The following is a press release written by Maestro Diego Barbosa-Vásquez for the Performing Arts Laboratory.
- Opera is reinvented through diversity: PAL announces the 2025 call for Opera Camp™, a global program that empowers composers and librettists to co-create new operas rooted in their cultures, voices, and stories.
- The project invites creators from around the world to co-create unique operas with professional mentorship, international premieres, and global exposure.
- Applications will be open until August 25, 2025 (early deadline: August 10). Submissions will be accepted online.
- A Colombian international Conductor & Scholar, Maestro Diego Barbosa-Vásquez, leads this innovative international movement from the United States.
The Performing Arts Laboratory (PAL) announces the official opening of applications for the 2025 edition of the Opera Camp™ Composition and Libretto Program, a pioneering international initiative that opens the doors of operatic creation to diverse, innovative, and culturally rooted composers and librettists from around the world.
With the motto “Your culture, your music, your stories, and your voice deserve to be heard — and shared with the world,” the program offers a transformative experience that empowers artists to co-create new operas under professional mentorship, with international premieres and global dissemination. A program designed to provide the platforms needed for all music, cultures, and communities to be empowered and take an active role in transforming the performing arts on a global scale.
“Opera, in its essence, is a collaborative art form that unites all creative disciplines — music, poetry, theater, design, and movement,” says Maestro Diego Barbosa-Vásquez, creator and artistic director of Opera Camp™. “With this program, we return to opera’s original roots: a living, inclusive experience deeply connected to communities.”
A Global Call to Co-Create the Opera of the Future
Opera Camp™ will select:
- 1 professional composer and 1 professional librettist to co-create a one-act opera.
- 6 pre-professional creators (3 composers and 3 librettists) to develop original arias or scenes.
Selected artists will:
- Receive direct mentorship from Maestro Barbosa-Vásquez and the PAL team.
- Participate in an immersive co-creation process centered on their cultural identity.
- Premiere their works at the Bloomington Opera Camp™ (June 2026).
- Have their overtures performed by professional-level international orchestras.
- Access professional recordings, promotion, and future royalties.
- Become part of the CommunityOperaScores™ catalog, which shares works globally.
Scholarships cover 100% of the program's value ($15,000 USD for composers / $7,500 USD for professional librettists), including production, artistic development, and mentorship.
Premieres on International Stages:
The overture of the professional opera will premiere between 2026 and 2028 with:
- The Americas Chamber Orchestra (USA)
- Santa Monica Symphony (USA)
- National Youth Symphony Orchestra of El Salvador
- José C. Paz Municipal Orchestra (Argentina)
- Symphony Orchestra of the Pontifical Xavierian University (Colombia)
- And more orchestras to be confirmed
These performances offer global visibility and invaluable professional credentials to the participants.
Who Can Apply?
The program is open to composers and librettists of any nationality with experience in:
- Vocal and orchestral writing (composers)
- Dramatic narrative or libretto writing (librettists)
Requirements:
- Functional command of English (and another language relevant to their cultural identity)
- Willingness to collaborate and commitment to meaningful storytelling
- Availability for an intensive creative experience conducted entirely online (with optional residency in Bloomington, USA, in 2026)
About PAL and Maestro Barbosa-Vásquez
The Performing Arts Laboratory (PAL) is an international center dedicated to transforming the performing arts through sustainability, collaborative governance, and innovation. Through its three pillars — Productions, Services, and Resources — and initiatives like Opera Camp™, CommunityOperaScores™, and The History Of...™, PAL is redefining the future of opera, ballet, and symphonic music worldwide.
The program is part of Opera Camp™, an internationally awarded model and the result of Maestro Diego Barbosa-Vásquez’s doctoral dissertation (who leads the entire program). He is the only Colombian with a Doctorate in Opera, Orchestra, and Ballet Conducting from the prestigious Jacobs School of Music (Indiana University). A conductor, scholar, and global leader with over 15 years of experience, he has led orchestras and operas in the United States, Europe, and Latin America, collaborating with institutions such as Opera America and the League of American Orchestras. As a Colombia Country Brand Ambassador and Postdoctoral Researcher in performing arts sustainability collaborating with the Ostrom Workshop (Nobel Prize-winning institution), he combines expertise in Latin American music, public policy, and artistic innovation. Currently, as General Director of the Performing Arts Laboratory and Music Director of The Americas Chamber Orchestra, he continues to transform the cultural landscape with visionary projects, standing out as an international reference in musical direction and the sustainability of the arts.
? Share Your Voice with the World!
Opera Camp™ 2025 invites you to join a new generation of creators who are reinventing opera from its roots.
- Early application deadline: August 10, 2025
- Final application deadline: August 25, 2025
Apply now: https://www.performingartslab.com/oc/composition-libretto-program-es
More info about Opera Camp™: https://www.performingartslab.com/oc/
