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As it marks to its 45th season next year, The Atlanta Opera has reached a significant milestone in its history: For the first time, it has attained the status of a Top 10 “Budget One” American company.
Atlanta joins The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Washington National Opera and the companies of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Seattle, Dallas and Santa Fe on the list.
The designation, made by the industry service agency Opera America, reflects a threshold of a $15 million operating budget.
Rhys Wilson, the chair of the opera’s board of directors, said the company has built upon a foundation of operating the past eight seasons in the black. “Strong fundraising efforts and tight spending controls have stabilized the financial structure of the company while the caliber of the productions . . . has increased,” he said in a press release.
Wilson said the turnaround began in 2013 when Tomer Zvulun was hired as the company’s general and artistic director.
Zvulun said reaching the “Budget One” status is a landmark for The Atlanta Opera. “As I start my second decade in a city that has become a real home for me and my family, it heartens me that, after 45 years, this thriving, major international city is finally getting the major international opera company it deserves.”
During Zvulun’s tenure, the company has tripled its annual budget and gained international attention through its productions and the “Big Tent” series that presented outdoor productions during the height of the pandemic when other companies were shut down. The company also launched the first part of the four-part cycle of Wagner’s vaunted and ambitious “Ring” operas last season, with the second part coming next spring.
The company also has launched its own film studio and streams its productions to an international audience.
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