Next Stage Grants provide financial support to Professional Company Members and their producing partners for subsequent productions of existing, under-performed North American works. 

The goals of the program are to:

• Encourage opera companies to program recent or neglected North American works;
• Build support for the necessity and viability of presenting subsequent productions in the opera field; and
• Increase knowledge of the growing North American repertoire.

Grant Details

Next Stage Grants cover up to 50% of eligible costs: up to $75,000 for Production Consortium Support; up to $50,000 for Production Sole Applicant Support; and up to $25,000 for Presentation Support (sole applicant only).

Eligibility: The lead applicant must be an OPERA America Professional Company Member for at least one year before the start of the grant period and be based in the United States or Canada. International, Associate, and Educational Producing Associate Members of OPERA America may participate as consortium members but are not eligible to submit applications directly. The majority of partner organizations must be based in North America. See the grant guidelines for additional eligibility information.

How to Apply

Professional Company Member staff can log in to view loan guidelines and application deadlines. To learn about becoming a Professional Company Member, visit Organizational Membership.

Next Stage Grants were offered previously from 1995 to 1998, supported by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Meet the Grantees