Opera Omaha

Allison Swenson has built a 20-year career at the intersection of artistic and business excellence. She has held positions with Opera Omaha, the Santa Fe Opera, the Glimmerglass Festival, and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. 

She is also a trained musician, having studied piano and voice. Allison assumed the role of General Director of Opera Omaha in 2023. Among the 20 largest opera companies in the United States, Opera Omaha produces between three and four operas annually and serves the community with over 200 free events each year. 

Under her leadership, Opera Omaha has outperformed ticket sales and contributions goals, and she has expanded planning timelines to secure international talent and forecast with accuracy. She also produced the most successful gala in the history of Opera Omaha featuring a world premiere performance by renowned countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo. In the 2024-2025 Season, the first she programmed as General Director, 78% of principal artists will make company debuts. Opera Omaha will also welcome The English Concert, the world’s preeminent Baroque orchestra, and launch a new Family Opera Series for audiences of all ages.

Previously, Allison was Director of Development at the Santa Fe Opera, the largest festival opera company in the United States, with an international reputation for artistry and a 65-year record of balanced budgets. Allison served the Santa Fe Opera for 10 years, beginning as General Director Charles MacKay’s Assistant in 2010. As Director of Development, Allison raised as much as $40 million each year in combined annual, campaign and endowment gifts. She exceeded fundraising goals annually, setting a company record in annual support in 2021. She also assisted in securing the largest gift in the Santa Fe Opera’s history, a $25 million contribution that effectively increased the endowment by almost 50%.

Prior to Santa Fe, Allison worked in the Artistic Department of the Glimmerglass Festival. She oversaw all aspects of artistic operations during the season, and managed the hiring process for singers, directors and conductors. She built close relationships with the artists of her generation, many of whom are celebrated on international stages today. She also performed in productions of Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld and Wagner’s Das Liebesverbot.

The child of two music teachers, Allison grew up surrounded by classical music. Her father established a Metropolitan Opera Guild membership in her name when she was an infant, and she studied piano from age four. She sang in state and national honors choirs, received the National School Choral Award, and performed in the world premiere of John Rutter’s Mass of the Children at Carnegie Hall.

Allison received a dual degree in Voice Performance and Integrated Marketing Communications from Ithaca College, where she was a Presidential Scholar and graduated Magna Cum Laude with both degrees in four years.