In the Allegheny Ballroom of the Westin in downtown Pittsburgh, the music began with soft humming, several operatic voices layered on top of one another to create a gentle bed of harmony. Then, the clarion voice of Pittsburgh poet Danielle Obisie-Orlu rang out — “As a belted-out note or as melody emergent from fragile vocal cords / Let this river of memories flow beyond me / And into you” — officially launching Opera Conference 2023 and welcoming those gathered with a joyous sound.

From May 17–20, nearly 700 industry professionals gathered to discuss strat­egies, hopes, and concerns about the state of the field, this year focusing on the “human dimensions” of the art form. Sessions ranged from panel talks on improving the treatment of artists and high staff turnover to explor­ing questions about artificial intelligence in opera and new thinking on cultivating donors. “Every singer has had a secret other job for decades and there’s a shame about that, like you can’t be a Lyft driver and an artist,” said pan­elist Miriam Gordon-Stewart, a soprano and the artis­tic director of Victory Hall Opera in Charlottesville, Virginia, during a panel about the life of artists. Gordon-Stewart also said that opera companies should allow artists to work day jobs during breaks in rehearsals.

Also on the subject of art­ists, Ana De Archuleta, the managing director of National Sawdust, suggested schedul­ing a dark night once a week to help promote work-life balance. She also proposed that companies create a pay­ment schedule for artists that begins prior to arrival to off­set artists’ upfront costs for housing and travel. “We need to shift the burden of cost away from artists,” De Archuleta emphasized.

During a breakout session focused on librettists’ role in the field, members of the Dra­matists Guild of America noted the recent creation of the organization’s Opera Com­mittee and its plans to develop a more formal partnership with OPERA America. One of their end goals is to promote more consistent crediting and recognition for libret­tists’ work in the opera field, as many media outlets tend to focus exclusively on the com­posers’ role. “If opera is about the music, then they can just sing ‘la, la, la,’” joked Deborah Brevoort. In a separate panel, the tendency for new libret­tos and projects to focus on tragic stories also emerged as a point of discussion: “We’re singing traumatic work after traumatic work after trau­matic work, and that can really take a toll,” said soprano Zuly Inirio, founder of the Afro-Lat­inx Song and Opera Project.

Melia Tourangeau, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, noted that her organization had experienced 50% staff turnover in 2022. Confer­ence sessions on continuity management and smooth onboarding highlighted the need for advance planning regarding staff churn. Marc A. Scorca, president and CEO of OPERA America, pointed out that stage managers are often especially reliable about documenting work proce­dures and advocated that company human resources directors or general manag­ers work with employees to write down and codify their duties, perhaps on an annual basis. “It can take a lot of time, but it can also save a lot of money,” he said. And when an employee does move on, Opera Philadelphia’s general director and president, David Devan, said that the organiza­tion’s decision to implement anonymous surveys for departing staff had proved illuminative. “Boy, do people have things to say,” he said.

As the conference pro­gressed, some leaders and creators described their con­tinued efforts to create a range of digital offerings and to take advantage of new immer­sive technologies. More still acknowledged the art form’s key role in reviving urban centers. Pittsburgh’s mayor, Ed Gainey, underlined this point: “We want people to leave Downtown with a mem­ory, not just another work day,” he said. “You are the peo­ple that will bring them back out from their homes.”

Watch videos of sessions from Opera Conference 2023.

Opera Conference 2024 and the World Opera Forum will take place from June 3–8, 2024, in Los Angeles.