Whether you're involved in commercial or artistic leadership, audience development, fundraising and communication, or you are a patron, donor, trustee, or funding agency, the Business of Opera agenda features sessions tailored specifically to your role.

Discover how to improve your financial footing through innovation and collaboration while upholding the highest standards of artistic excellence.

Join the foremost minds in opera to explore strategies for navigating and flourishing in today's funding landscape. 

Keynotes with Impact: Peter Gelb presents the initial results of programming the 2024/2025 season to attract new audiences at the Metropolitan Opera.

Networking Hub: Network with your peers to gain insight into audiences, measurements and what questions we should be asking. Meet other leaders in the art form for honest debate in a safe environment to define and explore the big questions facing opera today.

Data-Driven Insights: We present the results of exclusive research commissioned by the Laidlaw Opera trust on the public perception of opera, and explore how this insight can be used to develop strategy.

Interactive Working Groups: Join the working groups focused around in-depth problem-solving. Each working group focuses on a couple of the big questions in opera, with the aim of creating achievable action points.

Survival Strategies: Hear conclusions and recommendations from Let’s Create opera and music theatre analysis. How can the sector address challenges in collaboration with Arts Council England?

Commit to Change: Explore the wider opera ecosystem, from major companies through to fringe opera. Be part of the debate and help shape the future of an art form you love.

We bring together anyone with the ambition, innovation and leadership to secure a sustainable future for opera.

This includes, but is not limited to:

• Commercial administration
• Artistic administration
• Audience development
• Fundraising and communication
• Patrons, donors and trustees
• Funding agencies
• Opera Company Commercial
• Opera Company Artistic
• Opera Company Audience Development
• Opera Company Fundraising

Opera’s leading proponents and practitioners come together to discuss how to survive and thrive in the current funding environment. Discover how to unlock potential by innovating and collaborating without compromising artistic excellence.