THE LITTLE OPERA THEATRE OF NY INC

What THE LITTLE OPERA THEATRE OF NY INC does

The Little Opera Theatre of NY Inc (LOTNY) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit opera company founded in New York City in 2006 by Philip Shneidman, specializing in small-scale productions of rare and lesser-known operatic repertoire that larger opera houses typically ignore — including Baroque rarities, obscure American operas (notably works by Carlisle Floyd), rediscovered composers such as Chevalier de Saint-Georges, and New York premieres of works like Britten's Owen Wingrave. The company produces approximately one to three full productions and concerts per year at a network of New York City venues including 59E59 Theaters, Socrates Sculpture Park, DiMenna Center for Classical Music, Merkin Concert Hall, St. John's in the Village, and Kaufman Music Center, and has staged 20+ productions since founding.

LOTNY's distribution combines live in-person performance with digital channels: select productions are livestreamed via a 360-degree VR partnership with Musae (debuted with Mozart & Friends in 2020) and made available for on-demand streaming (e.g., The Shepherd King), enabling global reach beyond the NYC audience. The company is governed by a Board of Directors, with Shneidman as Director, and a small named creative leadership including Catherine Miller (Associate Music Director), Richard Cordova (Music Director), and Dalia Sevilla (Assistant Director).

Revenue is generated through ticket sales to live performances, donations, and ancillary channels such as limited-edition art prints; over 60% of production funding comes from individual donors, making the organization donation-dependent rather than commercially scaled. Marketing runs through the company website (lotny.org), Constant Contact email list, earned press coverage in outlets such as The New York Times, Opera News, and New York Classical Review, partnerships including the New York Opera Alliance and NYU International Houses, and community word-of-mouth within the New York arts ecosystem. No revenue figures, headcount, or funding rounds are disclosed.

Name

THE LITTLE OPERA THEATRE OF NY INC

Legal name

the little OPERA theatre of ny

Website

https://lotny.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Little Opera Theatre of NY is a 501(c)(3) non-profit opera company founded in New York City in 2006 that produces small-scale chamber operas and concerts featuring rare and lesser-known repertoire, serving opera enthusiasts and arts donors via live NYC performances and digital streaming.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Opera / Performing Arts

NAICS

Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (71111), Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (711110)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Opera & Operetta (MPAGABAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Classical & Contemporary Theatre (Plays/Drama) (MPAGABAH), Theater, Musicals & Performing Arts (THAJAFAB)

Keywords

• Chamber opera
• Opera productions
• Classical music concerts
• Rare opera repertoire
• Opera livestream

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, LOTNY relies heavily on supporter donations. Over 60% of funding for productions comes from individual donors who contribute via PayPal, credit card, debit card, or check.
2. Ticket Sales and Performance Revenue: Revenue generated from ticket sales to opera performances, concerts, and special events at various New York venues
3. Limited Edition Art Prints: Sale of limited edition prints by artists, sold to support the organization

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Little Opera Theatre of NY is a non-profit chamber opera company that produces live opera productions, concerts, and special events featuring rare, lesser-known, and overlooked operatic repertoire at New York City venues. Selected productions are made available through livestream and on-demand streaming, including 360-degree VR livestream presentations, with programming supplemented by concert works drawn from early music and classical repertoire.

Product overview

THE LITTLE OPERA THEATRE OF NY INC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit opera company that produces opera performances and concerts in New York City. Their portfolio consists primarily of live theatrical productions and concerts, including full operas (Wuthering Heights, Owen Wingrave, Prince of Players, Piramo e Tisbe, L'Amant Anonyme, Mitridate Re Di Ponto, La Finta Giardiniera), double bills (Slow Dusk & Markheim, American One Acts), one-act operas, and chamber music concerts (Mozart & Friends, Monteverdi & Other Treasures from the Seicento, Zemlinsky's Zimmer series). The company specializes in presenting rare and lesser-known operatic works, American operas, and works by composers like Carlisle Floyd and Alexander von Zemlinsky. They also offer streaming productions, livestream performances, and educational concerts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wuthering Heights

Quantifiable outcome

• Positive reviews from major publications including The New York Times (Anthony Tommasini), Opera News, and New York Classical Review for multiple productions
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Bronx Opera and operamissionminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 June 2019Joint presentation at Past & Present concert on Governors Island, where LOTNY presented excerpts from Luna Pearl Woolf and Caitlin Vincent's 'Better Gods' alongside Bronx Opera's 'Regina' and operamission's 'The Rake's Progress' and 'Street Scene'.
• SongFusionminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 December 2016Collaboration with SongFusion to present 'Origin of Love' at a private Tribeca loft on December 8, 2016.
• New York Opera Alliance (NYOA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLOTNY participates in the annual New York Opera Fest presented by NYOA in partnership with OPERA America. This partnership provides visibility and collaboration opportunities within the regional opera community.
• NYU International Houses (Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, Deutsches Haus at NYU, La Maison Française of NYU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration among three of NYU's international houses to present Zemlinsky's Zimmer, featuring music of Alexander von Zemlinsky and selections from 'Eine florentinische Tragödie' at NYU Casa Italiana.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Heartbeat Opera: NYC-based chamber opera company producing re-imagined, intimate stagings of opera for new audiences. Comparable scale, NYC venue strategy, and focus on innovative smaller-scale productions.
• Glimmerglass Festival: Upstate New York summer opera festival producing a mix of rare American, Baroque, and standard works at a comparable small-to-mid scale. Comparable curatorial interest in overlooked American repertoire.
• On Site Opera: New York chamber opera company performing site-specific and intimate productions of rare and standard repertoire. Closely comparable mission, scale, and venue model to LOTNY.
• American Opera Projects: Brooklyn-based opera company creating and producing new and contemporary American opera. Comparable NYC operating base, chamber scale, and focus on American/recent repertoire.
• operamission: New York chamber opera company focused on rare and rediscovered repertoire in intimate performance spaces. Co-presented alongside LOTNY at the Past & Present concert and shares the small-scale, rare-work positioning.
• Bronx Opera: NYC-based community opera company that stages accessible, lesser-known repertoire in intimate venues. Identified as a direct partner of LOTNY in the Past & Present concert at Governors Island, making it a natural operating-model comparable.

Broad incumbents

• The Metropolitan Opera: The largest opera organization in NYC presenting canonical and modern repertoire in a major house. Provides an incumbent reference point for the NYC opera market LOTNY serves.
• New York City Opera: Historic NYC opera company presenting a wider repertoire including American and contemporary works at a larger scale. Comparable genre focus on American opera but at a substantially larger budget and audience footprint.

Emerging players

• Beth Morrison Projects: NYC-based creator-driven opera/producing entity commissioning and presenting new chamber operas. Overlaps with LOTNY's commitment to rare, contemporary, and overlooked works though focused on commissioning new pieces.

Others

• OPERA America: National service organization for the opera field that partners with and supports companies like LOTNY through programs such as NYOA/NY Opera Fest. Ecosystem enabler and indirect peer for benchmarking nonprofit opera scale.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-little-opera-theatre-of-ny-inc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about THE LITTLE OPERA THEATRE OF NY INC