Special Initiatives of NOA

NOA Now (e-zine)

The Argento Fellowships

The Carolyn Bailey Argento Fellowship for Vocal Performance and the Dominick Argento Fellowship for Opera Composition are made possible through a generous endowment established by the prominent American composer Dominick Argento (1927-2019), and in honor of his wife, the soprano Carolyn Bailey Argento (1930-2006).  These award programs provide full graduate-level tuition and living expenses for the duration of an eligible graduate degree (up to two years for a master's-level degree, and up to three years for a doctoral-level degree), up to $50,000 per year.

The Legacy Project

The National Opera Association recognizes the importance of ethnic and racial diversity in professional opera. The Legacy Project of the National Opera Association is established to achieve that goal by recognizing the contributions of those who have led progress toward that goal, and to assist, through career development grants, those who demonstrate potential to advance the goal.

The Sacred in Opera

The Sacred in Opera seeks to promote operatic representations of the religious quest through encouraging places of worship, colleges/universities, and communities to explore the dynamic interplay of opera and theology. The initiative promotes research and conference sessions, and celebrates significant contributions to operatic representations that explore and engage ideologies of world religions. 

The Young People’s Opera Project

NOA Lifetime Achievement Award

JoElyn Wakefield-Wright Stage Director Fellowship

The National Opera Association's JoElyn Wakefield-Wright Stage Director Fellowship provides funding to aspiring opera stage directors as they begin their careers. This fellowship is open to music or theater graduate students, or early career post-academics, with an interest in opera stage direction.

NOA Student Resources