Today we’d like to introduce you to Lena Goldstein.
Hi Lena, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
After graduating from Yale University with a degree in molecular biology, I received my masters in vocal performance at the San Francisco Conservatory in Music. At the extracurricular level, I had always been involved in entrepreneurship — while at Yale by designing a medical device and helping lead a health-tech incubator organization, and while in graduate school in directing a new music festival.
I founded Park City Opera alongside my co-founders, Benjamin Beckman and Lisl Wangermann, in early 2024 with the vision of designing classical music specifically for our Utah community. We had all met while leading the Opera Theater of Yale College, a student-led opera initiative at Yale, before pursuing individual performing careers in classical music.
Opera is sometimes seen as outdated or aging — and we (the three of us!) are young people who really believe in this enduring art form, its capacity to move people, and most importantly, to create community. This is why we wanted to reimagine the concert experience and present performances in unconventional venues. For us, bringing opera outside of the traditional opera house has been hugely exciting! Now in our third season, we’ve produced 50+ events in dozens of different venues (think galleries, greenhouses, outdoor parks and patios, community spaces, restaurants, even speakeasies!).
Why choose inventive venues?
The opera industry spends so much energy debating how to attract new audiences. Mostly, the conversation tends to orbit around the work itself: should we commission a new opera, present an updated staging, modernize the supertitles, or aim for a shorter run time? Yes. All worth doing at times, but we found that these companies rarely spend time thinking about where they will stage their productions. Many of them have permanent, world-class venues! As a new company without a dedicated opera house, one question we were more attracted to was: does where you stage an opera change what opera is?
The answer, we believe, is yes, at every level. The choice of venue signals to audiences what kind of experience to expect before the first note. It determines who feels welcomed at the door (or at the field, for an outdoor performance!). On a deeper level, the places we perform start to shape artistic and dramaturgical choices. Where you put opera changes who encounters it, how they receive it, and what it means to them. Location isn’t decoration; it’s a choice.
Moreover, when your performance spaces span the full social landscape of a town (literally, we’ve performed all over the place!), you’re not asking people to enter opera’s world. You’re entering theirs.
Park City Opera has grown very quickly — and we’re just getting started. We are so appreciative of the communities in Park City, Salt Lake City, Alta, and Heber for their enthusiasm. In each of our endeavors, we work to be additive to the rich cultural landscape that Utah has to offer, and our partnerships with dozens of community organizations mean the world to us.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Building any startup from scratch, regardless of the industry or field, is a challenging (and amazingly rewarding!) endeavor. Building an opera company in a community that historically has no tradition of opera means that we are continuously asking questions, experimenting with venues and formats, working with partners, and collecting audience feedback.
I feel tremendously lucky to be building alongside my co-founders, who through their experiences working with opera companies all around the country (Atlanta Opera, Bronx Opera, Pacific Opera Project, Middlebury Opera Company just to name a few) bring a wealth of perspectives and deep personal investment to Park City Opera at every turn. From my perspective, what makes our team special is our ability to iterate quickly and intentionally!
For the last year, we’ve distilled our learnings into presentations and workshops on “Arts Entrepreneurship” that we offer to band, orchestra, theater, and choir students at schools in Utah!
As you know, we’re big fans of Park City Opera. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
This webpage has information about our mission, vision, story, and team:
https://www.parkcityopera.org/organization
In terms of what we want readers to know, primarily its that whether you’re a newbie to opera or a seasoned afficionado, that Park City Opera has an event for you! We offer a really wide range of performances, including dozens of free, casual offering each summer. In Summer 2026, we are also producing two full-length operas. The Tender Land by Aaron Copland is a quintessential American story in celebration of our nation’s 250th birthday. Romeo et Juliette by Charles Gounod is a retelling of the story that we know and love through the lens of French Grand Opera, featuring an orchestra of forty players, an international cast of singers, a chorus and event dancers!
Please include upcoming event info, which can be found here: https://www.parkcityopera.org/events
What are your plans for the future?
We are pleased to offer dozens of performances in Park City year-round. Our events are designed for classical music newbies, families, and seasoned aficionados alike.
In Summer 2026 we are presenting more ways than ever for audiences to gather with loved ones and experience live music.
In July, come celebrate America’s 250th with an opera that captures the American spirit. Copland’s The Tender Land portrays one young woman’s quiet but radical act of choosing her own future. Set against the open landscapes of the American West, The Tender Land is a coming-of-age story about longing, independence, and resilience in the face of hardship.
In August: You’ve read the play — maybe seen the movie, the musical, even the ballet. But have you experienced the opera? In Charles Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers come to life amid the pageantry and passion of Verona, reimagined through the grand orchestral and theatrical language of French Romantic opera. With Gounod’s lush score at its heart, Roméo et Juliette unfolds as a celebration of the warmth, passion, and exuberance of young love.
We also have free events every week between July 1 and August 30! Join us for Opera Around the World presented with Mountain Town Music at Park City’s City Park Bandstand and experience opera from a new geographic region each week!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.parkcityopera.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parkcityopera
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Park-City-Opera/61559258447325/
