Mission

Our mission as a not- for-profit 501(c)3 company, is to promote opera as a viable, living and progressive art form deserving a place on the American cultural landscape.

In 2005 we created Opera on Tap as a performance outlet for our friends and ourselves. We wanted an opera “gig” in the vein of the New York rock or jazz gig. Freddy’s Bar and Backroom provided us with the opportunity. It was an affordable way to have fun together and work on our music at the same time… Guess what else happened…

We discovered a new audience starved for intense, acoustic, musical experiences!
More often than not, opera is perceived in this country to be elitist, pretentious, stuffy and boring. Going to the opera means dressing up, shelling out a lot of money, putting on an air of sophistication and most importantly, not making any noise whatsoever, unless it’s the appropriate time to applaud the diva. There is indeed a tradition of behavior at the “Opera”: Act classier than you really are. In America, opera is placed on a high pedestal, so high unfortunately that the average Joe is throwing his hands up and spending his money elsewhere.

Tickets aren’t selling so well at Opera houses around the country. Why? We believe that many Americans have never felt comfortable entering an opera house. Since opera is not a part of our national historic, cultural foundation it doesn’t pervade the American psyche, say, the way rock & roll does. The majority of the operatic repertoire isn’t written in our language after all. But for those of us out there who have been exposed to its beauty and have developed a passion for it, it is a transcendent art form where music drives drama and character. Many people who come to Opera on Tap are people who have never set foot in an opera house. The response? Overwhelming. We pack the house every time and have a growing list of regulars.
Opera on Tap is a form of cultural and two-fold educational outreach.

Often big opera companies focus on outreach to children. Opera on Tap believes adults too can be enriched through gaining an appreciation for opera. A middle class twenty-something may attend Opera on Tap and find him or herself much more likely to purchase an opera ticket at a bigger more well known opera house.
Our other very important mission is to promote young professional singers and instrumentalists in their artistic development. At Opera on Tap performers are allowed to let their hair down, wear jeans, drink beer and try out new repertoire FOR AN AUDIENCE! There is no pressure for perfection. Opera on Tap gives the artists an opportunity to communicate the joy and exuberance they feel in the music by getting away from the stuffy atmosphere of the concert hall or educational institution. Providing the artist and the audience with “room to breathe” draws in new listeners who respond to the honesty and energy of the performances.

As we grow as a company…
Our mission is to extend our reach to more venues and improve more and more on the quality of our performances. We look forward to the imminent development of our company into a national organization with chapters throughout The United States.