Christina Loewen & Jaclyn Grossman
Reflections from Executive Director, Christina Loewen, on Opera Europa’s Spring Conference in Barcelona
Opera Europa’s Spring Conference in Barcelona, from March 15 to March 18, 2025, was a powerful reminder that the next generation is at the heart of opera’s future. The conference placed a strong emphasis on developing and equipping emerging leaders with the tools to shape a more innovative, inclusive, and sustainable industry. It was particularly exciting to see this commitment reflected in the presentations of Opera Europa’s Opera Management Course, attended this year by our own Jaclyn Grossman, which was a personal highlight for me. Witnessing the passion and vision of this new generation of opera professionals left me more confident than ever in the future of our art form.
While the Next Generation was the central theme, the conference also provided a valuable opportunity to advance our international market development strategies and strengthen relationships between AOC, Opera Europa, Ópera Latinoamerica, Opera America and Fedora. These collaborations are essential as we work to expand opera’s global presence and deepen its impact in communities worldwide.
A striking shift since my last Opera Europa conference in 2018, was the significant progress around environmental sustainability in opera. The presentations from Theatre Green Book were both urgent and inspiring. It was an honour to contribute to this dialogue, particularly by broadening the scope to include social sustainability. I had the privilege of facilitating a World Café discussion with delegates on this topic, exploring how opera can contribute to greater social cohesion, through more accessible, inclusive, and community-centered activities and programming.
Opera’s future is global, sustainable, and driven by the next generation—Barcelona affirmed that.