In late 2022, Bold City Opera was formally founded by locally-based soprano Christine Alfano and conductor Brandon Michael Smith. What started off as a dream between two collaborating musicians came to fruition with BCO's extraordinarily successful first season in 2023. This inaugural season featured free outreach performances of Barber's A Hand of Bridge at The Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens, as well as a highly celebrated and nearly sold-out production of Puccini's Suor Angelica at St. John's Cathedral. Season Two featured greatly expanded programming, with three one-act operas on the calendar— two of which were offered free to the public— and a wider array of Outreach events that cater to opera lovers as well as to singers themselves. Stay tuned for our Season Three announcement coming Summer 2025!

 

Without exception, Bold City Opera productions prioritize casting local talent and creative staff over all others, and provide paid opportunities to countless emerging artists in our region. BCO is proudly run entirely by musicians, the majority of them being singers, who volunteer their time to make opera happen in unexpected and exciting ways here in the "Bold New City of the South!"

​

Our Mission Statement is at the core of everything we do. We invite you to read it, below:

​

​

​

​

​

Bold City Opera creates cutting-edge opera by fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and championing immersive experiences. By producing works in innovative and revolutionary ways, we aim to cultivate and educate new audiences. We aspire to build community by forging a vision of opera that is universally accessible, inclusive of underrepresented voices, and which showcases regional and emerging artists. BCO is proudly a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

​

​

​