Alongside organizing a contest for composers and librettists from marginalized communities, the festival will also debut the victorious operas from the previous two editions. Initially designed as a music composition contest, the Atlanta Opera's 96-Hour Opera Festival is evolving this year to pair composers and librettists for crafting ten-minute operas, specifically aiming to spotlight emerging talents from historically marginalized backgrounds.

This year's festival commences with the premiere of the 2022 winning opera titled "Forsyth County is Flooding (with the Joy of Lake Lanier)" composed by Marcus Norris and written by Adamma Ebo. Following this, the 2023 winning opera "Steele Roots" by Selda Sahin and Dave Ragland will undergo a workshop session.

In 2024, winners of the competition will be awarded the $10,000 Antinori Foundation Grand Prize along with a commission from the Atlanta Opera for a new chamber opera to be staged in an upcoming season. Additionally, all other participants will receive a guaranteed honorarium of $1,000.

Tomer Zvulun, the general and artistic director, expressed, "The 96-Hour Opera competition has flourished into a full-fledged festival this season. Apart from hosting the esteemed competition to discover a talented team for commissioning a new opera, we're also presenting the world premiere of 'Forsyth County is Flooding' (winner of the 2022 competition) and workshopping 'Steele Roots' (winner of last year's competition)."

He added, "This crucial program stands as one of the highlights of our season, and we're thrilled to witness its transformation into a festival within such a short span."