ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an overview of the opera companies the United States. Sometimes, opera houses are referred to in a certain manner: “Tier 1/2/3/4/5 House”; “A/B/C/D House”; and “International/Regional/Vanity Company”. The tiers refer to Opera America budget levels, and the groupings can be seen on their website. “A” houses are those with the largest budgets (and are presumed to be those with the most prestige) while “D” houses are those with the smallest (and loosely correspond to Opera America’s Tiers 4 and 5). “International” houses regularly hire one or more singers from outside the United States in their productions. “Regional” houses are companies that primarily hire singers based in the United States, with principal roles typically sung by out-of-town singers. “Vanity” is a derisive name often used to describe a small opera company. The chapter presents the organizational chart of an opera company where the typical positions include an Artistic Director and a Musical Director.
