Participatory Co-Creation

Collaborates with institutions such as American Opera Projects, TADA! Children’s Theater, Central Park Zoo, Montclair State University, University of Kentucky Opera Theatre, and others to co-produce performances and lead developmental workshops for new works.

Creates new professional-quality opera and music-theater works that address diverse global communities and underserved audiences, including youth and families. Productions include Flurry Tale, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Fireworks!, Animal Tales, CAT, Maya’s Ark, and Babar, The Little Elephant, with premieres in New York City and beyond.

Utilizes volunteers to support event planning, ticketing, guest services, refreshment service, artist liaison duties, mailings, data entry, research, budgeting, marketing, and social media management.

Produces interactive opera and musical performances that actively involve audience members in singing, percussion, and educational activities focused on literacy, spelling, counting, and self-worth. Also includes post-performance discussions with artists and audiences to explore thematic content.

Offers compensated roles for performers at $15 per hour during rehearsals and performances, including productions staged in non-traditional venues such as basketball courts and parks.

Hosts one to two smaller-scale concerts annually, typically for fundraising or promotional purposes.

Produces three to four full opera productions annually in Manhattan, featuring professional singers, orchestra, and crew, for public audiences. Past productions include Falstaff, Der Freischütz, Susannah, and Ariadne auf Naxos.

Organizes volunteer ushers to assist with ticket-taking, seating, program distribution, and welcoming guests during summer performances, enhancing the audience experience.

Provides free admission to children aged 12 and under for youth opera productions through sponsored funding, increasing accessibility for young audiences.

Offers a tiered business partner program to engage local and corporate sponsors in supporting the summer opera festival, fostering community investment and financial sustainability.

Provides educational resources about the historical, cultural, and social contexts of productions—such as the 1950s "Lavender Scare" in Fellow Travelers—through initiatives like the dramaturg's desk to deepen audience engagement and foster dialogue around contemporary issues.

Runs a box office with regular public hours for ticket sales, inquiries, and customer service, offering flexible payment plans (25%, 33%, or 50% upfront) and exchange policies for package holders.

Supplements its summer season with special performances, cabarets, concerts, lectures, symposiums, and regional tours, such as a Prohibition-era speakeasy-themed tour of Happy End, to expand audience engagement beyond mainstage productions.

Produces four fully staged productions annually, including three operas and one American musical theater work, performed with full orchestra, large cast, and no sound amplification. These include new, innovative stagings of familiar, little-known, and contemporary works such as Rodgers & Hammerstein's Oklahoma!, Madame Butterfly, Così fan tutte, Fellow Travelers, and Robin Hood, often reimagined with modern or culturally relevant themes.

Enhances audience understanding by providing English projected titles for all operatic performances conducted in non-English languages, with performances typically lasting approximately three hours including intermission.

Offers incentives for ticket package holders including a 10% discount on additional tickets, early access to single tickets and events, waived exchange fees within the same price level, a 10% discount at the Festival Gift Shop, and reciprocal discounts at participating U.S. and Canadian opera companies via the Opera America Passport program.

Offers professional training and performance opportunities for emerging artists, interns, and youth performers through collaborations with professional Festival artists and creative teams, contributing to artistic development and high standards of achievement.

Hosts post-performance talkback sessions with members of the creative team after Thursday shows and organizes speaker series events that explore thematic content related to productions—such as discussions on feminism, Irish history, horror literature, or playwright backgrounds—to deepen audience understanding and inspire dialogue. Events have included collaborations with scholars and public figures, such as horror scholar Ian Downes.