Guerilla Opera
Guerilla Opera is a Boston-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit experimental chamber opera ensemble founded in 2007 that commissions and performs new contemporary operas for audiences, composers, and accessibility-focused communities through live venues, virtual streaming, and educational programs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersBoston, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Guerilla Opera does
Guerilla Opera is a Boston-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2007 that operates as an experimental chamber opera ensemble, described as the city's only such company and one of few worldwide exclusively dedicated to new works of opera theater. It commissions and performs small-scale contemporary operas typically featuring up to four singers and four instruments, with no conductor, chorus, or orchestra, often integrating multimedia, film, animation, and immersive elements. The ensemble has accumulated a repertoire of more than 40 new works by 30 composers across 19 seasons and 100+ performances, and its IDEA-aligned mission has positioned it as a vehicle for commissioning underrepresented composers and accessible programming for deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind, and visually impaired communities.
The organization serves contemporary opera enthusiasts, commissioned composers and librettists, emerging artists, and BIPOC-aligned communities through three product lines: live and touring performances at partner venues across New England and selected national venues (Kennedy Center, New Ohio Theatre), the Guerilla Underground virtual speakeasy series distributed via Stellar Tickets and Patreon, and Guerilla Labs educational programs including the $1,115 Writers' Collective and summer Libretto Labs. No proprietary technology platform underpins these offerings; the ensemble relies on standard streaming and ticketing infrastructure.
Revenue is generated through a diversified nonprofit mix: foundation and government grants (Barr Foundation $150K over three years, NEA, Mass Humanities, Boston Foundation, Eastman, Massachusetts Cultural Council), individual donations via Patreon, ticket sales priced $15–$40 for single virtual access and $80–$120 for season passes, corporate sponsorships (Pentucket Bank, PARMA Recordings), educational program fees, and album licensing through Navona Records. Distribution combines direct live performances at regional partner venues, virtual self-serve streaming, and field-driven educational sales.
Guerilla Opera firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Guerilla Opera
- Legal name
- Guerilla Opera
- Website
- https://guerillaopera.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Guerilla Opera is a Boston-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit experimental chamber opera ensemble founded in 2007 that commissions and performs new contemporary operas for audiences, composers, and accessibility-focused communities through live venues, virtual streaming, and educational programs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Guerilla Opera industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Contemporary Opera (Performing Arts)
- NAICS
- Musical Groups and Artists (71113)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Performing Arts Organizations (Theater, Dance, Opera, Music) (BPAGAHAB)
Keywords
Where Guerilla Opera is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Boston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Guerilla Opera business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Ticket Sales: Revenue from live performances, virtual streams, and on-demand access to productions through platforms like Stellar Tickets and Patreon.
- Grants and Foundations: Significant funding from arts foundations including The Barr Foundation ($150,000 over 3 years), National Endowment for the Arts (multiple grants totaling $25,000), Mass Humanities, and others.
- Individual Donations: Support through Patreon membership and direct donations, with member-only perks offered to supporters.
- Educational Programs: Revenue from the Writers Collective program at $1,115 per participant, plus summer libretto writing labs.
- Corporate Sponsorships: Support from corporate sponsors such as Pentucket Bank and PARMA Recordings for the Guerilla Underground series.
- Album Sales and Licensing: Revenue from studio album releases on Navona Records, including Rumpelstiltskin and other works.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Single virtual performance tickets |
| Subscription | Annual | Peep Package Season Pass |
| Subscription | Annual | VIP Package Season Pass |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Writers Collective Program |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Guerilla Opera product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Guerilla Opera commissions, develops, and performs new experimental chamber opera works, typically featuring four singers and four instruments without a conductor, chorus, or orchestra. Beyond staged productions, the ensemble offers the Guerilla Underground virtual performance series, educational programs through Guerilla Labs (Writers' Collective and Libretto Writing Labs), and recorded opera films and studio albums released through Navona Records.
Product overview
Guerilla Opera is Boston's experimental chamber opera ensemble specializing in new and experimental opera theater. The company's core offerings include commissioned opera productions (typically chamber-scale works with small casts), the Guerilla Underground virtual performance series, Guerilla Labs educational programs (Writers' Collective and Libretto Writing Labs), the Guerilla Opera Podcast, and opera films. The ensemble has accumulated a repertoire of over 40 new works by 30 composers across 19 seasons, performing live, virtually, and as films. All works are custom-tailored to their ensemble of artists and challenge traditional opera conventions.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Guerilla Underground: A virtual speakeasy experience and performance series that explores the 'operatic' through streaming performances, new works interpreted through film and animation, and 'Official Selections' from an online competition.
- Guerilla Labs
- Guerilla Emergence Festival
Quantifiable outcome
- 40+ new works created by 30 composers
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Guerilla Opera
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Guerilla Opera technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Guerilla Opera partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST)coreCo-presented The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage world premiere with MIT Music and Theater Arts, featuring Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage as unsung inventors of the first computer.
- Mosesian Center for the ArtscoreCo-presented Say It Ain't So, Joe light tragedy and serves as a key partner venue for performances, screenings, and events.
- Urban Jazz Dance CompanycoreCollaboration with Antoine Hunter and Zahna Simon for Ululations and Gurgles of the Invisible production, featuring ASL interpreters and deaf artists as main narrative voices.
- Perkins Braille and Talking Book LibraryminorPartnership for virtual accessibility events reaching blind and visually impaired communities with 7 virtual events in 2023.
- Haverhill Public LibraryminorPartnership for community workshops, educational events, and virtual programming including the How Opera Looks series on contemporary music and notation.
