The North American opera field is far from reflective of our nation’s racial and ethnic diversity. Opera companies are committing themselves to change. But how do we begin to measure that? 

In spring 2021, OPERA America administered its first-ever field-wide demographic survey of Professional Company Members to establish initial benchmarks. The survey was conducted anonymously among 1,200 administrative staff and 1,500 board members, with first-person reporting about race/ethnicity, gender, and age. 

What did we learn about boards in this initial study? Opera company boards are relatively even in gender parity, but they skew older and are less diverse than company administrators. Just 15% of trustees identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color, compared to 39% of the U.S. population 

This research provides benchmarks for understanding if and how efforts taken across the industry are working to achieve diversity. Overall, there is hope: The data show that the younger generations of administrators and trustees are more diverse than their older colleagues. Our challenge is to retain their enthusiasm for opera by welcoming their voices and providing them with opportunities to shape opera’s future.

Read the full 2021 Field-Wide Opera Demographic Report.

This article was published in the Fall/Winter 2022 issue of Across the Board, a publication of OPERA America for opera company trustees.