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.

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.

An important discussion on the implications of the Hodge Review and what the sector must do to prepare effectively for the decade ahead.

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?

Opera has long treated scale as a proxy for ambition - and too often behaved as though it sits apart from the wider cultural sector altogether. This session brings together artistic directors and producers working across opera, theatre and touring to ask what genuine quality and ambition actually look like at every scale, from a flagship main stage to an intimate fringe venue to the rural touring networks reaching audiences opera rarely does. Where are the crossover communities already being built between opera and the wider performing arts, and how do we build more?

The casting process shapes everything - which artists work, which companies thrive and what audiences see on stage.

This session brings together the people who shape it - casting directors, agents and artistic leadership - to ask how the system actually works, where its blind spots are, and what a more transparent and equitable process might look like.

 What does a resilient income model look like in 2026 and beyond? 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?

Opera’s relationship with technology is uneven.

This session moves past the theoretical and looks at new ways of staging and experiencing opera using immersive and extended reality, digital tools that enhance creative feedback and whether technology can help opera reach new audiences.