- Old South Meeting HousecoreKey performance venue for productions including ELLIS and other world premieres. Historic Boston landmark used for immersive opera experiences.
- Nichols House MuseumcoreCo-presented I Give You My Home, a site-specific chamber opera inspired by Rose Standish Nichols, with the museum.
- Museum of SciencecorePartner venue for performances including FRACTURED exhibition and the SubSpace series, reaching science museum audiences.
- deCordova Sculpture Park and MuseumminorConcert venue for Her Alive|un|dead world premiere concert, reaching museum visitors and sculpture park audiences.
- Pentucket BankminorOfficial Selection Sponsor for The Guerilla Underground 2022 season, providing corporate sponsorship support.
- PARMA RecordingsminorCorporate Media Sponsor for Guerilla Underground and producer of album releases on Navona Records including Rumpelstiltskin.
- New Ohio Theatre (Ice Factory Festival)minorPresented SALT at the 2022 Ice Factory Festival in New York, touring productions to national audiences.
- John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing ArtscorePerformed Rumpelstiltskin at the Kennedy Center in March 2020, representing a major national venue appearance.
- MASSCreativeminorPartnered with MASSCreative for Get Out the Vote initiative to encourage voter participation and education in Massachusetts.
- Bully Boy DistillersminorEvent venue for libretto readings including The Windows and fundraiser events like Bourbon & BBQ.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Guerilla Opera competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP): Boston's leading orchestra dedicated exclusively to performing and recording music of the 20th and 21st centuries. Comparable as a regional Boston peer with a similar exclusive focus on contemporary music, chamber-to-mid-scale forces, and recording/distribution of new works.
- Boston Lyric Opera: The largest opera company in Boston, presenting traditional and contemporary works at scale. Comparable as a regional Boston opera peer, but operates at substantially larger scale with full orchestra, chorus, and conventional mainstage productions — distinctly different from Guerilla Opera's chamber/experimental format.
- American Repertory Theater: Harvard-affiliated theater company in Cambridge, MA known for developing new work and premieres. Comparable as a Boston-area peer pursuing experimental, new-work-focused programming with artist-led ensemble models and IDEA commitments, though focused on theater rather than opera.
Direct peers
- Beth Morrison Projects: A leading producing organization dedicated exclusively to commissioning and presenting new chamber opera and music-theater works. Directly comparable to Guerilla Opera in mission, scale (small producing entity), and exclusive focus on contemporary opera creation.
- Heartbeat Opera: A NYC-based experimental opera company producing new works and re-imagined classics with a small ensemble. Comparable in its chamber-scale, IDEA-driven programming, its use of multimedia and site-specific staging, and its commitment to radical reinterpretation of the operatic form.
- PROTOTYPE Festival: Annual NYC festival dedicated entirely to new opera and music-theater works. Directly comparable in its exclusive focus on contemporary opera creation, its commissioning role, and its small-format productions featuring experimental, multimedia elements.
- American Modern Opera Company (AMOC): Artist-led opera company commissioning and performing new works with a flexible, chamber-scale ensemble model. Comparable in its rejection of traditional opera hierarchies (no conductor, small casts, multimedia), its commissioning focus, and its national touring beyond a single city.
- On Site Opera: NYC-based company producing site-specific chamber opera in non-traditional venues. Directly comparable to Guerilla Opera's site-specific productions like 'I Give You My Home' at the Nichols House Museum, with a similar small-ensemble, venue-partnership business model.
Emerging players
- Experiments in Opera: A NYC-based platform for exploring new forms of opera through podcast, workshops, and small-scale productions. Comparable as an emerging organization with a narrower scope than Guerilla Opera but with overlapping focus on experimental formats and commissioning emerging composers.
Broad incumbents
- International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE): A larger, established new-music chamber ensemble with national reach, presenting hundreds of performances annually and commissioning dozens of composers. Comparable in its exclusive new-music focus and small-ensemble chamber format, though at substantially greater scale than Guerilla Opera.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Guerilla Opera social profiles
Digital presenceGuerilla Opera financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Guerilla Opera leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Guerilla Opera funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Guerilla 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 Guerilla Opera
What does Guerilla Opera do?
Guerilla Opera commissions, develops, and performs new experimental chamber opera works, typically featuring four singers and four instruments without a conductor, chorus, or orchestra. Beyond staged productions, the ensemble offers the Guerilla Underground virtual performance series, educational programs through Guerilla Labs (Writers' Collective and Libretto Writing Labs), and recorded opera films and studio albums released through Navona Records.
Is Guerilla Opera a public or private company?
Guerilla Opera is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Guerilla Opera founded?
Guerilla Opera was founded in 2007. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Guerilla Opera based?
Guerilla Opera is headquartered in Boston, United States, in the North America region.
How does Guerilla Opera make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Ticket Sales are the primary driver. The others are grants and Foundations, individual Donations, educational Programs, corporate Sponsorships and album Sales and Licensing.
Who are Guerilla Opera's main competitors?
Regional players on record are Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), Boston Lyric Opera and American Repertory Theater. Direct peers are Beth Morrison Projects, Heartbeat Opera, PROTOTYPE Festival, American Modern Opera Company (AMOC) and On Site Opera. Experiments in Opera is listed as an emerging player. International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Guerilla Opera have an API?
No public API is recorded for Guerilla Opera.
What industry is Guerilla Opera in?
Guerilla Opera's product category is Contemporary Opera (Performing Arts). Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAHAB, Performing Arts Organizations (Theater, Dance, Opera, Music). Its NAICS code is 71113.