OPERA America’s Opera Fund, an endowment that funds the creation and production of new works, has helped develop some of the most successful new American operas, supporting projects like Fire Shut Up in My Bones, As One, Blue, and The Central Park Five, winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Music. 

This winter, OPERA America drew upon the Opera Fund to award $225,000 in Repertoire Development Grants to nine opera companies for the creation and refinement of eight new operas and music-theater works. 

Although new works can be fruitful for companies looking to broaden their seasons and audiences, the cost of developing them is significant. Repertoire Development Grants play a crucial role in offsetting creative fees and other costs, like lab productions, workshops, readings, and revisions, increasing the likelihood that new operas will gain a foothold in the contemporary American repertoire.