartens me that, after 45 years, this thriving, major international city is finally getting the major international opera company it deserves. This encouraging moment, at a time of great bleakness internationally, is a testament to the determination of so many staff and board members, donors and community leaders. Working alongside these people has been one of the greatest honors of my life.”

Over the course of its 10 years under Zvulun’s leadership, The Atlanta Opera has tripled its budget. It has also partnered with other Atlanta performing arts and educational organizations such as Morehouse College and the Alliance Theatre, and teamed with the community to use several of the city’s unique venues. The Atlanta Opera has presented new productions of both popular repertory and important contemporary works, often presented in Atlanta-led co-productions with other major companies. These include Paul Moravec’s “The Shining,” Jake Heggie’s “Dead Man Walking,” Kevin Puts’s “Silent Night,” Mason Bates’s “[R]evolution of Steve Jobs,” and Wagner’s “Das Rheingold,” which launched the Southeast’s first “Ring” cycle to date.