Next Stage Grants provide financial support to OPERA America 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.

Next Stage Grants are made possible, in part, by the Mellon Foundation.

Grant Details

Next Stage Grants cover up to 50% of eligible costs: up to $25,000 to present an existing production; up to $50,000 to originate a new production as a sole applicant; and up to $75,000 to originate a new production as part of a consortium.

Eligibility: The lead applicant must be a Professional Company Member (PCM) of OPERA America based in the United States. Canadian PCMs, as well as International and 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 the United States.

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