From Spectators to Artist Making History: Bloomington Opera Camp™ Turns Communities into Co-Authors, Performers, and Artists.

BLOOMINGTON, IN – FEBRUARY 10, 2026 – Following the Super Bowl celebration of multicultural joy and collective identity, the Bloomington Opera Camp™ (BOC) now transforms that cultural power into a participatory community movement. The Performing Arts Laboratory announces the official opening of registrations for this paradigm-shifting initiative, which invites EVERYONE—regardless of age, background, or experience—to join a historic undertaking: to co-create and perform as founding artists in a full World Premiere OPERA.

For the first time, an opera is being created not for an audience, but by the community itself, returning to the roots of what the word OPERA means: “All Arts Collaborating Together.”, and opening the experience for the full society.

From Cultural Power to Community Movement:

This is not a performance to watch; it is an experience to join. Participants aged 7 to 70+ will collaborate for two weeks to build and star in the Worldwide Premiere of Seeking/Buscando El Dorado, a CommunityOperaScore™ where every voice—sung, painted, built, or played—is essential.

 “True cultural relevance in performing arts isn’t about checking a few boxes on a season lineup or placing a few common faces on stage to claim representation while following the same carefully established protocols and frameworks that alienate the majority,” says Maestro Diego Barbosa-Vásquez, the Opera Camp’s Creator and Artistic Director. “It’s about handing the decision-making power directly to the community and empowering them to broadcast the values and cultures they consider important. Now, what makes the Bloomington Opera Camp™ so unique, is that not only gives decision-power to communities (as should be done in all arts) but also gives access to EVERYONE to the stage as co-creator, performer, and artist. It shifts the entire paradigm by removing the velvet rope and the dogmatic walls built to benefit only a few. Here, communities of all levels and ages can enjoy, produce, and perform Opera as the ultimate collaborative art form, everyone is welcomed to make history TOGETHER!

Be a Named Founder in a Lasting Artistic Legacy:

This is a singular opportunity to claim a permanent place in art history. Every participant will be credited as an Original Performer/Artist of the World Premiere. Their names and contributions will become part of the opera’s enduring legacy as Seeking/Buscando El Dorado is archived, tours, and has its overture co-premiered by professional companies globally during seasons 2026-2028.

An Opera Written By Communities, For the World:

The opera’s creation is the ultimate proof of its philosophy. The core values and cultures of Seeking/Buscando El Dorado were directly chosen by the community during March 2025’s BOC Pre-Production Repertoire meeting at Bloomington, IN, USA with international attendance. On summer 2025, to realize this community vision with the excellence required for an Opera, the Performing Arts Laboratory developed an international call, selecting a world-class creative team from a pool of 425 applicants across 68 countries, 2 co-creators were selected for this opera and 4 more are being trained for the upcoming ones.

The resulting Opera Seeking/Buscando El Dorado , with original plot by Ms. Deniz Emir and Maestro Barbosa-Vásquez, is currently on the writing by Composer Mr. Raul Ardila (Colombia) and Librettist Dr. Diego Sosa (Mexico). They are being guided by the PAL Productions team and Maestro Diego Barbosa-Vasquez itself, under the Composition and Libretto Program of Opera Camp™ to secure the high-level standard of a PAL Productions and the full core of the Opera Camp™ program Opera BY and FOR the community is achieved: https://www.performingartslab.com/oc/composition-libretto-program

The Opera is original in Spanish, English, and Indigenous languages, and reflects a true 21st-century artistic global narrative—a story of shared discovery and sustainable community. And Opera where diverse cultures converse and learn from one another and where family values, self and mutual understanding, collaboration, and respect for each other are the basics for a better and more thirving society.

The Bloomington Opera Camp™: A Fun, Holistic “All Arts” Adventure

Held from May 26 to June 6, 2026, at the Hilton Garden Inn (Bloomington, IN, USA), the BOC is a fun, immersive journey designed to forge lifelong memories. Participants choose a main path in Opera Singing, Orchestra (all instruments), or Fine Arts, and a minor in Singing, Fine Arts, and Arts Administration; engaging in a holistic creative process. Registrations are now open. To secure your role as a founding artist in the Seeking/Buscando El Dorado World Premiere, visit: https://www.performingartslab.com/oc/bloomington-in

No experience is necessary.

Professional artists are also invited to apply for the prestigious and highly competitive BOC Fellowships, which provide full tuition, housing, and a stipend, to shape the future of opera, TOGETHER! More information at: https://www.performingartslab.com/oc/bloomington-in-pros

The curtain is rising on a new era for Opera and sustainable Performing Arts. Community around the world are writing the story.

What about you? Don’t watch history, MAKE IT!

About the Opera Camp™ by Performing Arts Laboratory.

The Opera Camp™ is one of the flagship productions of the Performing Arts Laboratory, dedicated to creating sustainable, inclusive, and transformative performing arts experiences. It operates on a clear mission: To break open the world of opera and make it a living, breathing experience BY and FOR the community. The Bloomington Opera Camp™ is a program of Performing Arts Laboratory, Diego Barbosa-Vasquez and Barbosa-Vasquez/Private-Studio, produced with license by Bloomington Opera Camp LLC benefit corporation. The Bloomington Opera Camp™ 2026 is supported by Vita Company, SADCO, Intersociedad, Hannnon Clean Energy, and The Americas Chamber Orchestra.

More information: https://www.performingartslab.com

About Maestro Diego Barbosa-Vásquez:

Maestro Diego Barbosa-Vásquez is an internationally recognized Opera, Orchestra, and Ballet Conductor & Scholar, and the visionary Creator and Artistic Director of the Opera Camp™. A Forbes-acclaimed “Natural-Born Leader,” his work centers on building sustainable human connections through the performing arts, enabling communities around the world to communicate, collaborate, and create together. He is widely recognized for dismantling traditional barriers in the performing arts and for designing community-powered, sustainable models that deliver artistic excellence with lasting social impact. His doctoral and postdoctoral research in Performing Arts Sustainability forms the intellectual and practical foundation of the Bloomington Opera Camp™’s groundbreaking paradigm.

More info, photos, and press kit: https://www.barbosavasquez.com/presskit

###

Press Contact:

Sebastián Fonseca – Press Officer

prensa.sebastianfonseca@gmail.com | +57 316 445 3932

Bloomington, Indiana, USA – Bogotá, Colombia