Festival de Ópera do Paraná

Festival de Ópera do Paraná: Festival de Ópera do Paraná, with the slogan "Ópera Para Todos!", was founded in 2015 by Gehad Ismail Hajar, a producer and musician, who aimed to bring large-scale opera productions back to the city of Curitiba. Supported by the Centro Cultural Teatro Guaíra, the Secretaria de Estado da Cultura, the Fundação Cultural de Curitiba, and other partners, the festival has successfully organized 89 events, welcoming over 100,000 attendees in various locations, including theaters, streets, squares, markets, public schools, indigenous tribes, and even buses.

The festival is renowned for its emphasis on Portuguese-language operatic works, as well as its commitment to making the genre accessible to a wider audience. It has incorporated audio description and LIBRAS translation into several events, catering to non-traditional opera-goers. Notably, the Festival de Ópera do Paraná is known for exclusively presenting world premieres of Brazilian operas and operettas, such as "Papílio Innocentia" by Léo Kessler, and "Festa de São João," the oldest operetta by Chiquinha Gonzaga.

The festival's impact extends beyond its cultural significance, as it has contributed to the revival of operatic performances at the Guairão stage after an 8-year hiatus, with the presentation of "Cavalleria Rusticana" in 2017, and symphonic concerts with vocals after a 6-year absence, featuring "Missa da Coroação" in 2018.

Operating from Brazil, Festival de Ópera do Paraná has not disclosed its latest investment details.