Opera Europa
Budget
€50 — €0
EP Access
3
accredited persons
Staff
4
0.8 FTE
EU Grants
€294,438
Mission & Goals
Opera Europa is the leading service organisation for professional opera and ballet companies and festivals throughout Europe. It currently serves over 240 members from 44 countries. Opera Europa exists to support the opera and ballet sectors to flourish. It does this through a range of events, including biannual conferences and diverse specialist forums, which are important for networking, sector development, peer learning and international collaboration. In addition, the membership has access to online services such as casting and benchmarking tools. Advocacy and research are other important strands of work in service of Opera Europa's membership. Opera Europa's network extends to global partners; it has reciprocal membership benefits with Opera America, a strong working relationship with Ópera Latinoamérica and a small number of members from continents beyond Europe. Opera Europa leads World Opera Day and is a key partner in the World Opera Forum.
EU Legislative Interests
Our interest representation activities will focus on: • steps towards the further development & implementation of the Culture Compass, published by the Commission in November 2025, e.g. attending policy lunch at Parliament 23.03.26; • a new AI strategy for cultural and creative industries (see also Culture Compass); • working conditions of artists and young professionals, an area highly relevant to our "Opera Europa Next Generation" platform for Emerging Artists, funded by Creative Europe (see also Culture Compass); • Commissioner Glenn Micallef's work on making it easier for people, especially the younger generation, to visit and the make the most of our cultural heritage, of which we consider opera and ballet an important part; • negotiations for the Multi-annual Financial Framework 2028-33 and how culture should be funded (as current recipients of funding via the Creative Europe programme, we have a stake in the future format and level of funding for culture), e.g. attending MFF/AGORAEU event 24.03.26; • content of the Council's new Workplan for Culture, for the period beginning 2027 (e.g. consultation scheduled for July 2026); • ongoing debates about strengthening our democracy (see Culture Compass, plus collaboration between CAE, Pearle* and others working in an informal coalition), including by promoting artistic freedom and the autonomy of cultural institutions in Europe; • the overall work of MEPs and particularly the CULT committee, including sharing Opera Europa's research for the purposes of evidence-informed policymaking and highlighting concrete proposals for international cooperation in promoting access and participation across civic society, and especially among young people.
Communication Activities
Examples of Opera Europa's communication activities include: • Participation in the annual Cultural Policy Conversation in Brussels on 03.02.26 attended by Commissioner Glenn Micallef and a number of MEPs; • Participation in the Policy Lunch at the Parliament, hosted by the team of MEP Nela Riehl, to explore steps forward with the Culture Compass, 23.03.26; • Opera Europa conducts and shares benchmarking based on an annual members' survey to discover and act upon trends in opera and ballet in the areas of finance and funding, artistic outputs and productivity, employment, audiences; • Opera Europa convenes a policy committee in relation to the "Opera Europa Next Generation" platform, exploring strategy and action plans for key policy topics such as AI and working conditions of artists; • Opera Europa is one of six organisations that launched the "Resistance Now" campaign in November 2024, calling for the safeguarding of freedom; • Opera Europa representatives met with MEPs from the CULT Committee in 2025 to explore key areas of mutual interest and continues this work in 2026; • Opera Europa conducted a survey in autumn 2024 to establish the training and professional development needs of Emerging Artists entering the opera and ballet professions today; • In 2025, Opera Europa concluded a piece of research into the pay, working conditions and career transitions opportunities for dancers at top-tier ballet companies across Europe; • AI and digitisation is one topic that will be addressed at Opera Europa's upcoming HR forum in Prague, May 2026; • "Next Generation" was the overarching theme of Opera Europa's spring conference in Barcelona, in March 2025; it included two major strands of professional development for young professionals working in opera and ballet, plus sessions on - for example - research into the value of opera, working conditions and expectations in Young Artist Programmes, developing a skilled and resilient workforce for opera choruses; • Opera Europa's autumn conference 2026 will focus on advocacy, cultural policies and the relationship between culture & political frameworks.
Interests Represented
Promotes their own interests or the collective interests of their members
Member Of
Opera Europa is a member of: • Culture Action Europe • Pearle* Live Performance Europe • Cultural Exchange Coalition Opera Europa collaborates with: • Opera America • The Association for Opera in Canada • Ópera Latinoamérica • European Theatre Convention • FEDORA Platform
Organisation Members
The current membership can be viewed here: https://opera-europa.org/members
Additional Information
Opera Europa is a non-profit, membership organisation. The majority of its income comes from membership fees. Funding from Creative Europe covers the running of the Opera Europa Next Generation platform for Emerging Artists. The estimate of annual costs cited above includes the core staff costs directly related to activities covered by the register.
Commissioner Meetings
No recorded meetings with EU commissioners.