1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.	NPAC Orientation All attendees are invited to a presentation designed to help them make the most of the combined Opera Conference 2008 and National Performing Arts Convention. A brief welcome from OPERA America staff and board members will be followed by an overview of sessions and logistics. This event is free; all are encouraged to attend.
6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.	Opera Colorado Auditions Artistic professionals are invited to hear auditions of the singers from Opera Colorado’s Young Artist Studio.
7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.	Network Dinners Join your colleagues in downtown Denver to discuss your professional specialty and socialize. Dinners are $35 and feature a prix fixe menu. Cash bars are available. Reserve your spot when registering for the conference and convention. Choose to attend a dinner for Artistic/Singer Training, Education, Development, Finance/Administration, Trustees, General Directors, Marketing/Public Relations or Technical/Production network.

1:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.	New Works Sampler and Lunch Opera Colorado and Central City Opera studio artists perform excerpts from works in progress and recent premieres that have received funding through OPERA America’s Opera Fund in the Chambers Grant Salon in the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. This exciting performance will include excerpts from Elmer Gantry by Robert Aldridge and Herschel Garfein, A Flowering Tree by John Adams and Peter Sellars, Frau Margot by Thomas Pasatieri and Frank Corsaro, Hannaraptor by Allan Gilliland and Val Brandt and Kirke Mechem’s John Brown.New Works Sampler attendance is FREE. For your convenience, you can pre-order lunch while registering at an additional cost of $25.
2:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.	Chairman Dana Gioia Introduces the NEA Opera Honors Dana Gioia, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), will lead a conversation about the NEA Opera Honors — the agency’s first new award in 25 years to honor lifetime achievement and individual excellence. Chairman Gioia will speak about the significance of creating the nation’s highest award in opera, those who will be honored in this inaugural year of the awards and details associated with the fall 2008 awards celebration. Joining him will be representatives from the partner organizations for the 2008 NEA Opera Honors: Mark Weinstein, executive director of Washington National Opera and Marc A. Scorca, president and CEO of OPERA America.
Click here to learn more.	Central City Opera Reception and Performance • 6:00 p.m. Buses Depart for Teller House • 7:00 p.m. Central City Opera Reception • 8:30 p.m. Performance of The Rape of Lucretia

6:00 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.	Host Company Reception Greet colleagues in the elegant Chambers Grant Salon in the Ellie Caulkins Opera House while enjoying food and beverage. The Host Company Reception is co-hosted by Opera Colorado and Central City Opera. One ticket is included with each registration.
7:30 p.m.	Nixon in China Performance Click here to learn more.
10:30 p.m.	Annual Fund Reception (following the performance of Nixon in China) OPERA America salutes generous Annual Fund donors and Opera Conference sponsors whose support helps advance our programs and services. Separate invitations will be sent to all donors whose contributions reach OPERA America by June 1, 2008.

12:45 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.	Closing Lunch At this session, a diverse group of leaders from the field (development, marketing, technical/production, education, finance, artistic) reflect on their observations of this historic convention and its implications for opera. Join them as they share their insights on the information gained over the course of the National Performing Arts Convention and comment on the action agenda developed through the America Speaks process. If you are registered for the Conference and plan on joining us for this complimentary lunch, please R.S.V.P. by May 31 to Paul Gosselin at PGosselin@operaamerica.org or call 212-796-8620, ext. 214.
2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.	La Curandera/En Mis Palabras Performance Opera Colorado and Central City Opera join forces to present a double bill of their highly acclaimed bilingual youth operas. Free admission. The performance will take place in the Chambers Grant Salon, downstairs at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. La Curandera by Robert Xavier Rodríguez, winner of the Bravo! Diversity Award from OPERA America  One-act bilingual opera commissioned by Opera Colorado Join a young Mexican-American couple traveling to present-day Tepoztlán, Mexico to visit a beloved relative, and meet a host of interesting characters. When misunderstandings erupt, the only person who can help is a mysterious woman, revered by all in the village. Will the folk-healer, La Curandera, succeed in reuniting the lovers? En Mis Palabras (In My Own Words) by Roger Ames One-act bilingual opera commissioned by Central City Opera In a quest to find her own voice, 15-year-old Ana Maria is pulled between her family, her Mexican heritage and her desire to be a typical American teen. A family crisis leads her to understand that she is truly a unique combination of all of these things. En Mis Palabras is scored for four singers, classical guitar and piano.