OPERA America’s New Works Forum is the pre-eminent national convening dedicated to improving the quality and quantity of new American opera.

Since 2011, the forum has brought together individuals from all areas of the field, including producers, composers, librettists, conductors, designers, and publishers, to ask questions and share knowledge about creating and producing new operatic works.

Robust presentations on commissioning, coproducing, storytelling, and technology are paired with live performances of new works and works-in-development. These convivial gatherings have fostered new connections between artists and producers that have resulted in countless fully realized productions on American stages.

The New Works Forum is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Theodore H. Barth Foundation.

Programming at the National Opera Center is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Program Details

The New Works Forum convenes in several multiday meetings throughout the year, including signature programming in January in New York City and at our annual conference each spring. Producers, creative artists, publishers, and other stakeholders working to develop, support, and promote new work are invited to attend.

Past sessions have examined a broad range of topics including creative commissioning, cutting-edge technological solutions, effective storytelling, improving collaborative relationships with creators, and other issues that contribute to an environment where new work can thrive. Programming is guided by a New Works Forum Planning Committee and a racial equity consultant.

Forum meetings are scheduled to allow participants to attend significant premieres and productions of new work, such as those in the PROTOTYPE Festival each January in New York City. We also support showcases of new work by member companies with dedicated grants from OPERA America.

For more information, contact us at Artistic@operaamerica.org or 646.699.5239.