OPERADELAWARE is a revelation…
Come revel with us

OUR MISSION

OperaDelaware produces bold, vibrant, and creative performances that empower artists, enrich the community, entertain audiences, and encourage curiosity.

OUR VALUES

Artistic Empowerment - We celebrate the dignity and diverse talents of artists and cultivate an environment where collective creativity flourishes.

Inclusivity and Diversity - We invite ALL people to experience the beauty, joy, and passion of opera with us.

Inspiration - We produce high-quality, entertaining, and thought-provoking art that energizes audiences.

Curiosity - We encourage our community, artists, and staff to use the inquisitive nature of opera to explore life’s deep emotions and experiences.

OPERA FOR ALL

A Statement for inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility: OperaDelaware is committed to inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility in pursuit of opera for all with the intent of reflecting the greater community in which we reside, perform, serve, and on which we depend. 

OUR HISTORY

In 1945 a group of local artisans gathered under the guidance of Chick Laird to present classic opera with the finest voices in Wilmington at affordable prices. Today, our patrons are geographically and culturally as diverse as ever, stretching across the East Coast while at the same time reaching deeply into our Wilmington roots. Located in the heart of Wilmington, we serve the entire metropolitan area. 

OperaDelaware is the only professional opera company in the state and the 11th oldest in the country. It is a source of economic revitalization and a source of arts education for many schools in the area that have none. The company employs nearly 250 full- and part-time local artists and staffers throughout the season and operates on a $1.5 million annual budget. 

Artists we have nurtured have performed in major houses throughout the world. We have been the recipient of major grants from national and local organizations and have received numerous awards and recognitions, including the National Endowment for the Arts, Opera America, Governor’s Award for the Arts, and National Opera Associations’ Service to Children’s Opera award. We are a company that still retains the founders’ original philosophy of “Opera for Everyone.”

For a complete listing of our mainstage performances, please see our Past Productions page.

OperaDelaware Hall of Fame

The following OperaDelaware supporters, donors, friends, and volunteers have been inducted into the Hall of Fame in recognition of their service and dedication to the opera. 

E. Andrew DiSabatino
Henry Dowdy
Cynthia du Pont Tobias
Newell Duncan
Betsy Ferris
Harry Glaze
Jonnie Holzman
Chick Laird
Lee Kimball
Eric Kjellmark
Robert Parker
Evelyn Swensson
Anthony Winchester
Nina Worthington
Dick Yates

CURRENT STRATEGIC PLAN

OperaDelaware is proud to share our Strategic Plan shaped collaboratively by our staff, senior leadership, and Board of Directors. This plan reflects a shared commitment to bold innovation and the evolution of our Company Artist Model. Together, we are reimagining what it means to build a sustainable livelihood in the arts, centering artists not only as performers but as year-round creative partners, educators, ambassadors, and community leaders.

Developed through months of conversation, research, and collective visioning, the Strategic Plan outlines a clear path forward: strengthening organizational resilience, deepening community partnerships, expanding artistic programming, and creating equitable, stable opportunities for artists to thrive. It is a roadmap rooted in collaboration and guided by our belief that the future of opera depends on empowering the people who bring it to life.

We invite you to explore the plan and join us in shaping a more vibrant, innovative, and artist-centered future for Delaware and beyond.

Click to view our Strategic Plan.

FINANCIALS

Click here to access OperaDelaware’s most recent 990.

OperaDelaware was recently elevated to Gold Status in Guidestar’s Candid Seal of Transparency. We want to make sure you have the progress updates you need to support our work with trust and confidence.

THE OPERADELAWARE STUDIOS

OperaDelaware is located on the Wilmington Riverfront; our address is 4 S. Poplar Street, Wilmington, DE, 19801. With floor to ceiling windows looking out over the Christina River, our The Ethel L. Sayre Recital Hall is truly a breathtaking space, perfect for intimate recitals and concerts. Both The Ethel L. Sayre Recital Hall and The Presser Black Box Theater are available for event rentals. For more information about rentals, please go HERE.

