#81: A New Stage for Opera

When someone says “Opera,” the picture that comes to mind for most is the Valkyrie singing on a grand opera house stage. Then they may think about expensive tickets, geriatric audiences, foreign languages, and the discomfort of not being completely sure what to wear. Brooklyn-based LoftOpera has turned these stereotypes on their heads — and is rejuvenating this 500-year-old art form in the process. Founded in 2016, LoftOpera brings 11,000 audience members every year into transformed warehouse spaces to experience some of opera’s greatest masterpieces. Could this be the model the artform needs to jumpstart a new generation of opera buffs? IVY’s Arts and Culture Director, Phil Chan, joined LoftOpera’s General Manager, Brianna Maury, to hear about this new model of presenting Opera.