Our Mission
To advance the performing craft, power, and reach of opera with a pioneering model that places the creative reins in the hands of the one who knows opera best: the Singer.
Rooted in Charlottesville, VA, VHO actively engages those who have not yet found opera appealing or even encountered the art form, offering an experience of the human instrument that draws them into closer contact with life.
Board of Directors
Miriam Gordon-Stewart, President
Brenda Patterson, Secretary
Kristin Jensen, Treasurer
Heather Johnson
Jason Becton
Rita Dove
Patrick Evans
Kirsten Trainer Mallik
Advisory Board
Lauren Ambrose
Margo Garrett
Jeffrey Milarsky
Ronnita Miller
Camille Zamora
VHO’s Founding Principles
We’ve built our company since our founding in 2015 around these 6 core operating principles.
Opera = Singers
VHO presents a new model, in which the master Singer contributes and leads as a fully collaborative artist, administrator, or Board member. VHO prioritizes the quality and impact of the singer’s performance over and above other production elements.
The Power of the Human Instrument
VHO believes in the power of the live operatic voice, acoustically produced from the singer's body without electronic amplification, drawing the listener into closer contact with life and the continuum of human history.
Professional Respect
VHO shall assume an attitude of respect for artists' professional and artistic status, integrity, ability and achievement. VHO will prioritize the fair remuneration of its artists over and above other production and administrative expenses.
“Disarming, exquisite, sincere": our Artistic Pillars
We subject everything we produce to a 3-fold artistic test: Is it disarming? Is it exquisite? Is it sincere?
The Requirements of Art
VHO will stringently regulate expenses, especially administrative ones, questioning the artistic impact of every choice, and relying on creativity, taste, and resourcefulness to find efficient, effective solutions.
Genuine Diversity/ Opera for and of the Community
VHO is committed to a new evaluation of diversity — going beyond political notions of race, income, or gender — as it seeks to build an engaged, loyal audience not always regarded as "operagoers". In our employment practices, collaborations and partnerships, VHO will always value diversity, and will make a conscious effort to hire & empower artists and staff representative of our community and American society.