LA Opera
Legal name: Los Angeles Opera Company
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 952096402
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Los Angeles, CA, US
- Phone
- 213.972.8001
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Arts, Culture, and Humanities
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $50,290,780
- Expenses
- $46,819,143
- Assets
- $108,556,318
- Liabilities
- $19,553,873
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
113 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- CHRISTOPHER G KOELSCH (EX. OFFICIO DIR., PRES. & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- CHRISTOPHER G KOELSCH (EX. OFFICIO DIR., PRES. & CEO): $1,001,078 total reported compensation
- JOHN P NUCKOLS (EVP, CHIEF STRATEGIC OFFICER): $510,904 total reported compensation
- KATHLEEN A RUIZ (VP, CFO): $361,669 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
LA Opera is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization dedicated to bringing grand opera to Los Angeles, supported by donations and community engagement.
What it reported doing in 2024
The young artist program seeks to support and develop the careers of promising singers and pianists. This paid residency program provides extensive training and performance experience through main-stage roles, cover roles, concerts and other productions. During the season, young artists appeared in a large number of roles and covers for main-stage productions. Two pianists worked as integral members of the lao music staff, including paying piano for rehearsals of all mainstage productions and playing in the pit for performances. Young artists nurtured connections throughout the industry with active singing roles and winning competitions and grants at opera companies and music programs across the country.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 61% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and revenue has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 72
- Transparency & Controls: 91
- Accountability: 94
- Sustainability: 59
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 77.1%; rating input score 77
- Program expense ratio: 78.7%; rating input score 79
- Fundraising efficiency: $6.19 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 98%; rating input score 98; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 6.9%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.32; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 8.8%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 0.5% per year; rating input score 100; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -0.5% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 77.1% of revenue deployed · 78.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 98 of 100 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $36.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $1M · 113 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.7M reported
- Consistency: 43 of 43 current checks pass
- Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 13 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 27/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.