OperaDelaware
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1945
- HeadquartersWilmington, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
OperaDelaware firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- OperaDelaware
- Legal name
- OperaDelaware
- Website
- https://operade.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1945
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
OperaDelaware industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Performing Arts
- NAICS
- Performing Arts Companies (7111), Other Performing Arts Companies (71119)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Opera & Operetta (MPAGABAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Performing Arts Organizations (Theater, Dance, Opera, Music) (BPAGAHAB), Theater & Drama Education (Acting, Improvisation, Musical Theater) (EDAMAAAG)
Keywords
Where OperaDelaware is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Wilmington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
OperaDelaware business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Ticket Sales: Revenue from individual performance tickets at The Grand Opera House and OperaDelaware Studios
- Season Subscriptions: Multi-show subscription packages offering 10-25% discounts for bundled ticket purchases
- Donations and Memberships: Philanthropic support from individual donors, members, and corporate sponsors
- Facility Rentals: Rental income from The Ethel L. Sayre Recital Hall and The Presser Black Box Theater for events, recordings, and performances
- Government and Foundation Grants: Funding from Delaware Division of the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Longwood Foundation, and The Presser Foundation
- Pop-Up Opera Bookings: Fees charged for mobile opera performances at private and community events, ranging from $500-$2,500 based on duration
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Grand Opera Subscription - Save 10% |
| Subscription | Annual | Create Your Own: Pick 3 - Save 15% |
| Subscription | Annual | Create Your Own: Pick 5 - Save 20% |
| Subscription | Annual | Full Season Subscription - Save 25% |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | 45- to 60-minute Pop-Up Opera concert |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | 30-minute Pop-Up Opera concert |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | The Presser Black Box Theater rental |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | The Ethel L. Sayre Recital Hall rental |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
OperaDelaware product offering
Product offeringCore offering
OperaDelaware is a nonprofit professional opera company founded in 1945 in Wilmington, Delaware. It produces and presents live opera performances, including a Mainstage Season, Studio Series, and Pop-Up Opera events, while also delivering arts education programs and renting its facilities to external clients. The organization employs nearly 250 full- and part-time artists and staff and operates on an annual budget of approximately $1.5 million.
Product overview
OperaDelaware is the 11th oldest professional opera company in the United States, founded in 1945. The organization's offerings center on its Mainstage Productions at The Grand Opera House and an intimate Studio Series at OperaDelaware Studios, together comprising the core season. Supporting offerings include Pop-Up Opera (mobile outdoor performances), Education Programs (school programs, Neighborhood Choir Initiative), Facility Rentals (recital hall and black box theater), and a Company Artist Model that employs full-time professional singers. Season Subscriptions and Membership programs provide patron engagement and revenue support. The company operates on a $1.5 million annual budget and employs nearly 250 full- and part-time artists and staff.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Pop-Up Opera: Mobile opera stage bringing live opera to outdoor spaces
- Company Artist Model
- Pay Opera Forward
- Neighborhood Choir Initiative
Products and services
- Mainstage Productions A seasonal series of fully staged professional opera performances presented at the company's Wilmington venue for the general public, single-ticket buyers, and season subscribers.
Companies that use OperaDelaware
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
OperaDelaware technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
OperaDelaware partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Opera BaltimorecoreCoproduction partner for mainstage operas including Don Giovanni and La bohème. Fourth coproduction partnership strengthening opera in the Baltimore-Wilmington region.
- Opera HispanicaminorPartnership for Fernanda, a chamber reduction of the zarzuela Luisa Fernanda, bringing Spanish-language opera to audiences.
- First State Ballet TheatrecoreCoproduction partner for Orpheus and Eurydice, combining opera and dance with First State Ballet performers.
- Sunday Breakfast MissioncorePartnership for site-specific production of Amahl and the Night Visitors at the Sunday Breakfast Mission, serving Wilmington's unhoused population. Neighbors on the same Wilmington block providing vital social services.
- Wilmington Children's ChorusminorPartnership for Neighborhood Choir Initiative providing after-school choral training to children in 3rd through 5th grades. Also provides virtual mini music lessons during the pandemic.
