OPERA America Awards 2024 Opera Grants for Women Stage Directors and Conductors

OPERA America has announced the recipients of the 2024 Opera Grants for Women Stage Directors and Conductors.

Opera Grants for Women Stage Directors and Conductors open doors for women artists by incentivizing professional opera companies of all sizes to engage women in key artistic roles. These hires enrich the production and performance of new operas and works from the inherited repertoire and inspire future generations of creative artists who identify as women. The initiative is generously supported by the Marineau Family Foundation as part of OPERA America’s commitment to improve gender parity in the field.

Grants were awarded to 10 opera companies that are advancing the careers of the following stage directors and conductors:

• Beth Morrison Projects (Brooklyn, NY):

Elizabeth Askren will conduct Sensorium Ex (Paola Prestini, composer; Brenda Shaughnessy, librettist)

• Detroit Opera (Detroit, MI):

Nataki Garrett will direct The Central Park Five (Anthony Davis, composer; Richard Wesley, librettist)

• IN Series (Washington, DC):

Shanara Gabrielle will direct Cradle Will Rock (Marc Blitzstein, composer and librettist)

• Kentucky Opera (Louisville, KY):
  Kimille Howard will direct This Little Light of Mine (Chandler Carter, composer; Diana Solomon Glover, librettist)
• LA Opera (Los Angeles, CA):
  Lina González-Granados will conduct Ainadamar (Osvaldo Golijov, composer; David Henry Hwang, librettist)
• National Sawdust (Brooklyn, NY):
  Kaneza Schaal will direct Unto Us (Helga Davis and Ted Cruz, composers; Helga Davis and Langston Hughes, librettists)
• Opera Colorado (Denver, CO):
  Chía Patiño will direct The Daughter of the Regiment (Gaetano Donizetti, composer; Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard, librettists)
• Opera Orlando (Orlando, FL):
  Roberta Emerson will direct Treemonisha (Scott Joplin, composer and librettist)
• Opera Steamboat (Steamboat Springs, CO):
  Amanda Berg Wilson will direct Welcome to the Madness (Leanna Kirchoff, composer; Rachel J. Peters, librettist)
• Resonance Works (Pittsburgh, PA):
  Keturah Stickann will direct The Little Prince (Rachel Portman, composer; Nicholas Wright, librettist)

Since it was introduced in 2021, the Opera Grants for Women Stage Directors and Composers program has supported the career advancement of 22 stage directors and 11 conductors. OPERA America’s Professional Company Members are invited to apply for grants to subsidize up to 50 percent (up to $15,000) of the fees for a women stage director or conductor whose engagement marks an important step in the woman’s career.

“With the support of the Marineau Family Foundation, we are delighted to help these directors and conductors make company and repertoire debuts at opera companies of all sizes,” said Marc A. Scorca, president/CEO of OPERA America. “These women are enriching the art form and the field, and they serve as visible role models for the next generation of artists.”

Opera Grants for Women Stage Directors and Conductors is one of OPERA America’s programs aimed at increasing gender parity across the field. Other initiatives include Opera Grants for Women Composers, the Mentorship Program for Women Administrators, and the Women’s Opera Network.

Since the inception of its granting programs in the mid-1980s, OPERA America has awarded over $23 million to the opera field to support the work of opera creators, administrators, and companies.

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