Opera On Tap

In October 2007 the Big Easy partnered with the Big Apple, making New Orleans the first official Opera on Tap franchise. Eight times each season, the New Orleans Opera presents the finest young local and regional singers in casual, 90-minute concerts of opera, Broadway and more.

Now in its 4th season, Opera on Tap - New Orleans is attracting people from around the world. The Rusty Nail is the OOT-NO home base, and this season OOT-NO is expanding to The Inn on Bourbon. Opera will be heard once again in the French Quarter on the hallowed grounds of the French Opera House, which served as the cultural center of New Orleans Creole society for 60 years until it was lost to fire in 1919. OOT-NO will also head to the Northshore to the Abita Brew Pub.

"Seeing the singers congregate and flit around the bar was like having a backstage pass, while the immediacy of the small stage was akin to having season ticket holder seats."
-Alex V. Cook, author, critic and journalist with Country Roads Magazine

View videos of our most recent performance at The Rusty Nail:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

upcoming opera on tap performances

Join us at these fun FREE nights out from 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM.

The Inn on Bourbon

541 Bourbon Street | New Orleans, LA 70130
September 21, 2011
October 13, 2011
November 2, 2011
December 21, 2011
February 1, 2012
March 1, 2012

The Rusty Nail

1100 Constance Street | New Orleans, LA 70130
October 5, 2011
November 9, 2011
February 8, 2012
April 11, 2012

Abita Brew Pub

72011 Holly Street | Abita Springs, LA 70420
September 28, 2011
October 26, 2011
February 22, 2012
April 4, 2012

Pontchartrain Vineyards - Jazz 'n the Vines

81250 Old Military Rd. | Bush LA. 70431
October 22, 2011

Opera on Tap performers are available for hire!

Known as Opera on Tap on the Road, the group has performed at the French Quarter Festival, on the steamboat Natchez, and at private parties. In October 2008 the singers performed at Southeastern Louisiana University’s Pottle Auditorium as part of the Fanfare Festival. For more information, call Carol Rausch at 504-529-2278, ex. 222 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

“We have found that the "Opera on Tap" concerts in our metro area have had many benefits for the New Orleans Opera:

First, they are a great way to demystify opera. One of our biggest OOT fans told us that, until she attended one of these events, she considered opera socially, intellectually and financially unavailable to her. Then she had the chance to hear our singers bringing live opera to the Rusty Nail and got to sit on a barstool and chat with our General/Artistic Director over a beer. She ended up being a subscriber! And our concerts are attracting a wide age range, with patrons from 19 to 90, from students to Uptown matrons.

Secondly, even in a city that has a tradition (stemming from French Creole society) of operagoing dating back to 1796, there are many people who don't know our company even exists and annually presents four main stage operas. The OOT concerts are a fun, casual way to promote each of our upcoming productions, as well as to raise awareness about the art form in general.

Thirdly, our population has shifted a great deal post-Katrina, with many more citizens living in suburbs on the Northshore (of Lake Pontchartrain) in St. Tammany Parish. While we are as yet unable to take a full scale production to a venue in the cities of Covington, Mandeville or Slidell, during the 2009-2010 season we were able to add OOT concerts at the popular Abita Brew Pub in Abita Springs. Northshore residents are excited to have opera come to them!

Finally, OOT concerts are a great way to showcase the talents of voice students at area universities, of members of the New Orleans Opera Chorus and of locally based professional singers seeking a performance outlet. They're fun for the audience, but just as fun for the performers!”

Carol Rausch, Chorus Master, Music Administrator