Number and location of companies
OPERA America serves the field of professional opera and related organizations. In the United States , it counts 119 professional companies in 45 states in its membership . It also serves 20 professional companies in 5 provinces in Canada , which are members of Opera.ca. Over half of these companies were established after 1970, and one quarter of the total were established since 1980, making the growth of opera throughout North America a relatively new phenomenon. In addition to its North American Membership, OPERA America works in partnership with Opera Europa to serve 54 affiliated companies in Europe as well as serving 7 additional companies from around the globe. OPERA America 's international membership is represented in 26 countries in Europe, Australia , Asia, and South America .
(Source: OPERA America )

Attendance
The National Endowment for the Arts reports that, in 2002, 6.6 million adults (3.2% of the adult population) attended at least one opera performance . (Source: National Endowment for the Arts)

Number of performances
In 2000-2001, North America 's professional opera companies gave 2,238 performances of 435 fully-staged main season and festival productions . (Source: OPERA America )

Audience growth
Opera attendance has been rising steadily since 1982. The U.S. opera audience grew by 35% between 1982 and 1992. This trend continued through 2002, when the opera audience grew by an additional 8.2%. (Source: National Endowment for the Arts)

Audience demographics
In comparison with other arts-goers, opera attenders are wealthier, somewhat older, the most highly educated, and tend to reside in the suburbs . Opera tends to attract slightly more women than men (58% to 42%) . In 2002, the median age of the opera audience was 48 years of age. (Source: National Endowment for the Arts)

Younger Audiences
In 2002, 25.2% of the U.S. opera audience was under the age of 35 years old . (Source: National Endowment for the Arts)

Broadcast and Recorded Media
The percentage of adults viewing or listening to opera via broadcast and recorded media remains higher than live attendance. In 2002, 37.6 million adults experienced opera on TV, radio, video, audio recordings, or via the Internet . (Source: National Endowment for the Arts)

Participation
In 2002, 1.4 million adults personally participated in performing or creating opera. (Source: National Endowment for the Arts)

Minority attendance
In 2002, 13.7% of the opera audience were part of minority groups ; African-Americans accounted for 3.9%, Hispanics for 6.2%, and Asians and Native Americans for 3.6%. (Source: National Endowment for the Arts)

Economic impact
OPERA America and Opera.ca companies had collective budgets of almost $700 million and employed over 20,000 people on a full-time and part-time basis in 2001. Including related expenditures by audience members and employees, opera is a multibillion dollar industry . (Source: OPERA America )

Box office income
OPERA America and Opera.ca companies posted over $300 million dollars in box office receipts for FY01, up 5.6% from the prior year. Box office income represents 41% of total operating income for all companies. (Source: OPERA America )

Private Support
Private support of OPERA America companies in the United States reached $466,005,727 in FY01, representing 56% of the total income. (Source: OPERA America )

Government Support
Support from the National Endowment for the Arts declined in FY01, to $1,377,516; a 7.6% decrease from the previous year. NEA support represented less than .17% of all income reported by U.S. companies in 2000-2001. Support from the Canada Council provided 10% of total income for Opera.ca companies, contributing 37% of all public support. (Source: OPERA America )

Education programs
The total audience for education programs served by U.S. and Canadian companies during the 2000-2001 season totaled 16,047,891 people; a 35% increase over the 1999-2000 season's education audience of 11,906,516 people. (Source: OPERA America )

New works
In 2000-2001, there were seven world premieres in North America . Since 1990, over 172 new operatic works have been produced by professional opera companies in North America . (Source: OPERA America )

The most frequently produced operas of the 2002-2003 season:

• La bohème
• La traviata
• Die Fledermaus
• Carmen
• Tosca
• Don Giovanni
• Madama Butterfly
• Rigoletto
• Pagliacci
• Don Pasquale
  (tie) Lucia di Lammermoor

(Source: OPERA America )

The 10 most frequently produced North American operas of the 2002-2003 season:

• Amahl and the Night Visitors
• The Ballad of Baby Doe
• Candide
• Porgy and Bess
• Susannah
• Kopernikus
• Cold Sassy Tree
• The Consul
• The Rake's Progess
• Regina
  (tie) Street Scene

(Source: OPERA America )