NOA Opera Production Competition

The Opera Production Competition encourages and rewards high-quality, creative opera productions at academic institutions and music conservatories.

Competition Guidelines, 2025-26 Cycle

Note Regarding Anonymity

In previous iterations of the competition, strict anonymity was required during adjudication. However, we recognize that in today’s environment, productions are widely publicized and easily identifiable through recognition of personnel, casts, and venues. For this reason, the anonymity requirement has been removed beginning with this year’s competition.

Judges will continue to be expected to evaluate each submission professionally and solely on the basis of its artistic and production merit, without regard to any knowledge of the producing institution.

Competition Timeline

• June 15: Submission Period closes
• November 15: Winners Announced

Eligibility

• Productions must have been performed between June 1, 2025 and June 15, 2026 at a college/university or conservatory.
• Only full opera/operetta productions are eligible; scenes programs and staged art song cycles are not.
• The submitter (institution or production team member) must be a current NOA member.
• Multiple entries are allowed per institution, but each institution can win a maximum of two awards total and only one in a single division.

Submission Requirements

Online Application   Pay Fee Now...

Before you begin your application, please check to make sure your NOA membership is current.

Submission period closes 11:59 PM PST, June 15. No late entries are accepted.

You must provide the following via the online application:

• A link to your production video on the streaming site of your choice (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.). If you have more than two links, you are encouraged to combine them into one video.
• A hi-res production photo
• Title, composer, librettist, and duration of the opera. 
  • Double-bills should be submitted as a single production / competition entry.  Please enter the information in the fields as best as you can. Please simply separate with a /, for instance:
    • Gianni Schicchi/Buoso’s Ghost; Puccini/Ching
• Production Format: Tell us how you created your opera. Examples: Traditional Staged Production; Greenscreen Film and Animation; Traditional Film; Minecraft Opera
• If your production is a pastiche, you will be asked to upload a PDF of the run order of your show.
• A cast list of up to eight named characters, along with the age and level of training (class rank/professional/faculty) of the singers playing those roles.
  • The age and level of training of singers will be considered when assigning productions to appropriate divisions.
  • See AGMA's Schedule C for assistance in determining role sizes (e.g. Leading, Supporting, or Bit/Comprimario).
• Complete budget, broken down by: Scenic/Projection, Costume, Lighting, and Post-production video editing:
  • If pulling from stock or borrowing, include original cost of items, or an estimate.
  • Include any rental costs, but do not include shipping costs for rentals.
  • Do not include designer costs.
  • Select designer level on the form (i.e. professional faculty designer, professional outside designer, grad student designer, no separate designer, or other). 
  • Do not include publicity costs or other expenses not specifically indicated.
• Orchestra size
• Director’s Note, if you desire. This will be your opportunity to explain your concept and approach, any changes you may have made to the libretto, setting, etc. (1200-character limit)
• Synopsis of productions that are new, rare, or in a language other than Italian, German, French, or English. It is not necessary to include a synopsis for works in the common repertory (1200-character limit)
• Pay the application fee ($25 per entry) through the NOA secure online payment area. Be aware this payment item will only be available to you if your NOA membership is current, so please check this in advance of the submission deadline.

Incomplete and/or inaccurate applications or entries with non-working video links will be disqualified, and entry fees will not be refunded.

By submitting a production for competition, you allow NOA to use submitted video and production photos for publicity purposes.

Video Guidelines

• Videos must be of a complete, live, single performance or dress rehearsal with audience, using either a single camera or multiple cameras (zoom/pan okay). Submissions that are edited from multiple performances will be disqualified.
• Independent microphone systems are permitted.
• If you have the technology to superimpose surtitles, they are welcome.
• Please ensure that the sound levels on your video submission are audible.
• The video must be submitted as a link from a streaming platform such as YouTube or Vimeo, and should not require a password to view. Note that links to non-streaming services such as Google Drive, OneDrive, Box, Dropbox, etc., are not acceptable.
  • The video title should include the name of the opera and the performance date, e.g.
    • Le Nozze di Figaro – 3/11/26

Competition Divisions

The Opera Production Competition is divided into multiple divisions so that competitors are fairly judged against similarly cast and budgeted productions. The committee will determine division assignments after all applications have been submitted. Entries will first be divided into undergraduate and graduate levels. In the case of casts of mixed age/training, the committee will determine into which level the production will be placed. Each of these levels will then be further divided into divisions based on production size and budget.

• Undergraduate Level – for productions whose principal cast members are predominantly undergraduate in age or training level.
  • Up to 4 divisions
• Graduate Level – for productions whose principal cast members are predominantly graduate or adult singers in age or training level.
  • Up to 4 divisions

Please note that the NOA Opera Production Competition is for student-centered operas produced at academic institutions. While we do see an occasional faculty member or professional in a cast list, if a production has a faculty member or professional singer in a leading or featured role, that production may be placed in the graduate category even if the rest of the cast is predominantly undergraduate. Two or more faculty/professional singers in leading roles may lead to disqualification, depending on the opera and the roles. Final determination of which division a production is placed in is at the sole discretion of the NOA Opera Production Competition Committee.

Final determination of which division a production is placed is at the sole discretion of the NOA Opera Production Competition Committee.

Judges and Judging

Judges for the NOA Opera Production Competition are opera professionals and educators. The committee endeavors to recruit judges who are actively working in the field as singers, directors, producers, conductors, composers, coaches, or artist managers. NOA board members, members who are past winners in the competition, and Opera Production Competition Committee members are often invited to judge, but NOA membership is not a prerequisite to judge.

Our panel includes artists who have worked at the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, LA Opera, San Diego Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Bregenzer Festspiele, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Oper Stuttgart, Washington National Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Israeli Opera, Royal Danish Opera, and Zürich Opera among others.

Entries will be judged in the following categories:

1. Musicianship (accuracy and musical integrity)  
2. Quality of singing (as appropriate to the style)  
3. Diction (clarity and accuracy)  
4. Dramatic credibility and characterization  
5. Production concept, staging and execution  
6. Quality of the production (relative to the budget)

Each Division will be assigned a 3-judge panel which will judge every entry in that Division. The judges and the committee reserve the right to limit the number of awards in a category if, in their professional opinion, there are insufficient entries deserving of recognition.

Winners will be notified by November 15, and a complete list of winning entries, along with production photos, will be posted on the NOA website. Awards will be presented at the National Conference. NOA may also use submitted video and production photographs for publicity purposes.  

Questions?

Please see our FAQ!

Opera Production Competition

• Past OPC Winners
• FAQ