New Works Forum 2024
New York City | January 10-11, 2024
OPERA America invites producers, creative artists, publishers, and other stakeholders working to develop, support, and promote new work to New York City for the New Works Forum 2024.
The New Works Forum features:
- Panels and Pitch Sessions
- Networking Opportunities
- Performances
Registrants are encouraged to arrive early to enjoy a special OPERA America Onstage performance, Creators in Concert: Canadian New Works, on the evening of Tuesday, January 9.
Explore the full schedule below.
For questions or assistance, please contact Noelle Deutsch, director of artistic operations, at NDeutsch@operaamerica.org or 212.796.8629.
The New Works Forum is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts.
Register by Wednesday, December 20
The New Works Forum is open to OPERA America's organizational members and individual members (by invitation only).
- $195 - Includes all sessions, receptions, and a ticket to Angel Island, composed by Huang Ruo (presented by PROTOTYPE at BAM's Harvey Theater at BAM Strong, January 11).
Due to the overwhelming popularity of this forum, registration has historically reached maximum capacity. In an effort to offer the best opportunity for participants who produce new work, registration for the forum will be staggered according to the following schedule:
- Tuesday, October 31: Registration opens for organizational members only.
- Wednesday, November 29: Registration opens by invitation only for individual members.
- Wednesday, December 20: Registration will CLOSE at the end of the business day. No exceptions can be made due to ticket purchases and catering deadlines.
OPERA America organizational members:
Please check your email for an invitation to register.
Select individual members will receive a registration invitation on November 29.
If you believe you should have received an invitation to register as an organizational member or individual member, please email Programs@operaamerica.org for a link to register.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 9
Creators in Concert: Canadian New Works
7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
OPERA America’s National Opera Center, Marc A. Scorca Hall
Enjoy an evening of new work created by Canadian artists and presented in collaboration with the Association for Opera in Canada. This concert highlights the impressive talent of creators and performers from across the northern border whose artistry advances the development of the North American opera repertoire.
Attendees are invited to a casual reception with the guest following the event.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10
Welcome Coffee
9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Opening Session: Collaborative Creation
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. | OPERA America’s National Opera Center, Marc A. Scorca Hall
This session will explore the rise of collaborative creation as a new approach to developing new works. From the inception of ideas to the execution of productions, how does this creative strategy build on the foundation of collaboration that is already a defining characteristic of the art form? How does work that is created collaboratively preserve its integrity in subsequent production? Experienced practitioners will share their insights and recommendations.
Listening Session
11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. | OPERA America’s National Opera Center
Attendees will have a chance to contribute their ideas to the evolution of OPERA America’s commitment to supporting the creation and production of new opera and to the further development of the New Works Forum.
Pitch Sessions
2:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. | OPERA America’s National Opera Center
Artists and companies will have the opportunity to pitch new works projects. Attendees will have the unique opportunity to hear about new works in development and upcoming projects, which will provide opportunities for co-production and collaboration.
Pitch Sessions — Debrief and Feedback
4:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | OPERA America’s National Opera Center
This brief session will allow attendees to ask questions and discuss what was pitched in the preceding pitch sessions.
Networking Reception
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. | OPERA America’s National Opera Center
Join your colleagues and collaborators for an informal gathering over light refreshments to foster networking opportunities and exchange ideas.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 11
Welcome Coffee
9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Listening Session — Wednesday Debrief
10:00 p.m. – 10:30 a.m. | OPERA America’s National Opera Center
Participants will share reflections and questions generated by Wednesday’s sessions.
Morning Session: Site-Specific Opera
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | OPERA America’s National Opera Center
Explore the challenges and benefits associated with producing opera in specific locations. Speakers will examine how site-specific opera can foster stronger relationships with local cultural organizations and community members while increasing the public value of the company and the art form. They will also identify the logistical hurdles associated with performing in found locations and offer advice for success.
Afternoon Breakout Session: Devised Work Workshop
2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. | OPERA America’s National Opera Center
This session will explore the process of devised work from the individual perspective of each collaborator and examine whether these creative strategies are applicable to opera. Participants will have the opportunity to join small groups led by artists from various disciplines who will provide lessons from their unique experiences and guide participants through the process of creating devised work.
