OPERA America President and CEO Marc A. Scorca is stepping down from his position at the end of December 2025. Scorca was hired in 1990 by then-OPERA America Chair Ardis Krainik to lead the organization.
He will shift to the role of Senior Fellow for one additional year after his successor takes over in January 2026. “Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of my first internship at the Metropolitan Opera. I will be in the middle of my 35th year as president and CEO of OPERA America and the 20th since our relocation from Washington, D.
C., to New York,” recounted Scorca. “After careful reflection, I’ve decided to pass the torch to a new chief executive who will build on the strong foundation we have created together to support opera across the country and around the world.
” During his tenure, Scorca expanded membership from 120 opera companies to over 200 companies and 350 ensembles, businesses, conservatories, and other affiliated institutions. He also spearheaded a $14.5 million campaign, the largest in the organization’s history, to move OPERA America from Washington D.
C. to New York City and establish the National Opera Center. The company has also awarded $22.
5 million in grants throughout Scorca’s tenure and in the early 2000s he established the Opera Fund and has expanded to other initiatives to support women and BIPOC composers and librettists. Scorca also led the Fellowship Program for new leaders in the opera industry with approximately 10 percent of a.