Opera Montana
Opera Montana is a Bozeman-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that produces opera and musical theatre across Montana, presenting two operas and one musical theatre per season, complemented by youth, veterans, school touring, and accessibility programs serving rural and tribal communities statewide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1978
- HeadquartersBozeman, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Opera Montana does
Opera Montana is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit performing arts organization headquartered in Bozeman, Montana, and is the state's first professional opera company, founded in 1978/1979 as Intermountain Opera Bozeman and rebranded in May 2024. The organization produces two operas and one musical theatre production per season, presented across multiple Montana venues including The Ellen Theatre, The Armory Music Hall, The Myrna Loy in Helena, and Westside Theatre in Missoula. The 2026-2027 season is anchored by the world premiere of A River Runs Through It, a commissioned work celebrating the 50th anniversary of Norman Maclean's novella, performed in collaboration with the Missoula Symphony Orchestra.
Beyond mainstage performance, Opera Montana operates a portfolio of education and community engagement programs: the Youth Opera Program (Voices of Tomorrow), the Wheels of Harmony school tour reaching 12 towns and over 20 rural and tribal schools, the Veterans Chorus formed in 2022, the Opera For All free-ticket accessibility program, and Local Education Initiatives supporting school field trips and curriculum integration. The organization's stated mission emphasizes diversity, equity, and inclusion alongside world-class artistic programming.
The revenue model is diversified across ticket sales and subscriptions (covering approximately 25% of production costs), individual donations across tiered giving societies, corporate sponsorships and advertising, foundation and government grants (including NEA and Montana Arts Council), and volunteer contributions. The organization completed a comprehensive campaign raising over $1,000,000 in pledges to fund the A River Runs Through It commission and organizational sustainability, and has 1-10 employees led by General Director Susan Miller and Artistic Director Michael Sakir.
Opera Montana firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Opera Montana
- Legal name
- Opera Montana
- Website
- https://operamontana.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1978
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Opera Montana is a Bozeman-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that produces opera and musical theatre across Montana, presenting two operas and one musical theatre per season, complemented by youth, veterans, school touring, and accessibility programs serving rural and tribal communities statewide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Opera Montana industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Performing Arts / Opera
- NAICS
- Performing Arts Companies (7111), Musical Groups and Artists (711130), Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters (711110)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Opera & Operetta (MPAGABAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Musical Theatre (Non-Broadway/Fringe) (MPAGABAG), Performing Arts Organizations (Theater, Dance, Opera, Music) (BPAGAHAB), Theater & Drama Education (Acting, Improvisation, Musical Theater) (EDAMAAAG), Group Music Classes & Ensembles (Band, Orchestra, Choir) (EDAMANAC)
Keywords
Where Opera Montana is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Bozeman
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Opera Montana business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Ticket Sales: Revenue from mainstage opera and musical theatre performances, including subscriptions and single tickets. The organization notes that 75% of production costs are not covered by ticket sales, indicating ticket revenue supplements other funding sources.
- Individual Donations: Tax-deductible contributions from individuals at various giving levels including Sustaining Member Society ($500-$1,999/year), Ambassador's Club ($2,000+/year), and general donations. Benefits include rehearsal visits and special events access.
- Business Sponsorships: Corporate sponsorship packages at various levels with benefits including brand visibility at performances, recognition in programs, and promotional opportunities. Advertisers also purchase advertising placements.
- Foundation and Government Grants: Funding from organizations including Murdock Charitable Trust (capacity building grant), Montana Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, and coal severance tax revenues deposited in Montana's cultural and aesthetic projects trust fund.
