Immuno-Inclusivity in Opera is a guide to addressing immune-related hazards and improving health, safety, and accessibility in opera and the performing arts.
Making music, especially singing, is something humans have done since prehistory.Footnote 1 The act of singing, especially with other people, can benefit our physical and mental wellbeing.Footnote 2 At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed how vulnerable the music and performing arts sectors can be to economic and public health hazards, highlighting the need to protect workers and build sectoral resilience.Footnote 3
This resource offers actionable solutions to address airborne and immune-related hazards ranging from infectious diseases to air pollution. It was created by and for the Canadian opera sector in consultation with multidisciplinary subject matter experts, but is applicable to a range of live events. It aims to reduce individual and organizational burdens of research, responsibility, and self-advocacy. It offers proven strategies for organizations seeking to reduce financial and reputational risks, while also creating more inclusive, accessible spaces where all artists can thrive.
Key questions
- How are Canadian opera practitioners currently protected or harmed, and included or excluded from equitable participation, on immunological grounds?
- How can the sector better include and protect everyone involved?
- How can the sector ensure workers have agency in decisions and policies affecting their health and wellbeing?
- What immuno-inclusive innovations used elsewhere can be implemented or adapted for operatic spaces?
- How can research, lived experience, community input, and subject matter expertise combine to build capacity in our sector, and empower both artists and organizations?
- Where can people go for help with these questions?
Footnotes (3)
- Nicholas Bannan and Alan R. Harvey, “Music as a Social Instrument: A Brief Historical and Conceptual Perspective,” Frontiers in Cognition 4 (2025): 2, https://doi.org/10.3389/fcogn.2025.1533913; Anton Killin, “Where Did Language Come From?: Connecting Sign, Song, and Speech in Hominin Evolution,” Biology & Philosophy 32 (2017): 759–78, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10539-017-9607-x. Back to text
- David Cox, “Why Singing is Surprisingly Good for Your Health,” BBC, December 1, 2025, https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20251128-how-singing-can-improve-your-health; Jing Kang et al., “A Review of the Physiological Effects and Mechanisms of Singing,” Journal of Voice 32, no. 4 (2017): 390–95, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2017.07.008; Stephen Clift, “The Significance of Choral Singing for Sustaining Psychological Wellbeing: Findings from a Survey of Choristers in England, Australia and Germany,” Music Performance Research 3, no. 1 (2010): 79–96, https://remix.berklee.edu/mhi-citations/1257/; Norma Daykin et al., “What Works for Wellbeing? A Systematic Review of Wellbeing Outcomes for Music and Singing in Adults,” Perspectives in Public Health 138, no. 1 (2018): 39–46, https://doi.org/10.1177/1757913917740391. Back to text
- Canadian Association for the Performing Arts, “Covid Impact Statistics,” CAPACOA, August 29, 2023, https://capacoa.ca/en/research/covid-impact-statistics/; Nordicity Group Ltd., The Impact of COVID-19 on the Canadian Independent Music Industry (Nordicity Group Ltd., 2020), https://coilink.org/20.500.12592/gjckvc; Jeff Apruzzese et al., “Impact and Hope for the Live Music Industry,” Ethnomusicology Review 24 (2023): 159–79, https://ethnomusicologyreview.ucla.edu/journal/volume/24/piece/1101; Susanna Cohen and Jane Ginsborg, “One Year On: The Impact of COVID-19 on the Lives of Freelance Orchestral Musicians in the United Kingdom,” Frontiers in Psychology 13 (2022): 885606, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.885606. Back to text