Closing Session
3:45 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. | OPERA America’s National Opera Center
This session invites participants to provide feedback, observations, and insights gained from the forum as well as suggestions for Opera Conference 2024 in June in Los Angeles.
Closing Reception
4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. | OPERA America’s National Opera Center
Join your colleagues and collaborators for an informal gathering over light refreshments before heading to the theater.
PROTOTYPE Performance at BAM
Angel Island, composed by Huang Ruo
7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. | BAM's Harvey Theater at BAM Strong
651 Fulton St., Brooklyn, NY 11217
Between 1910 and 1940, many Chinese immigrants flowed through the immigration station on Angel Island in San Francisco Bay, facing mass discrimination under the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, with few exceptions. With music by acclaimed Chinese-American composer Huang Ruo, Angel Island revisits this chapter of American history with a poignant multimedia experience scored for voices and a string quartet that blurs the boundaries of opera, theater, dance, and music. Ruo, along with director Matthew Ozawa, weaves a powerful requiem from the century-old poetry engraved on the detention center’s walls by some of the hundreds of thousands of incarcerated Chinese immigrants. Angel Island arrives amid an ongoing epidemic of brutal violence and rampant discrimination against immigrants, asylum-seekers, and Asians across the diaspora. This production is a stirring plea for care and empathy as well as a visceral, clear-eyed tribute to the rebellion and resilience of those who passed through and perished at Angel Island.
Produced by Beth Morrison Projects in association with Brooklyn Academy of Music. Commissioned by Hewlett 50 Arts Commissions / Del Sol Quartet with a completion commission by Singapore International Festival of Art.
Please note: Your registration includes one ticket to this performance. For additional tickets, you may purchase tickets directly through PROTOTYPE’s box office here.
RECOMMENDED PERFORMANCES
In addition to taking part in discussions and case-study sessions, forum participants are encouraged to attend performances throughout New York City.
Note: These performances are NOT included in your forum registration, but limited tickets are available for additional purchase to the following shows of your choice.
Terce: A Practical Breviary, composed by Heather Christian
The Space at Irondale
Learn More & Get Tickets
Adoration, composed by Mary Kouyoumdjian, libretto by Royce Vavrek
January 12 & 13 and 18–20 at 8:00 p.m.
January 14 at 5:00 p.m.
The Sheen Center for Thought and Culture
Learn More & Get Tickets
Chornobyldorf, composed by Roman Grygoriv and Ilia Razumeiko, libretto by Yurii Izdryk, Publii Ovidii Nazon, Ivan Kotlyarevskyy, Ilia Razumeiko
January 11, 13, 15, and 18–20 at 7:00 p.m.
January 14 and 21 at 6:00 p.m.
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, Ellen Stewart Theater
Learn More & Get Tickets
Malinxe, co-created by Autumn Chacon and Laura Ortman, music by Laura Ortman, libretto by Autumn Chacon (adapted from the myth of La Llorona)
January 20 at 5:00 p.m.
The Playscape at Battery Park
Learn More & Get Tickets
Travel and Accommodations
Guests are responsible for arranging their own travel to/from and accommodations in New York City. OPERA America members can take advantage of special discounts at New York City hotels by using one of the links below:
- Marriott's SpringHill Suites New York Manhattan/Chelsea
140 West 28th Street, New York, NY
Book Online - Marriott's TownePlace Suites New York Manhattan/Chelsea
140 West 28th Street, New York, NY
Book Online - MADE Hotel New York
44 West 29th Street, New York, NY
Book Online - DoubleTree by Hilton NYC-Chelsea
128 West 29th Street, New York, NY
Book Online
Additional Information
For questions or assistance, please contact Noelle Deutsch, director of artistic operations, at NDeutsch@operaamerica.org or 212.796.8629.
Register by Wednesday, December 20
OPERA America organizational members:
Please check your email for an invitation to register.
Select individual members will receive a registration invitation on November 29.
If you believe you should have received an invitation to register as an organizational member or individual member, please email Programs@operaamerica.org for a link to register.