- Red Clay Arts AllianceminorComprehensive arts program bringing arts organizations together to adopt grades in under-served schools. Led by OperaDelaware Company Artists.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
OperaDelaware competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Washington National Opera: Major Mid-Atlantic opera company resident at the Kennedy Center with a substantially larger budget and broader portfolio. Operates in the same regional donor and audience market as OperaDelaware, setting a competitive ceiling on talent and ticket pricing.
- Minnesota Opera: Established regional opera company in Minneapolis with a larger budget but similar commitment to new American work and community programming. Provides a benchmark for what OperaDelaware's Company Artist and commissioning strategies could grow into.
Regional players
- Pittsburgh Opera: Regional opera company serving the greater Pittsburgh area, comparable in size and repertoire mix to OperaDelaware. Operates in the adjacent Mid-Atlantic market and competes for touring artists and regional foundation support.
- Opera Philadelphia: Larger Mid-Atlantic opera company (Festival O19, current season) based in Philadelphia. Overlaps geographically with OperaDelaware's Mid-Atlantic audience footprint and competes for similar donors and audiences in the region.
Emerging players
- On Site Opera: New York-based company that produces opera in non-traditional venues (factories, warehouses, museums). Its site-specific, mobile-format philosophy directly parallels OperaDelaware's Pop-Up Opera model and community site-specific productions like Amahl at the Sunday Breakfast Mission.
Direct peers
- Florentine Opera Company: Milwaukee-based regional opera company of comparable size and single-mainstage-season structure. Useful benchmark for season economics, subscription pricing, and education-program scale at the same budget tier.
- Opera Southwest: Albuquerque-based regional opera company where OperaDelaware Music Director Anthony Barrese concurrently serves as Artistic Director. Comparable scale, repertoire mix, and resource constraints make it a tightly relevant peer.
- Baltimore Concert Opera: Founded in 2008 by Brendan Cooke (now OperaDelaware's outgoing General Director) with $700 in personal funds. Operates a lean concert-format opera model in Baltimore that mirrors OperaDelaware's community-focused, lower-overhead approach.
- Opera Memphis: Mid-sized regional opera company with comparable annual budget and a similar community-engagement and education-outreach orientation. OperaDelaware VP of Engagement Kerriann Otaño previously worked there, signaling operational and programmatic similarity.
- Opera Baltimore: Baltimore-based regional opera company that is OperaDelaware's explicit fourth-time coproduction partner on works like Don Giovanni and La bohème. Similar scale and repertoire focus make it the closest operational peer.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
OperaDelaware social profiles
Digital presenceOperaDelaware financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
OperaDelaware leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
OperaDelaware funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
OperaDelaware 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 OperaDelaware
What does OperaDelaware do?
OperaDelaware is a nonprofit professional opera company founded in 1945 in Wilmington, Delaware. It produces and presents live opera performances, including a Mainstage Season, Studio Series, and Pop-Up Opera events, while also delivering arts education programs and renting its facilities to external clients. The organization employs nearly 250 full- and part-time artists and staff and operates on an annual budget of approximately $1.5 million.
Is OperaDelaware a public or private company?
OperaDelaware is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was OperaDelaware founded?
OperaDelaware was founded in 1945. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is OperaDelaware based?
OperaDelaware is headquartered in Wilmington, United States, in the North America region.
How does OperaDelaware make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Ticket Sales are the primary driver. The others are season Subscriptions, donations and Memberships, facility Rentals, government and Foundation Grants and pop-Up Opera Bookings.
Who are OperaDelaware's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Washington National Opera and Minnesota Opera. Regional players are Pittsburgh Opera and Opera Philadelphia. On Site Opera is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Florentine Opera Company, Opera Southwest, Baltimore Concert Opera, Opera Memphis and Opera Baltimore.
Does OperaDelaware have an API?
No public API is recorded for OperaDelaware.
What industry is OperaDelaware in?
OperaDelaware's product category is Performing Arts. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAGABAF, Opera & Operetta, with a secondary code of BPAGAHAB, Performing Arts Organizations (Theater, Dance, Opera, Music). Its NAICS code is 7111.