Festival Opera
Festival Opera is a nonprofit arts organization based in Walnut Creek, California, that produces live opera performances, trains emerging singers, and delivers community arts education for San Francisco Bay Area audiences, funded by ticket sales and donations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1991
- HeadquartersWalnut Creek, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Festival Opera does
Festival Opera, legally The Festival Opera Assn., is a nonprofit performing arts organization headquartered at 1630 North Main Street, #61, Walnut Creek, California, serving the San Francisco Bay Area. Its core function is producing and presenting live opera performances, supplemented by professional development for emerging singers and community arts education. The 2026 season comprises five distinct production formats: a Spring Soirée fundraiser, a mainstage production of Handel's Alcina, an outdoor Opera in the Park - Elixir event, a Festival Opera at the Mac venue partnership, and an intimate Salon Series at Piedmont Center for the Arts. Audience segments include performing arts patrons, Resident Artists in training, and community members reached through Education & Access programs.
The underlying technology stack is minimal and undifferentiated: a Wix-hosted CMS website at festivalopera.org with digital streaming and archival content distributed via YouTube (Mixtape episodes, Behind the Mask series). There is no proprietary technology, no mobile app, no API, and no documented AI/ML capabilities. The organizational technology footprint is consistent with a small nonprofit: communication via email newsletter, organic social on Facebook and Instagram, and basic e-commerce-style donation collection.
The business model is a conventional nonprofit arts revenue blend. Earned revenue comes from ticket sales across seasonal productions, supplemented by donations collected through Zeffy (zero-fee platform) and PayPal. Additional funding flows from local foundations and sponsors (Walnut Creek Civic Pride Foundation, Rotary Club of Orinda, Lesher Center for the Arts, Opera America, Black Opera Alliance, among others). Ticket pricing is not publicly disclosed, and the organization does not publish revenue or budget figures. Distribution is regionally concentrated across Walnut Creek venues (Lesher Center, Piedmont Center, the Mac, community parks), with digital content providing global reach at unknown conversion economics.
Festival Opera firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Festival Opera
- Legal name
- The Festival Opera Assn.
- Website
- https://festivalopera.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1991
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Festival Opera is a nonprofit arts organization based in Walnut Creek, California, that produces live opera performances, trains emerging singers, and delivers community arts education for San Francisco Bay Area audiences, funded by ticket sales and donations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Festival Opera industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Performing Arts - Opera
- NAICS
- Musical Groups and Artists (71113), Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (711110)
- SIC
- Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cultural Festivals & Events Organizations (BPAGAHAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Concerts & Music Festivals (THAJAFAA), Arts & Culture Community Festivals (Multidisciplinary Arts Weeks) (MPAGAEAG)
Keywords
Where Festival Opera is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Walnut Creek
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Festival Opera business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Donations and Fundraising: Tax-deductible donations from supporters via Zeffy (zero-fee platform) and PayPal (per-transaction fee), supporting future seasons, education programs, and young artist training opportunities
- Ticket Sales: Revenue from ticket sales for seasonal performances including Spring Soirée, Alcina, Opera in the Park, Festival Opera at the Mac, and Salon Series events
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
Festival Opera product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Festival Opera is a nonprofit performing arts organization that produces and presents live opera productions and community arts programming in the San Francisco Bay Area. Its core offerings include seasonal mainstage productions (Alcina), fundraising events (Spring Soirée), outdoor community performances (Opera in the Park), intimate venue concerts (Salon Series), venue partnership performances (Festival Opera at the Mac), and digital content distributed via YouTube including the Mixtape series and Behind the Mask.
Product overview
Festival Opera is a performing arts organization offering a diverse portfolio centered on live opera productions and community engagement. The core offering consists of mainstage productions (such as Alcina) presented seasonally, supplemented by intimate Salon Series performances and outdoor events like Opera in the Park. The organization extends its reach through Digital Offerings (video content on YouTube including the Mixtape series), while developing future talent through its Resident Artist Program and supporting community access via Education & Access programs. This structure positions live performance as the primary offering, with digital content, training, and outreach as complementary programmatic strands.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- 2026 Season Mainstage Productions Annual flagship live opera productions presented seasonally, featuring full staged performances with professional singers and orchestral accompaniment for performing arts audiences in the Bay Area.
- Alcina A Handel opera production featured as part of the 2026 season, presented as a mainstage theatrical performance for opera audiences.
- Spring Soirée A seasonal fundraising and social event featuring opera performances, typically held in spring for arts patrons and supporters.
- Opera in the Park - Elixir An outdoor park performance featuring opera selections, making classical musical performances accessible to the broader community at no cost.
- Festival Opera at the Mac Opera performances presented at the Walnut Creek venue partnership, expanding access to audiences in the local community.
- Salon Series Small-scale, intimate opera performances held at Piedmont Center for the Arts, offering closer artist-audience interaction.
- Digital Offerings Online video content including the Mixtape series featuring artist performances and Behind the Mask productions, available via YouTube for global audiences.
- Resident Artist Program A professional development program for emerging opera singers providing training, performance opportunities, and mentorship through mainstage roles.
