Opera Carolina is a professional opera company located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company reaches over 75,000 people from North Carolina and South Carolina.
Founded in 1948 by the Charlotte Music Club, Opera Carolina is a product of the 1986 merger of the Charlotte Opera Association and North Carolina Opera, combining main stage, educational, and touring operations. Professional leadership has become precedence throughout the company, with such men as Artistic Directors Richard Marshall and Charles Rosencranz, and General Director James Wright. Since the year 2000, Opera Carolina has been under the direction of General Director and Principal Conductor James Meena.
Opera Carolina is a member of Opera America[1] and is supported by the Arts and Science Council of Charlotte-Mecklenburg[2], the National Endowment for the Arts, and the North Carolina Arts Council[3]. Opera Carolina presents four main stage productions, featuring the Opera Carolina Chorus and the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra[4], in the Belk Theater located in the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. Opera Carolina also presents an annual Valentine's Day Concert, Love Notes, held at Dana Auditorium, Queen's University. Opera Carolina's season begins in October and runs until mid April.