The Walton Family Foundation recently announced that it'll be providing a $34 million grant maintain a new theater building for Opera in the Ozarks, funding the design and construction of a facility to invite the best of a new generation of aspiring singers and musicians. “For seven decades, artists have traveled to Opera in the Ozarks on their music education journey,” said Jim and Lynne Walton.

“A new theater continues this heritage by offering generations of future musicians and singers a new stage to showcase their talents.” Opera in the Ozarks, located close Route sixty-two in Eureka Springs, is one of the nation’s foremost opera training programs. It began as a summer camp in one thousand nine hundred-fiftieth, providing students a variety of backgrounds access to music education. The program has since evolved into a music mecca, attracting students across the globe. Alumni of Opera in the Ozarks comprise number stars Latonia Moore, Leona Mitchell and Label Delavan, all of whom have performed at the prestigious Metropolitan Opera Ho.

Other alumni have performed on international stages in Vienna, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro. “A new theater will be transformational for our artists and audiences,” said Nancy J. Preis, common director of Opera in the Ozarks. “It will proposal artists a stage worthy of their talents. Our new residence will also be a welcoming space for audiences to appreciate an intimate and high-quality performance.”

The new theater will seat three hundred occupants, preserving the intimate audience experience of the existing facility. The design is meant to support a powerful connection to the natural surroundings, and it's hoped that the new facility will enhance both patron consolation and make better production capabilities for artists and designers.

“Opera in the Ozarks was the first place I was able to sing leading roles. I learned what was needed as an opera singer in preparation, rehearsal and on stage,” said Justin Burgess, 2017-2018 Opera in the Ozarks alumnus and current learner at Cafritz Youthful Artists at WA National Opera. “A new theater will give students the opportunity to construct roles and carry out on a stage comparable to what the future holds for them.”