Join us in welcoming our new General Director and CEO!

It is with great pleasure that we at the Virginia Opera announce the appointment of our new General Director and CEO Peggy Kriha Dye! A Minnesota native and graduate of Saint Cloud State University, Manhattan School of Music, and the Julliard Opera Center, Peggy is no stranger to the magical art of the opera or its stages; gracing over one hundred stages across the world throughout her performance career as a soprano.

Her remarkable administrative career with Opera Columbus began in 2011, where she first served as Director of Education and Community Programming (2011-2014), then Artistic Director (2014-2017), and General Director and CEO (2017-2020). Through Peggy’s strong leadership, Opera Columbus has become a pinnacle of operatic excellence, acclaimed for its skillful presentation of both new artistic works and commissioned pieces in addition to beloved classics in collaboration with national and international partners. Her belief in engagements with larger community issues in the arts mean too that Peggy continues to serve on both the Board of Trustees of Opera America and the Women’s Opera Network. Her outstanding service to our art form has also meant that she has been the recipient of numerous accolades, including Musical America’s 2018 Professionals of the Year “Movers and Shakers Edition” award.

Of her appointment, Kriha Dye offers: “My thanks to the Virginia Opera and its Board and my good colleague and predecessor Russell Allen. It is an honor to be chosen to now lead the Virginia Opera in the next exciting chapter of its storied statewide history. I am humbled and excited to join you, the valuable leadership, staff, essential and ever-vital artists and creative partners— and Artistic Director, Maestro Adam Turner—in looking toward the Virginia Opera’s 50th Anniversary year in 2025. To be certain, as we will continue to face the many challenges that the current climate presents in tirelessly championing the performing arts that we love and hold so close, it is with equal certainty that we will find our best in meeting and joyfully prevailing in those challenges. Together, we can and will continue to build a stronger, more inclusive, diverse, and successful Virginia Opera family and see our best moments in our shared future. I look forward to meeting you all, and to seeing you in Norfolk, Richmond, and Fairfax in October.”

Peggy will begin her new chapter here with us at Virginia Opera beginning October 19, 2020.