Support  local opera today!

Pico Opera accepts tax-deductible donations online and by mail (if donating by mail, please contact us at picoopera[at]mit.edu for details!).

Your donation is collected securely through Zeffy, which provides a receipt and tax documentation for your records. Pico Opera will never sell your information.

Pico Opera creates uniquely intimate and affordable opera experiences for the Boston/Cambridge community. But even a pico-sized production requires a surprising amount of logistical and financial support! Between venue rentals and other production costs, even a small-scale production in Cambridge can quickly amount to thousands of dollars.

Why support a pico-sized production?

Pico Opera is entirely volunteer operated

From musical preparation to performance day, staging to set pieces, recruitment to publicity, venue logistics to coordinating vendors and rentals, our shows are put up entirely by the sweat, love, and vision of amateur musicians in your community. Every performer contributes not only countless hours to preparing their music for each show, but also to a massive behind-the-scenes effort to produce our shows and tell these rich stories… and we need your help!

All donations go directly toward the costs of producing our shows

Your donation allows us to rent beautiful venues and instruments, pay for costumes and set pieces, and hire talented lighting specialists and videographers to capture the Pico Opera experience. No member of Pico Opera benefits monetarily from their work.

A gift to Pico Opera is an investment in the future

Your gift to Pico Opera will ensure sustainability of our little opera group… allowing us to create more productions and to expand the scope and vision of these shows with every performance we give.

Your gift supports our core mission and goals:

  • Create uniquely intimate performances & Increase access. Allow audiences to affordably experience bel canto opera masterworks up close and personal

  • Community engagement. Create inspiring opportunities for local amateur musicians to grow in their artistry through full productions of opera masterworks

  • Expand possibilities. Expand the scale of our productions, e.g., to include an orchestra and more musicians and artists in future shows

  • Sustainability. Grow a sustainable amateur opera organization to provide these unique experiences for artists and audiences for many seasons to come

2024 Accomplishments

  • Secured Council for the Arts at MIT (CAMIT) Grant Spring 2024: Produced two semi-staged productions of Verdi’s Rigoletto

  • MIT’s Pocket Opera Productions became Pico Opera, and independent amateur opera company

  • Pico Opera, Inc registered as a Non-profit Organization in Massachusetts (EIN 33-1788246)

  • Fall 2024: The first Pico Opera Chorus was formed

  • Application to and acceptance by the Cambridge Foundry for the fully staged December 7, 2024 production of I Puritani

  • Secured CAMIT Grant for the Winter 2025 fully staged Production of Bellini’s I Puritani at MIT’s Killian Hall on January 26th, 2025

2025 Goals

  • Maintaining tax-exempt status with federal registration as a 501(c)3 organization

  • Application for Cambridge, Massachusetts and Federal Arts Funding

  • Expansion of our administrative team to ensure organizational sustainability

  • Increased opportunities for ensemble and orchestral musicians — if you’d like to perform with us, please reach out to picoopera[at]mit[dot]edu with your resume and a recent audition video

  • Growth of our production and technical team — if you are interested in growing the artistic vision of our productions, please reach out to picoopera[at]mit[dot]edu with your resume

  • Join our mailing list to hear when we reach milestones – (picoopera.org/contact)