Login

Login failed. Please try again.

World Opera Forum 2024 | June 3-5

The second-ever World Opera Forum welcomes opera leaders from around the world to Los Angeles for a global conversation about the future of the art form.

Directly preceding Opera Conference 2024, the forum will engage opera leaders from six continents in discussion of the strategies needed to guide the sector through today’s dynamic landscape of art, politics, and technology.

The forum is hosted by OPERA America in collaboration with Opera Europa, Ópera Latinoamérica, and the Association for Opera in Canada.

Forum Topics

Opera has benefitted for decades from the support of cultural agencies and philanthropy. But in a world of competing priorities and limited resources, support structures are weakening. Making a case for opera requires new organizational and artistic strategies.

Over three days, delegates and members from the global opera community are invited to investigate the following key themes:

View the full schedule here

Forum Structure

Over fifty official delegates, including artists, administrators, trustees, and advocates from six continents, have been chosen by an international committee to lead the forum discussions. Delegates will engage with each of the three topics in a half-day sequence that includes opening remarks, a moderated "fishbowl" debate, break-out groups, and a concluding summary.

All members of OPERA America, Opera Europa, and Ópera Latinoamérica are invited to register for the forum as participants at large. They will be able to participate in all sessions and enrich discussion by submitting questions and comments. And they will extend the ideas of the forum to the subsequent Opera Conference and their home companies.

The combined World Opera Forum and Opera Conference will be a week filled with debate, discussion, and networking at the conclusion of which participants will leave with new insights, ideas, and relationships that circle the globe.

Forum Delegates

The World Opera Forum features delegates from all six continents.

Explore the list of artists, administrators, trustees, and advocates who will engage in the global discussion in Los Angeles:

Argentina

  • Jorge Telerman, general director, Teatro Colón 

Australia

  • Jo Davies, artistic director, Opera Australia
  • Mark Taylor, executive director, State Opera South Australia

Brazil

  • Flavia Furtado, executive director, Amazonas Opera Festival
  • Andrea Caruso Saturnino, general director, Theatro Municipal de São Paulo

Canada

  • Larry Desrochers, general director and CEO, Manitoba Opera
  • Rebecca Hass, director of engagement programs and partnerships, Pacific Opera Victoria
  • Michael Hidetoshi Mori, artistic and general director, Tapestry Opera
  • Jean-Pierre Primiani, director of development, Opéra de Montréal
  • Robin Whiffen, executive director, Against the Grain Theatre

Chile

  • Paolo Bortolameolli, music director, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional Esperanza Azteca
  • Carmen Gloria Larenas, general director, Teatro Municipal de Santiago

Colombia

  • Pedro Salazar, stage director, La Compañía Estable

Croatia

  • Iva Hraste-Sočo, general manager and artistic director, Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb

France

  • Louis Langrée, conductor, general director, Théâtre national de l'Opéra-Comique

Germany

  • Laura Berman, intendant, Staatsoper Hannover

India

  • Asad Lalljee, curator, Royal Opera House Mumbai

Italy

  • Ilaria Lanzino, director, librettist 
  • Barbara Minghetti, artistic director, Teatro Sociale di Como, Teatro Regio di Parma
  • Sebastian F. Schwarz, artistic director, Festival della Valle d'Itria 

Japan

  • Reiko Ishikawa, senior artistic administrator of opera, New National Theater Tokyo
  • Masami Zeniya, president, New National Theatre Tokyo

Malaysia

  • Danny Chen, executive producer, Kuala Lumpur City Opera

New Zealand

  • Joanne Cole, director, artistic planning and participation, New Zealand Opera

Poland

  • Renata Borowska-Juszczyńska, general director, Grand Theatre, Poznań

South Africa

  • Magdalene Minnaar, artistic director, Cape Town Opera

South Korea

  • Kounee Suh, general director, Seoul Arts Center 

Spain

  • Joan Matabosch, artistic director, Teatro Real
  • Javier Menéndez, director general, Teatro de la Maestranza

Sweden

  • Henning Ruhe, artistic director, GöteborgsOperan

Switzerland

  • Aviel Cahn, general manager, Grand Théâtre de Genève
  • Jan Henric Bogen, general and artistic director, Konzert und Theater St. Gallen

Ukraine

  • Galyna Grygorenko, composer, The State Agency of Ukraine Arts and Art Education

United Arab Emirates

  • Paolo Petrocelli, head, Dubai Opera

United Kingdom

  • Laura Canning, general director and CEO, Opera North
  • Elena Langer, composer

United States

  • Afton Battle, vice president, Lyric Unlimited; artistic operations, Lyric Opera of Chicago
  • Deborah Brevoort, librettist
  • Antonio Cuyler, professor of music in entrepreneurship and leadership, University of Michigan; consultant, Cuyler Consulting LLC
  • James Darrah, artistic director and chief creative officer, Long Beach Opera
  • Khori Dastoor, general director and CEO, Houston Grand Opera
  • Gabriela Lena Frank, pianist and composer
  • Andréa Fuentes, Ed.D., Vice President, LA Opera
  • Christopher Koelsch, president and CEO, LA Opera
  • Timothy Long, artistic and music director of opera, Eastman School of Music
  • Susan G. Marineau, board chair, OPERA America; board chair, The Santa Fe Opera; trustee, San Francisco Opera Board
  • Missy Mazzoli, composer; professor, Bard College Conservatory; co-founder, Luna Composition Lab
  • Beth Morrison, president and creative producer, Beth Morrison Projects; founding co-director, PROTOTYPE Festival
  • Julia Noulin-Mérat, general director and CEO, Opera Columbus
  • Timothy O’Leary, general director, Washington National Opera
  • Matthew Ozawa, chief artistic administration officer, Lyric Opera of Chicago
  • Morris Robinson, bass
  • Yuval Sharon, director; founder and artistic co-director, The Industry; artistic director, Detroit Opera

Zambia

  • Bibian Kalinde, president, Pan African Society for Musical Arts Education
Building on the 2018 Forum

The 2024 World Opera Forum builds on the inaugural forum hosted by the Teatro Real in Madrid in 2018.

Since then, the world has been changed by a global pandemic. Inherited cultural traditions are being reexamined, social and environmental justice is taking precedence among other priorities, government policies are shifting, and technology is reshaping our relationships with one another, our audiences, and the public.

Yet, within this ever-changing landscape, opera retains its unique power as a story-based, multimedia art form that can strengthen community ties, address civic issues, and inspire audiences across economic, social, and racial divides. 

The 2018 World Opera Forum united the global opera industry in a discussion about the future of the art form around four central themes: cultural...