Founded in 2020 by James B. Mowdy, MBA, Opera Innovation began as a user-generated blog where business of opera entrepreneurs shared their ideas, initiatives, startups, and small businesses. In 2025, OI remains the only platform dedicated to exploring and expanding the spaces occupied by the business of opera, tech, brand, culture, and global innovation. As our Venn Diagram suggests, opera requires deep coordination with other technologies, producers, and partners in order to scale, succeed, and flourish.

Opera is one of world’s great art forms, but it’s also a global industry with centuries of track record. OI aims to be the opera professional's top of mind brand for business engagement; a digital and physical space where the cross-pollination of experience and expertise creates greater understanding, reach, funding and sustainability for the operatic arts, through mutually-beneficial, innovative and revenue-producing collaboration.

Powered by our mission to create business of opera connection with new markets and like-minded leaders, our one-of-a-kind events, multi-channel content, and consulting services break norms and change expectations with return.