Jenna Tamisiea is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Glow Lyric Theatre in Greenville, South Carolina, a company devoted to placing opera and musical theatre at the center of difficult social and political conversations. In today's article, she reflects on the experience of starting an opera company — particularly one that is politically vocal in a region that holds largely opposing viewpoints — and what she learned when she went against conventional wisdom and followed her convictions.

NYC-based Mezzo-soprano Caitlin McKechney takes a look at another innovative NYC "indie opera" company, Heartbeat Opera.

Our Developing Organizations and Audiences column features opera companies and producers who are making inroads into non-traditional opera audiences, and creating captivating art in unexpected places. This week, Emily Cox interviews Clare DiVizio, who founded and runs Thompson Street Opera Company in Chicago, Illinois — a company committed to the performance of new and exciting works never before seen by opera audiences.

Our Developing Organizations and Audiences column features opera companies and producers who are making inroads into non-traditional opera audiences, and creating captivating art in unexpected places. This week, Emily Cox interviews Metropolitan Opera tenor Robert McPherson, whose original act, "The Drunken Tenor," recently earned him "Best of Fringe" accolades at Seattle Fringe Festival.

In the first installment of our "Developing Audiences and Organizations" series, soprano Katy Lindhart profiles one of the crown jewels of New York City's independent opera scene: LoftOpera.