Annie Burridge

Annie Burridge was named General Director & CEO of Austin Opera in October 2016 following a nine-year tenure at Opera Philadelphia, where she most recently served as Managing Director. Since joining Austin Opera, she led the development of a new strategic plan focused on artistic excellence, innovation, and community collaboration; launched a new artistic initiative – Opera ATX – bringing groundbreaking artists to unexpected and unique venues throughout Austin; secured four national innovation grants; and increased the company’s endowment funds by 150%. During the pandemic, Annie led the company’s pivot to digital programming, producing a weekly broadcast series (Live from Indy Terrace); a series of productions at Blue Starlite Drive-Ins throughout Austin; the company’s first PBS program (An All-Star Concert); and a return to live performance with an outdoor fully-staged version of Tosca at a Formula One Racetrack. Austin Opera was voted Opera Company of the Year in the 2020 BroadwayWorld Opera Awards.

Annie is Co-Chair of OPERA America and was a 2017 Nonprofit Fellow at the Aspen Institute. She holds degrees from The University of Pennsylvania, the New England Conservatory, and Penn State.