- Volunteer Contributions: Hundreds of volunteers contribute before, during, and after performances in roles including transportation, housing, costumes, props, ushering, and administrative support.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Season subscription packages |
| Subscription | Annual | Sustaining Member Society ($500-$1,999/year) |
| Subscription | Annual | Ambassador's Club ($2,000+/year) |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Opera For All free tickets |
| Transaction based/ take rate | One time/ perpetual license | Cinderella family ticket offer |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels6 records
Opera Montana product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Opera Montana produces professional opera and musical theatre performances at venues across Montana, presenting two operas and one musical theatre production each season. Beyond mainstage performances, the company delivers educational programs (Youth Opera Program, Wheels of Harmony school tour, Local Education Initiatives) and community programs (Veterans Chorus, Opera For All accessibility initiative). Productions feature world-class singers and include world premieres such as the upcoming A River Runs Through It.
Product overview
Opera Montana operates as a single, unified performing arts organization offering live opera and musical theatre productions. The core offering is Mainstage Performance, which presents two operas and one musical theatre production per season. The portfolio includes educational programs (Youth Opera Program, Wheels of Harmony, Local Education Initiatives), community programs (Veterans Chorus, Opera For All), and ticketing products (season subscriptions). All programs support the mission of creating community and collaboration through world-class opera, musical theatre, and educational engagement.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Mainstage Performance Professional opera and musical theatre productions presented at venues including The Ellen Theatre and The Armory Music Hall. The company presents two operas and one musical theatre production each season, featuring world-class singers and productions such as A River Runs Through It (world premiere September 2026), Once, and Carmen.
- https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/65f48a914f142a4a14343a5b/6a5f9aba66ce2540f6e7d4ba_OM_youth_opera_program_logo%20copy.jpg A youth choir program for young singers (ages 5+) exploring vocal technique, musicianship, acting, and ensemble performance with professional directors and guest artists, culminating in a showcase concert.
- https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/65f48a914f142a4a14343a5b/68c1c58b2df925c72790b60b_Copy%20of%20Wheels%20of%20Harmony%20(1).png A mobile school tour program sharing Indigenous music and culture along with traditional opera with mostly rural and Tribal schools across Montana, having visited 12 towns and 20+ schools.
- Veterans Chorus A chorus for veterans that gathers twice monthly and offers performances for special occasions such as Veterans Day, Memorial Day, and Independence Day.
- https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/65f48a914f142a4a14343a5b/68126b76c99d0243b66ee312_Website%20Hero%20Images%20(2).png A financial accessibility program providing limited free tickets in all seating tiers for each mainstage production, available on a first-come, first-served basis with two tickets maximum per order.
- Local Education Initiatives Pre-performance educational programming including curriculum guides for students, discount tickets for school field trips, and visits by Opera Montana artists to area schools.
- Season Subscriptions Annual subscription packages allowing patrons to reserve seats for the full season's productions, including priority access and special subscriber benefits.
Quantifiable outcome
- 55 shared performances with 17 partner organizations in 2022-23 season
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Opera Montana
Customer profileSegments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Opera Montana technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Opera Montana partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, significant, major and supporting.
- Trust for Public LandcoreNational nonprofit connecting everyone to the benefits of outdoors. Presenting sponsor of Fall 2025 Wheels of Harmony tour and sponsor of A River Runs Through It Page to Stage events including MSU Duck Pond performance. Working to return ancestral homelands and support Tribal community stewardship.
- Montana State University LibrarysignificantPartnership to preserve and provide public access to Opera Montana's historical performance programs through the 'John Frederick Santilli and Suzanne Day Intermountain Opera Bozeman Collection' at archive.arc.lib.montana.edu.
- Montana State University School of MusiccoreAcademic partner for educational programming and collaborative performances including A River Runs Through It Page to Stage at MSU Duck Pond.
- Missoula Symphony OrchestramajorCollaborative partnership for A River Runs Through It Missoula premiere scheduled October 3-4, 2026, combining Opera Montana's production with the symphony's orchestra.
- Knoxville OperasupportingSet and video design provided by Knoxville Opera for Cinderella production, demonstrating peer company resource sharing.
