From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

For Emily Margevich, a 29-year-old soprano and Chicago native, the path to a professional opera career has been as unpredictable as it is demanding. From studying at Chicago’s DePaul University to navigating the uncertainties of auditions and the gig economy, she has finally found stability – and a home – through OperaDelaware’s groundbreaking company artist program.

“This program is not just about income,” she said. “It’s about your soul feeling [that] there’s a company that believes in me, and I’m still active in this business. I’m still performing, I’m creating. This is a very healthy, wonderful way to feel fulfilled as an artist.”

Margevich’s journey with OperaDelaware began in January 2023, when a chance opportunity brought her to Wilmington. A fellow singer and friend recommended her for a last-minute concert spot. Within 24 hours, she was performing in front of an audience–a rare opportunity that transformed into something much bigger this year.

“For me, getting the opportunity to have an audition that was also a performance was a dream come true,” she shared. “It was a really fortunate meeting, and at the time, they were in the workings of creating such a program that now exists. This is a new model, it’s a new, wonderful idea for the opera industry In general. I’m a company artist at OperaDelaware.”

“That means I’m on salary, I get health insurance, and I do performances. So my job with them is to be a singer,” she added.

Founded in the 1940s, OperaDelaware holds the distinction of being the 11th oldest opera company in the United States. Over the decades, the Wilmington-based nonprofit has built a reputation for innovation while honoring tradition.

Their newest initiative — a two-year pilot program to employ artists full-time, marks a significant step toward addressing one of the performing arts’ most persistent challenges: sustainability.

“We came up with this idea to revolutionize what it means to work in opera,” said Kerriann Otaño, vice president of engagements at OperaDelaware. “Opera singers are freelance artists who bounce from city to city, and we really want to create a stable environment where artists can work their crafts, can build a home life here in Delaware and also get involved in the administrative side of nonprofits, so that they can become the leaders of opera in the future.”

“Currently in America, about 95% of working opera singers, professional performing artists are doing some sort of side hustle, they’re working in some other field outside of their time performing,” she added.

OperaDelaware’s program offers six artists full-time employment, complete with benefits and housing stipends. In addition to performing, singers like Margevich contribute to the company by creating community-focused programming, such as pop-up operas, school outreach, and senior citizen engagement.

“Opera has often been seen as something inaccessible, something high-brow and elitist,” Otaño explained. “By having artists working at OperaDelaware full-time, this increases our ability, our output, it increases what we’re able to produce. It increases our performances in schools, our pop-up opera performances, it increases what we’re able to curate and perform in the OperaDelaware Studios and really puts the curatorial power in the artist’s hands.”

Currently, the nonprofit employs four artists through the program, and two positions are still open. This provides an opportunity for more singers to join and benefit from this groundbreaking initiative.