The mission of Harlem Opera Theater is to provide performance opportunities for gifted professional and developing singers, as well as other musicians of exceptional potential for an operatic career in local, national, and international forums. The organization develops an audience for the classical art form in underserved communities where opera is seldom heard.

Founded in 2001 under the leadership of Dr. Gregory Hopkins, Artistic Director, as a non-profit corporation, the concert season includes a Salute to Black History Month in February, celebrating Spirituals by African American composers such as Harry T. Burleigh, Father of the Spiritual Arrangement, Hall Johnson and Margaret Bonds; also, selections from operas of classical composers, Giuseppe Verdi, Gaetano Donizetti, and Scott Joplin. We present concerts, recitals, and new initiatives; we collaborate with other organizations to present new artists throughout the year and host a Community Holiday Sing in December. We have hosted a master class for artists and a community focus group session with Harlem stakeholders. We develop the audience and potential artists of the future as we present “Opera for Beginners”, a music literacy project to enrich the lives of children through in-school performances in the NYC Public Schools; charter schools, and after school programs, such as the Northside Center. Harlem Opera Theater has presented approximately 150 classical singers in concert to a combined audience of over 15,000 patrons of the arts.