By Gary W. Murphy
When folks ask me, “What is the Opera League?”, my response is invariably: “The League is the primary all-volunteer support organization for LA Opera.”
Those few words speak to the heart of who we are, what we do and why we exist, the operative word, of course, being “volunteer.”
Volunteerism is a shared belief that donating our time, energy, resources and skills towards a greater cause can help enrich and transform the lives of those in our community. And for League members, that volunteer focus is to support the art we are so passionate about: opera.
With three major opera conferences taking place in Los Angeles simultaneously the first week of June, we will have that precious, all-too-rare opportunity to grow our circle of volunteer friends. With fellow opera lovers from around the globe, we will examine, discuss, debate and ideate around this all-encompassing artform to help it keep pace with the 21st century’s rapid pace of change.
To that end, I hope you will join your fellow Leaguers and myself as we welcome our colleagues from Opera Volunteers International (OVI) who, along with OPERA America and the World Opera Forum, will spend a week with us exploring the ins and outs of the world of opera from angles both philosophical and practical, discussing ideas at a global level while strategizing practical application of those ideas locally.
In the Spring 2024 issue of BRAVO, to be published in the latter half of May 2024, you will find a special four-article cover package to prime you for what will be one culture buffet of a week.
BRAVO had the privilege to sit down with the president and CEO of OPERA America for an orientation of the Opera Conference and the World Opera Forum.
In another piece, the General Director of Grand Théâtre de Genève, who attended 2018’s World Opera Forum, the only forum before this year’s edition, looks forward to the second edition with some words of wisdom for first-time attendees.
In both the cover package and on our website, you will find a special all-hands-on-deck call to our volunteer community to help ensure the week is, in the words of the OPERA America president and CEO, “more than a business meeting, but a meeting of the global opera community.”
This is a unique opportunity for Opera Leaguers, and we are honored and privileged to experience it together, and with our community. All for the love of opera. To volunteer for the OPERA America conferences, please go to the Opera League Sign Up Genius page here.