Did you know? Since 2023, Opera Europa has been conducting a major research project into the opera sector across Europe. This quantitative, longitudinal study examines income, staffing and resources, artistic outputs and ticketing. Last year, we collated and analysed the most in-depth dataset yet, enabling us to present an up-to-date picture of opera across Europe – as a whole, by region, and by production model – and to analyse trends over the past three years.
And did you know?
Opera Europa’s annual survey is the means by which we collect data for this research.
The results matter because they put Opera Europa and its members in a unique position to:
- Understand how the sector is developing, using the insights generated to anticipate challenges and tailor activities to address them
- Advocate effectively for opera, across international, national and local contexts
Moreover, for members who contribute data, Opera Europa is happy to respond to reasonable requests for bespoke analysis, where results allow. That is part of our wider commitment to consultation and support for members in their own advocacy efforts.
Our ambition for the 2026 annual survey to replicate last year’s detailed analysis and add two dimensions (subject to collating sufficient data): we wish to analyse results according to the scale of venue for which companies most often create work, and according to the nature of each company’s setting. For example, famous opera destinations for international audiences, capital cities, regional cities, rural locations etc.
It is a cliché but it is true: we cannot do this without you. The success of the research – and its value to all of us – relies on a combined effort to share the latest data.
We are truly grateful to the record-breaking 120 companies who contributed data in the previous annual survey. We hope to build on that in the upcoming edition. The survey circulated in spring-summer 2026 pertains to the season 2024-25 or calendar year 2025 (depending on how each company collates its data). The deadline for responses in 30 June 2026 and – at the time of publishing the summer 2026 newsletter – all European companies have been contacted with a bespoke template for submitting data.
Opera Europa plans to use the results to generate key messages for World Opera Day in October 2026, and to share detailed findings with members at the autumn conference in Brno in November 2026. Picture the scene – there is a genuinely cheer in the Opera Europa office every time an organisation returns its data. We look forward to hearing from you!
If you have any queries at all, please do not hesitate to contact Audrey: audrey@opera-europa.org