- Slanted CreativesupportingCreative agency that designed Opera Montana's new logo and website following the 2024 rebrand.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Opera Montana competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Opera America: National service organization for the opera field that has directly funded Opera Montana (Repertoire Development Grant for A River Runs Through It). Functions as a peer/ecosystem enabler rather than competitor, but is the most relevant institutional reference point for U.S. opera industry context.
Broad incumbents
- Portland Opera: Established Pacific Northwest regional opera company with a longer season, larger staff, and broader community programming. Comparable artistic mission and repertoire mix (classical plus contemporary commissions) at a meaningfully larger scale.
- Arizona Opera: Larger regional opera company operating across multiple Arizona cities with a more extensive season. Serves as a benchmark for the scale Opera Montana could target if multi-city touring continues to expand successfully across Montana.
- Cincinnati Opera: Long-established mid-size American opera company with a summer festival model and substantial educational outreach. Represents a more mature iteration of the regional-opera-plus-community-engagement model Opera Montana is scaling toward.
Emerging players
- Heartbeat Opera: Mission-driven opera company emphasizing accessibility, community engagement, and innovative repertoire choices. Shares Opera Montana's focus on DEI principles and reaching underserved audiences, though Heartbeat is based in New York City.
Direct peers
- Knoxville Opera: Regional professional opera company of comparable scale that has directly collaborated with Opera Montana by providing set and video design for the Cinderella production. Operates as a 501(c)(3) with a similar mix of mainstage productions and community/outreach programming.
- Opera Memphis: Mid-size regional opera company with a comparable mainstage/community engagement model. Opera Montana's Artistic Director Michael Sakir previously served as Music Director of Opera Memphis, and both organizations emphasize civic practice, community partnerships, and commissioning work.
- Shreveport Opera: Regional opera company of similar size producing a small mainstage season plus education and community programming in a mid-sized Southern market. Comparable in nonprofit funding model and dependence on community partnerships to sustain operations.
- Fargo-Moorhead Opera: Small-budget regional opera company serving the Fargo-Moorhead metro area with a similar mainstage-plus-education programming model. Highly comparable in scale, geography type (upper Midwest/plains), and reliance on community/education outreach.
Regional players
- Montana Shakespeare in the Parks: Montana-based touring performing arts nonprofit serving rural communities across the state. General Director Susan Miller worked there for over a decade in acting and administration, making it a structurally analogous peer in mission (access to professional performance in low-density geographies) if not in art form.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Opera Montana social profiles
Digital presenceOpera Montana financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Opera Montana leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Opera Montana funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Opera Montana 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 Opera Montana
What does Opera Montana do?
Opera Montana produces professional opera and musical theatre performances at venues across Montana, presenting two operas and one musical theatre production each season. Beyond mainstage performances, the company delivers educational programs (Youth Opera Program, Wheels of Harmony school tour, Local Education Initiatives) and community programs (Veterans Chorus, Opera For All accessibility initiative). Productions feature world-class singers and include world premieres such as the upcoming A River Runs Through It.
Is Opera Montana a public or private company?
Opera Montana is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Opera Montana founded?
Opera Montana was founded in 1978. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Opera Montana based?
Opera Montana is headquartered in Bozeman, United States, in the North America region.
How does Opera Montana make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Ticket Sales are the primary driver. The others are individual Donations, business Sponsorships, foundation and Government Grants and volunteer Contributions.
Who are Opera Montana's main competitors?
Opera America is listed as an others. Broad incumbents are Portland Opera, Arizona Opera and Cincinnati Opera. Heartbeat Opera is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Knoxville Opera, Opera Memphis, Shreveport Opera and Fargo-Moorhead Opera. Montana Shakespeare in the Parks is listed as a regional player.
Does Opera Montana have an API?
No public API is recorded for Opera Montana.
What industry is Opera Montana in?
Opera Montana's product category is Performing Arts / Opera. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAGABAF, Opera & Operetta, with a secondary code of MPAGABAG, Musical Theatre (Non-Broadway/Fringe). Its NAICS code is 7111.