- Education & Access Programs Educational initiatives and community outreach programs designed to expand access to opera and support young artist development for community members of all ages.
- Chorus and Auditions Opportunities for singers to join the chorus through auditions, enabling community participation in productions.
Quantifiable outcome
- 2026 Season features multiple production types spanning traditional opera (Alcina), outdoor events (Opera in the Park), venue partnerships (Festival Opera at the Mac), intimate performances (Salon Series), and digital content (Mixtape series)
Companies that use Festival Opera
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Festival Opera technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Festival Opera partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Diablo Regional Arts Association (DRAA)core
- Lesher Center for the Artscore
- Walnut Creek Downtownminor
- Visit Walnut Creekminor
- Black Opera Alliancecore
- Diablo Valley College (DVC)minor
- Piedmont Center for the Artscore
- Biancoverde Hotel Macminor
- Bay Area Arts Together (BAAT+)minor
- Opera Americacore
- Walnut Creek Arts + Recminor
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Festival Opera competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Pocket Opera: Pocket Opera is a long-running small-scale opera company in San Francisco known for accessible, English-language productions. It is a direct peer in scale and mission: small nonprofit opera, regional audience, and emphasis on expanding opera accessibility rather than competing with major houses.
- West Edge Opera: West Edge Opera is a smaller East Bay opera company producing a summer festival season of operas in unconventional venues. It shares Festival Opera's regional focus, nonprofit structure, and emphasis on producing opera for Bay Area audiences with limited budgets relative to major houses.
- San Francisco Opera: San Francisco Opera is the largest opera company in the Bay Area and produces a full season of mainstage productions with major international artists. Despite significant scale differences, it directly competes for opera audiences, donors, and resident talent within the same metro area, making it the most direct peer to Festival Opera.
- Opera San Jose: Opera San Jose is a mid-sized regional opera company in the Bay Area that produces a season of fully staged operas featuring resident artists. It directly competes for opera audiences and resident talent in the same metro, and operates at a scale more comparable to Festival Opera than San Francisco Opera.
- Lamplighters Music Theatre: Lamplighters Music Theatre is a Bay Area nonprofit producing Gilbert & Sullivan and musical theater, often in similar venue types (Lesher Center, regional theaters). It is comparable to Festival Opera as a small-to-mid regional performing arts nonprofit serving overlapping audiences within the East Bay and broader Bay Area market.
Regional players
- Berkeley Symphony: Berkeley Symphony is an East Bay regional orchestra performing classical and contemporary works in Bay Area venues. It is comparable as a regional nonprofit performing arts organization serving overlapping audiences, though it competes in classical music rather than opera specifically.
- Seattle Opera: Seattle Opera is a mid-sized regional opera company with a season of mainstage productions, resident artist programs, and education initiatives. Comparable structurally to Festival Opera in mission, programming model, and nonprofit scale, though operating in a different metro and serving a larger regional market.
- Diablo Ballet: Diablo Ballet is a Walnut Creek-based regional dance company presenting a season of performances at the Lesher Center. It shares Festival Opera's East Bay geography, venue partnerships (Lesher Center), and nonprofit performing arts model, making it a close geographic peer even though it presents dance rather than opera.
- Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra: Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra is a Bay Area period-instrument ensemble performing Baroque and Classical repertoire in regional venues. Comparable as a regional nonprofit classical music organization serving Bay Area audiences, though performing historically informed orchestral concerts rather than opera.
Broad incumbents
- San Francisco Symphony: San Francisco Symphony is the flagship Bay Area orchestral institution programming a full season of symphonic concerts at Davies Symphony Hall. While at much greater scale, it serves overlapping classical music audiences in the same region and competes for donor dollars, tickets, and media attention.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Festival Opera social profiles
Digital presenceFestival Opera financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Festival Opera leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Festival Opera funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Festival Opera M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Festival Opera
What does Festival Opera do?
Festival Opera is a nonprofit performing arts organization that produces and presents live opera productions and community arts programming in the San Francisco Bay Area. Its core offerings include seasonal mainstage productions (Alcina), fundraising events (Spring Soirée), outdoor community performances (Opera in the Park), intimate venue concerts (Salon Series), venue partnership performances (Festival Opera at the Mac), and digital content distributed via YouTube including the Mixtape series and Behind the Mask.
Is Festival Opera a public or private company?
Festival Opera is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Festival Opera founded?
Festival Opera was founded in 1991. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Festival Opera based?
Festival Opera is headquartered in Walnut Creek, United States, in the North America region.
How does Festival Opera make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Donations and Fundraising is the primary driver. The others are ticket Sales.
Who are Festival Opera's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Pocket Opera, West Edge Opera, San Francisco Opera, Opera San Jose and Lamplighters Music Theatre. Regional players are Berkeley Symphony, Seattle Opera, Diablo Ballet and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. San Francisco Symphony is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Festival Opera have an API?
No public API is recorded for Festival Opera.
What industry is Festival Opera in?
Festival Opera's product category is Performing Arts - Opera. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAHAG, Cultural Festivals & Events Organizations, with a secondary code of THAJAFAA, Concerts & Music Festivals. Its NAICS code is 71113 and its SIC code is 7990.