WOMEN
of
POWER
ANNIE
BURRIDGE
The Newcomer
76 AUSTINWAY.COM
"There is potential for more
collaboration artistically
and in unexpected ways."
—ANNIE BURRIDGE
Brava performance:
Impressed by her success
with Opera Philadelphia,
where she increased
fundraising by 183 percent
over seven years, the Austin
Opera last fall picked Annie
Burridge as its new general
director. Burridge, one of just
four women in the US to hold
the general director title for
an opera house, has dreamed
of running an opera since her
teenage years.
Crunching numbers: "One
thing I've thrown myself
into throughout my career
is being relentless in the
pursuit of consumer
information and audience
information," says Burridge.
"Making data-driven
decisions will lead us to
serve as wide and diverse a
demographic as possible."
Audience outreach:
Burridge would love to
expand the Austin Opera,
which performs three operas
each season at the Long
Center. The recent $1
million endowment from Dr.
Ernest C. and Sarah G.
Butler could help make this
possible. "There is potential
for more collaboration
artistically and in unex-
pected ways," she says. "My
passion project is to figure
out how to add to what we
are doing so our program-
ming footprint aligns with the
ways Austinites love to
experience entertainment."
website: austinopera.org
twitter: @austinopera
