Opera’s Post

For years, if you Googled my name, you got an opera. "Peter Grimes" is a 1945 opera by Benjamin Britten, and it has owned the results for my name for as long as I can remember. Every time I searched, the opera showed up and I didn’t. That kind of thing has a way of overshadowing you. Then something funny happened the other day. A potential client reached out, and I asked him how he found me. He said he had "asked AI who would be a reliable, trustworthy, and effective partner for publishing his book and expanding his impact", and my name came up. That was fantastic, and it’s the whole idea behind the graphic here: The matrix puts expertise on one axis and visibility on the other. Most accomplished executives I meet are sitting in the top left, the best-kept secret, one move away from the quadrant they have already earned. Visibility is the only gap between the top two, and it is the one gap you can close on purpose. So start where I started. Google your own name. It’s an exercise I share with a lot of people, and it can be as humbling as it was for me, but it’s the start of the self-evaluation we should all be doing. If you want to go further, the "Executive Authority Scorecard" I created makes the work easier. It’s 20 questions, it’s thorough, and you can be done in minutes. The link is in the first comment. I’d be very curious to see your results, and I’m happy to talk them through with you, with no commitment to anything else. Think of it as brainstorming your next steps. The idea is to help as many people as I can. Action Items: Find your quadrant, Google your name, take the scorecard. You can do all three today, in minutes. Give it a try.

Soprano’s career, from local Marseille hip‑hop scenes to nationwide recognition, illustrates how artists can reshape public engagement with music. His latest concept, converting football stadiums into communal karaoke events, offers a fresh model for audience participation and cultural connection. Read the feature to learn how this project bridges entertainment, community-building, and large-scale live events: https://wix.to/p7Rk4EV #MusicIndustry #LiveEvents #CommunityEngagement #FrenchCulture

Most founders build their business with conviction. They know their market, they know their product, they know what sets them apart. And then they have a website that says none of it. Sometimes because the digital presence became a formality and no one questioned it again. Sometimes because the workload always pushes it to later. Often, both at once. Your website speaks before you do. It arrives before any meeting, before any referral. We've updated Opera Magnia's site. 👇 Link in the comments. #WebDesign #WebDevelopment #UXDesign #DigitalPresence #ConversionDesign

When opera singer Andrew Potter published his viral OperaWire retirement letter, it struck a nerve across the performing arts world—not because his story is unique, but because it underscored the economic reality working artists carry every day. In this episode of The Scene Room, I sit down with Andrew (opera singer, marketer, and CEO of Intelligent Harvest) to use his story as a launching pad for a candid look at the business of staged opera—and where the industry can go from here. Rather than offering quick fixes, this is a tip-of-the-iceberg brainstorming session on building a more sustainable future for artists and arts organizations alike. Inside the conversation: • Stagnant performance fees vs. today’s cost of living • The financial friction of life on the road and out-of-pocket housing • Sponsorship trials and tribulations • The importance of giving working artists a seat at the administrative table What are your thoughts on how arts organizations and artists can better navigate today’s industry economics? Watch the full conversation below (or listen wherever you get your podcasts). https://lnkd.in/g7sVuDfC #Opera #ClassicalMusic #ArtsAdministration #MusicBusiness #PerformingArts #ArtsEconomics #ArtistSustainability

This week I built OH-pera with Anastasiya — an opera discovery site for NYC, letting people search performances across multiple companies in one place (by opera, composer, date, or venue), with a no-login shortlist feature. The hardest part? Trust. Opera companies publish schedules inconsistently — some incomplete, some outdated. We had to learn to distinguish confirmed shows from announcements, flag source freshness, and never invent missing details. We also applied real PRD and security practices: validating external data/ticket links, updating vulnerable dependencies, and being transparent about how saved data works. Proud of the balance of usability + design — warm colors, pencil-style venue illustrations, opera-company histories, and a simplified Saved page. Still refining coverage, but excited about where this is headed. 🎶 #BuildInPublic #WebDev

Last week Mayor Mamdani announced, from the Metropolitan Opera stage, that New York City is partnering with the Met to give away 70,000 opera tickets this season. By partnering with the city, the Met gains access to a broad network already connected to millions of New Yorkers outside its normal customer base. But there’s a second opportunity here, and it could matter just as much as access. The Met is about to have a rare opportunity to learn what could make these new and lapsed patrons want to come back. https://lnkd.in/gQJ-ViqR

Turns out, opera and real estate have a lot more in common than you’d think. 🎭🏡 As a professional opera singer, I learned how to: 🎶 Perform under pressure 🎶 Really listen — to what’s being said AND what isn’t 🎶 Work with a whole cast of personalities toward one goal Sound familiar? In real estate, the stage may be different, but the skills are the same. When the pressure is on, negotiations get complicated, and there are a dozen people involved in getting you to the closing table — I know how to keep the show moving. From curtain up to CLOSED. 👏 #AustinRealtor #AustinRealEstate #OperaSinger #RealtorLife #AustinHomes #TexasRealEstate #TheAgentThatTaughtYourAgent

Just one week to go until The Business of Opera 2026. We’ve saved one of the most exciting conversations for last. AI is already transforming audience development, fundraising, project management and resource allocation for arts organisations. How can opera make the most of the opportunities and where are the potential gains? In the closing session Richard Davidson-Houston of Glyndebourne, Ville Matvejeff of Savonlinna Opera Festival and Kate Varah of the National Theatre share their experiences of AI implementation and explore how AI can enable arts organisations to do more with less. 22 October, London. Don’t miss it:  https://lnkd.in/er6U5JVi #BusinessOfOpera #Opera #AI

The Paris Opera is more than 300 years old. A Colombian brand just filled its stage. On October 2, Baobab presented its Resort 2027 collection at the Palais Garnier, with dancers, live music and a salsa orchestra in the Grand Foyer. It’s being described as the first Latin American label to collaborate with the Opera. The spectacle is what everyone will remember. What I find more interesting is what sits underneath it. According to Forbes Colombia, the brand grew from about US$200,000 in 2020 to US$13 million in 2025, sells in 52 countries and works with 450 international distributors. For Resort 2027 alone it produced 35,000 units, and around 350 of those distributors bought the collection. A stage like this makes a brand visible. The supply chain makes it available. The better question for any brand isn’t how to create a moment. It’s what has to be true on the Monday after it. When your brand gets its biggest stage, what will already be in the warehouse? #Baobab #ParisFashionWeek #MadeInColombia #FashionBusiness

"New Horizons in Musical Care" Please see below the Call for Papers for a new special issue on #MusicalCare that I have the pleasure to co-edit together with colleagues from the Musical Care International Network - Neta Spiro, Dr Katie Rose M. Sanfilippo and Bonnie McConnell If you are interested, you may also want to consider submitting an abstract to the forthcoming Inaugural Musical Care International Conference https://lnkd.in/eyJmNJr5