MEET THE STAFF

Brendan Cooke, General Director Emeritus
Brendan Cooke was appointed General Director of OperaDelaware in June 2012. Cooke joined OD from the Baltimore Concert Opera, a company he founded in 2008 in response to the collapse of the Baltimore Opera Company. Cooke and his board of directors launched this start-up opera company with $700 in personal funds. Under his leadership, BCO experienced exponential growth. After founding BCO, Cooke continued his career in Arts Administration as a member of the marketing team for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, where he was Group Sales Manager for the organization. He holds a Master’s degree in Music from the prestigious Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, (where he was a student of renowned bass-baritone John Shirley-Quirk) and a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Loyola University in New Orleans. In addition to his entrepreneurial skills, Cooke brings to OperaDelaware extensive experience in front and back-office operations, fundraising, facilitation of corporate and community partnerships, education, sales, and marketing. Brendan resides in North Wilmington with his wife Julia and their boys Gus and Rex.

Eric Einhorn, General Director
Eric Einhorn has directed productions at many of the country’s leading opera houses, including The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera Chicago, Pittsburgh Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Wolf Trap Opera, Ft. Worth Opera, Florentine Opera, Austin Opera, and Utah Opera. He served on the staging staff of the Metropolitan Opera from 2005-2020. While on the staff, he collaborated on over forty productions ranging from standard repertoire to world premieres.

From 2012-2023, Eric was the co-founding General & Artistic Director of On Site Opera, the country’s only opera company dedicated to site-specific productions. His immersive, site-specific productions performed to critical acclaim in venues and institutions throughout New York City and beyond that range from community gardens, historic homes, restaurants, the American Museum of Natural History, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, and Australia’s Yarra Valley Opera Festival.

He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Opera Directing & Voice Performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

Anthony Barrese, Music Director
Maestro Anthony Barrese assumed the role of OperaDelaware's Music Director on Sept. 1, 2017. Maestro Barrese has conducted productions with the company for the past three seasons, including the East Coast Premiere of his reconstructed version of Franco Faccio’s Amleto. Maestro Barrese, who also serves as the Artistic Director of Opera Southwest in Albuquerque, NM, is a highly sought-after guest conductor with opera companies across the country and the world.

Diane Shomper, Board Liaison and Development Manager
Diane Shomper joined OperaDelaware as Board Liaison/Development Manager in November 2021. She brings to OD long experience in corporate communications in the industrial and financial services sectors. Her arts sector experience includes serving on the boards of the Delaware Chamber Music Festival and the Music School of Delaware, and also serving as a volunteer for OperaDelaware prior to joining the company. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in Speech Communication & Rhetoric from Wayne State University.

Zachery Tyler Lockwood, Company Manager
Zachery Tyler Lockwood joined the OperaDelaware staff in April 2023 after serving on the Stage Management team for the company’s productions of Così fan tutte (2022) and La traviata (2023). Lockwood (tenor) is an active performer and music educator with a focus on connecting with his community through the arts and advocating for innovative/underutilized vocal works. He brings to OD an organized, communication-driven approach towards its mission that has greatly increased operational efficiency and overall satisfaction with OD’s opera production process. Lockwood holds Bachelor’s degrees in both Vocal Performance & Music Education (2020), and a Master’s degree in Vocal Pedagogy (2022), from Towson University.

If you'd like to contact a member of our staff, please use the CONTACT US form.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS | 2025/26

Executive Officers
Christina MacMillan, President
Meghan Newberry, Vice-President
Gregory P. Barclay, MD, Treasurer
Peter Gordon, Secretary
Dennis Williams, At large

Board Members
Carol Arnott-Robbins
Sean Boston
Ja’Nikka Caraballo
Dante Cerza
Carol Denson
Robert Grenfell
Michael J. Hoffman
Carlos Mackall
Dara McBride
David Pollack
Nora Reilly
John E. Roberts
Jennie Romano
Scott Sumner
Levi T. Thompson
Evelyn Williams

ADVISORY BOARD

Roberts W. Brokaw, III
Francesca DiGuglielmo
E. Andrew DiSabatino, Jr.
S. Keith Duncan, Ph.D.
Ed Dwornik
Sharon Gaudino
Nina Pletcher
Kristine Stott
Cynthia du Pont Tobias