Opera Naples Appoints Melanie Kalnins as Executive Director, Development and Communications

NAPLES, FL (August 15, 2024): Opera Naples announces the appointment of Melanie Kalnins as Executive Director, Development and Communications, effective August 15, 2024. Kalnins provided marketing and publicity consulting services for the company during the 2023-24 season, making the 4th annual Festival Under the Stars the most successful to date, fully embraced by the community with a 41% increase in ticket sales, including a notable increase in the sales of VIP tables and new-to-file customers. In her new role with Opera Naples, she will be chiefly responsible for all contributed and earned revenues and will report directly into the Board of Directors.

Kalnins comes to Opera Naples with over two decades of experience in arts administration and marketing. Prior to moving to Naples, she spent twenty years in the marketing department of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, growing ticket revenues by $5 million during her tenure. She also more recently served Artis—Naples as Vice President of Marketing and Patron Engagement in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons during which ticket revenues increased by $2 million amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Ian. Kalnins is a graduate of Northwestern University and an accomplished vocalist and pianist.

"We are very pleased that Melanie has agreed to join the Opera Naples team,” remarked Opera Naples Board Co-Chair Larry Ost. “The marketing and publicity contract work she did for us last year for our Festival Under the Stars was superb, as shown in our impressive ticket sales results. Melanie hails from the legendary Chicago Symphony Orchestra, one of the top orchestras on the planet, and we are lucky to have someone with a background at that storied institution. She also gained great insight into the Naples market specifically during her time with Artis—Naples, which is to our benefit. We are happy to have her lead the charge and continue the great growth she has already started."

“I am so delighted to be joining the Opera Naples team,” Kalnins commented.  “I was really impressed by the artistic excellence and programmatic variety of this past season’s Opera Naples Festival Under the Stars and feel honored to be a key player in the magnificent cultural fabric of the Naples community. I am excited to have recently consulted with Nicoletta Pavarotti at her home in Italy as our maestro, Ramón Tebar, continues to plan ongoing collaborations with the Luciano Pavarotti Foundation. I also greatly value the incredibly warm reception I have enjoyed from the Opera Naples staff, board and supporters. I feel I have found a wonderful group of people who are sincerely passionate about the opera art form, and I look forward to welcoming many more patrons into the great Opera Naples family.”

Starting August 15, 2024, Kalnins can be reached at mkalnins@operanaples.org or 239-963-9050, ext. 202.