Careers in Opera
If you’re wondering whether a career in Arts and Culture is for you, this page is a great place to start! You can use it to explore the different jobs involved in making an opera. From the more obvious professions (like opera singers) to those that wouldn’t necessarily come to mind (perhaps electricians and accountants), there are over 90 jobs listed below, and while the list is quite comprehensive, it’s certainly not exhaustive! There’s no end to the skills an opera company might need.
On Stage
Everyone expects to find opera singers in an opera; the career is in the title! But you may not be aware that opera companies hire a diverse array of performing artists. Sometimes an opera will call for another artist specifically (for instance, dancers often feature in baroque pieces) but other times a non-singer will be hired because a director has envisioned them as part of their production.
Orchestra
In addition to the orchestral players, an orchestra needs staff to manage all the people as well as the instruments and everything involved in setting an orchestra up. Those chairs and stands don’t move themselves!
Music Staff
These people are the ‘behind-the-scenes’ team responsible for the music you hear on the stage, whether it is sourcing the scores, coaching the singers, rehearsing the chorus, or accompanying the rehearsals.
Creative Team
The Creative Team is behind the decisions that make each opera unique. The director and designer come up with the concept for the opera before anything else is decided. Once the rehearsals start, the conductor and the director work together to put the show together with the singers and anyone on-stage.
Production & Technical
Those making the music in opera might be the most visible, but there are so many more positions going on backstage. People are needed to run the stage, make the wigs, build the sets, move the scenery, and so much more. Opera is truly a multi-disciplinary art form!
Stage Management
The Stage Management team share between them responsibility for everything onstage and backstage involving the cast/performers during rehearsals and performances. This includes rehearsal and show reports, giving cues, overseeing props during the show, and so much more.
Technical & Stage
The Technical and Stage teams look after all the physical elements of the staging. This includes looking after the technical needs of the show: Is there a revolving stage? Maybe there’s a pool of water? Perhaps parts of the set have to move in certain ways at certain times?
They are responsible for scene changes, backstage cues, and putting up and taking down the set, to name just a few things.
Production
The Production team ensures that all productions are produced to a high standard and that they run both smoothly and safely. Builders, artists, and carpenters are part of the team that creates the sets from raw materials to the amazing worlds you see on stage.
Lighting, Sound, & Film
The name is on the tin with this team. These people are in charge of all things lighting (LX), sound, and film. Recordings involving audio and film need editing and mastering, sometimes for archival purposes and sometimes to share with the world. There are even electricians on the team because the electrical requirements of productions these days can be incredibly complicated!
Costume & Wardrobe
Costume and Wardrobe produce, source, and manage the costumes in the production. The Costume team is responsible for the making, hiring, and altering of all costumes, including fittings during rehearsals.
Responsibility passes to the Wardrobe team when rehearsals move from the studio to the stage. The team is responsible for daily setting, costume changes during the show as well as maintenance where necessary.
Wigs, Hair, and Make-up
The WHAM team is responsible for the wigs, hair, and make-up for all performers, including quick-changes, during performances.
Props
The props department make and source props for each production during rehearsals.
Office & Admin
The offices at an opera company are an incredibly busy hub all year round, even in a summer festival company, like Garsington. While performances are limited to certain nights of the year, the business of planning, casting, financing, and promoting an opera season is ongoing and educational outreach is always active.
Executives
The people at the head of the company who are responsible for it all.
Artistic Administration
This team makes the artistic decisions that affect the overall season of an opera company. In conversation with the Artistic Director, they plan what operas the company will perform, and they cast all the roles. They make decisions on who to hire for their Creative Teams and Music Staff as well as which orchestra to work with.
Company Management
No opera can be successful without someone to work on scheduling, manage artistic personnel, and administrate the rehearsals and performances.
Education & Outreach
Most opera companies have an education department in charge of reaching out to their local community with opportunities for people of all ages to be introduced to and get involved with opera.
Finance & HR
Like any company, opera companies need talented people to handle their finances and manage their workforce. Skills like these can be used in so many sectors!
Development (Fundraising)
Some of the larger opera companies get public funding, but many of them are only able to operate via the financial generosity of people who love the arts. There are myriad opportunities within the area of Development/Fundraising to make a career in opera.
Marketing and Communications
Another sector within opera that is common to most companies is the need for excellent marketing and communications. These people are responsible for everything from producing content for social media to creating the entire branding of the company.
Box Office
The Box Office team is not just responsible for answering phones and selling tickets. They are also in charge of seating charts, forecasting how tickets will sell, and general customer support.