Texas' Austin Opera Announces Plans for its Future Home

The new space will feature a performance venue, as well as rehearsal spaces and offices — allowing the company to expand its community offerings

Austin Opera recently unveiled the site for its new home, a 16,000-square-foot programming, rehearsal, and administrative hub located at 5811 Trade Center Drive, in south-east Austin.

The building was first constructed in 2016, and the company plans to retrofit the space in order to fulfill its particular needs. These alterations will create offices, storage areas, rehearsal studios, and social spaces — but also a 195-seat performance venue that will be shared with other local arts groups.

The company is now entering the public stage of its capital campaign. It has already secured $3.67 million of its $7.5 million capital campaign goal — with a large portion of the money having been donated by Austin philanthropists Sarah and Ernest Butler. As a result, the building will be named in their honor.

Many of the company's staff have already moved into the building, and it is expected that the theater and rehearsal studios will be ready for use by October 2025.

"The establishment of this new performance center is a historic step for Austin Opera to expand our audience, secure a sustainable future, and provide essential spaces for the performing arts community in Austin," said Annie Burridge, Austin Opera’s General Director and CEO. "I couldn’t be more excited to work with our community to build an inclusive new cultural hub for our thriving city."

We are proud to support the latest innovative undertaking of Austin Opera," said Sarah and Ernest Butler. "This new Performance Center, which will bear our names, will help secure a sustainable future for opera in Austin and enable numerous cultural institutions to extend their important work into the community."

"We are so grateful to Sarah and Ernest Butler for their unwavering support for Austin Opera, which has in turn inspired unanimous Board support for this transformative project," said Board Chair Susanne Tetzlaff. "I am also thankful to my predecessor, Immediate Past Chair Jeff Kodosky, and Gail for joining Eric and me in providing leadership-level giving for a venue that will truly serve as an anchor for the classical music community in Austin. We look forward to welcoming many others to partner with us in the realization of this dream project for the cultural community!"