Opera’s Mandate is a one-day conference event that seeks to bring together some of the most innovative artists working in American opera productions today and contemplate the future of opera as a genre in the 21st Century. A keynote conversation with the American music critic John Rockwell and musicologist Professor Scott Burnham will open this event, and thereafter three separate panels will explore intersections between chamber opera and music theater, address the question of who makes opera and engage in open discussion. The day will end with a short cabaret event showcasing new work from American Opera Projects under Charles Jarden, and excerpts from three chamber opera works by Princeton composers.

Hosted by Princeton University, this event celebrates the spaces made available by the new Lewis Arts complex opened in September, 2017 and is sponsored by the David A. Gardner ’69 Magic Project in the Humanities Council and the University Center for Human Values, with support from the Department of Music and the Lewis Center, Princeton University.