The Business of Opera 2026 Agenda
Purpose, passion, performance: shaping opera’s next decade
This is a working agenda. Speakers, sessions and timings will evolve as the programme develops and will be updated regularly in the lead up to the event.
22 October 2026 | Convene County Hall, London
| 8:15 AM - 9:00 AM | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9:00 AM - 9:05 AM | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9:05 AM - 9:15 AM |
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| 9:15 AM - 9:45 AM | Our guest speaker shares insights into how behavioural science can applied to the arts - why people choose one experience over another, why the sector's assumptions about its audiences are often wrong, and what a more honest understanding of human decision-making would change about how opera presents, prices and positions itself.
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| 9:45 AM - 10:15 AM | This session draws on research into new audience behaviour, retention and the barriers to return - and asks what the UK can learn and apply from US models. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10:15 AM - 10:55 AM | What kind of opera are we making, and who is it genuinely for? Our panel moves beyond the question of whether opera can attract new audiences and asks a more difficult question: what are we promising people when they walk through the door, and are we keeping that commitment? Joins us for a conversation about artistic ambition, accessibility and what it means to make opera that feels urgent, alive and worth the journey. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10:55 AM - 11:25 AM | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Working Group Sessions (11:25am - 12:40pm)
Four simultaneous working groups, one per track. Each opens with a short framing presentation, followed by structured group discussion. Groups close with agreed action points, submitted before the feedback plenary.
Beyond the first ticket: retention, loyalty and the long game
What do we know about the journey from first-time attender to long-term advocate.
And what do we know about why first-time attenders fail to return?
Which interventions shift behaviour?
And what might venues understand about loyalty and repeat attendance that producing companies still overlook?
Emerging artists and young opera talent
Too much talent is still lost.
This session examines the strengths and weaknesses of existing emerging artist models, asks how companies can better coordinate nationally and internationally to provide more joined-up support, and explores what these programmes could do to develop talent beyond singing - across stage management, directing and casting.
Where are the most serious gaps in the pipeline, and what would more collaborative support look like in reality.
Building financial resilience: donors, endowments and what comes next
A discussion on the implications of the Hodge Review, the next National Portfolio round, and what the sector needs to do to prepare effectively for the decade ahead.
Learning & participation: sharing what works
Opera companies across the UK are running education, outreach and participation programmes of real quality - but too often in isolation, reinventing what others have already built.
This session brings together practitioners to share models, examine what the evidence says about impact, and ask where greater collaboration and coordination across the sector could extend reach, reduce crossover and make the case for learning and participation more effectively to funders and policymakers.
Networking Lunch (12:40pm - 13:40pm)
| 12:40 PM - 1:40 PM | Join colleagues for lunch and explore: Innovation Corner – a showcase of new technology, ideas and initiatives from across the sector. Media Hub – meet our partners and browse the media stand. Meet the Speakers – an informal space for you to continue the conversation with the day’s speakers and chairs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Working Group Sessions (13:40pm - 14:20pm)
Four concurrent sessions, one per track. Same format as working group 1, conversation moves towards action and solutions.
NextGen: who is the next generation opera audience, and how do we reach them?
When Timothée Chalamet spoke publicly about opera, the world paid attention.
His comments reflected what certain younger circles may feel: that opera is extraordinary but distant, exciting in theory yet alienating. This session asks what it would genuinely take to change that.
Beyond the marketing and pricing - we explore the fundamental question of whether opera is building itself for the next generation.
Artist and Administrator welfare: the conversation the sector can no longer defer
It has been a gruelling few years for artists and administrators alike.
What is the honest picture of wellbeing across the workforce?
What is the people cost to dealing with the pressures of uncertain employment and relentless organisational strain?
And what practical steps can companies implement now.
Fireside chat – to be revealed
A discussion on the implications of the Hodge Review, the next National Portfolio round, and what the sector needs to do to prepare effectively for the decade ahead.
Technology & innovation
Smaller companies face a specific set of pressures - and a distinct set of opportunities.
This session brings together Chairs and CEOs from across the independent and festival sector for a frank conversation about financial viability, governance and what it actually takes to sustain an organisation through the current climate.
What does long-term resilience look like and what can the sector do collectively to make sure the institutions that give opera its range and vitality have a future?
Working Group Sessions (14:25pm - 15:25pm)
Four simultaneous working groups, one per track. (25 minutes presentation, 15 minutes Q&A).
Making the case: income, advocacy and the language of value
What does a resilient income model look like in 2026 - and with a collective voice for the first time, how does the sector make the case for investment in language that lands politically, publicly and philanthropically?
What is working in other sectors that opera has yet to adopt?
How should the industry respond to moments of mainstream cultural attention? And what role should UKOA play in building a stronger collective narrative.
Who is opera for? Community, identity and the question of scale
The casting process shapes everything - which artists work, which companies thrive and what audiences see on stage.
This session puts the casting directors in the room and asks how the system actually works, where its blind spots are, and what a more transparent and equitable process might look like.
Who is opera for? Community, identity and the question of scale
How do we build a sector that genuinely reflects the communities it serves - across audiences, artists, leadership and business models?
How do we stop treating scale as a proxy for impact?
What does genuine representation look like on the ground?
Financial viability and the future
Smaller companies face a specific set of pressures - and a distinct set of opportunities.
This session brings together Chairs and CEOs from across the independent and festival sector for a frank conversation about financial viability, governance and what it actually takes to sustain an organisation through the current climate.
What does long-term resilience look like and what can the sector do collectively to make sure the institutions that give opera its range and vitality have a future?
| 3:25 PM - 3:55 PM | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3:55 PM - 4:25 PM | The day has been about problems and possibilities. This keynote is about what it takes to pursue excellence under pressure - and what opera's challenges look like through a completely different lens. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4:25 PM - 4:55 PM | Chairs report back from the working groups and parallel sessions, drawing out the strongest ideas, the tensions and the clearest action points to take forward beyond the day. 6 minutes each. Q&A included. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4:55 PM - 5:05 PM | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||