Columbia Operatic Laboratory

04/24/2026

Join COLab at Town Theatre’s Arts in the Acres this Sunday, April 26th @ Gill’s Creek Memorial Park!

These amazing artists will be performing at 5:05 PM.
(Swipe to see the full event lineup) ♥️

📍24 Forest Lake Place
🎟️ Tickets are FREE thanks to the generosity of the City of Forest Acres!
Reserve yours at:
https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?ticketing=townt

04/14/2026

We are very excited to be part of this free event! 🎶

Reserve your free tickets through Town Theatre’s website! 🥰

We've got quite the line up for our Arts in the Acres event on Sunday, April 26. And it's FREE thanks to the generosity of our friends at City of Forest Acres. Grab those tickets at towntheatre.com. It's a great day to celebrate the arts!

04/10/2026

Buoy the Brooklyn Mermaid’s show Arias of the Abyss was sea-riously amazing! 🦀🎶

Huge thank you to the fin-tastic Richland Library for hosting us and to all the human friends who attended. 🌊

03/30/2026

Learn more about the special mermaid who is making a splash with COLab at Richland Library Main on Thursday, April 9th!

🌊 Arias of The Abyss - Buoy the Brooklyn Mermaid 🪸

03/13/2026

Columbia Operatic Laboratory is thrilled to share that one of our founding members, Buoy, The Brooklyn Mermaid, is swimming back into town this Spring!

You don't want to miss her magical free show Arias of The Abyss - Buoy the Brooklyn Mermaid at Richland Library Main (1431 Assembly Street. Columbia, SC) on Thursday, April 9th.

02/17/2026

🎉 Columbia Operatic Laboratory (COLab) is truly thankful to have the opportunity to celebrate the joy and meaning woven into February’s many global cultural and spiritual observances!

As we continue honoring Black History Month, we especially focus on the Black artists whose brilliance and dedication has enriched opera and expanded its future. Their voices continue to inspire the work we do on and off the stage. 💙

🐴We also extend warm wishes to all who are celebrating Lunar New Year, welcoming the Year of the Fire Horse. To those observing Ramadan, and those observing Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday into the season of Lent, we think of you all during this time of reflection, community, and compassion.

To top it all off today in the US is National Random Acts of Kindness Day! ☺️

Opera has always been a melting pot for culture, history, and humanity. Today, and everyday, COLab celebrates the many traditions that enrich our world and the music that brings us together in harmony. 🌎

11/22/2025

Grateful to everyone who made the COLab 10th Anniversary Concert at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Columbia SC such as success! 💛

It has truly taken a village, beyond what or who you see onstage, to keep us going every year. 💙 Thank you to everyone who has performed, conducted, composed, crewed, volunteered, donated, supported or attended one of our productions. This milestone is because of you! 🎉

11/21/2025

Today is the day!!! 🥰🎉 Our countdown to the COLab 10th Anniversary Concert concludes with photographs from the 2024-2025 seasons.

We are so grateful to St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Columbia SC for being our community partner during these two seasons and for hosting us tonight. ♥️

Because of their kindness we have been able to perform Black Excellence In Opera and Forever Lifted, Forever Free at Ascension Lutheran Church, the Pirates of Penzance Sing-A-Long at Columbia Music Festival Association and Shandon Presbyterian, Puccini Remembered: A Centennial Celebration and What The Fach: Pants Role or Nah? at The Hoot, and Amahl and The Night Visitors at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church!

11/20/2025

Counting down to tomorrow’s COLab 10th Anniversary Concert! 🤩

2023 was a huge one for us as we participated in at the Koger Center, A Night at the Opera concert at The Venue, and were Richland Library’s Fall 2023 Artist in Residence. This was an amazing opportunity that let us branch out and create 14 unique events and performances for the community.

11/19/2025

‼️We’re just two days away from the COLab 10th Anniversary Concert at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Columbia SC ‼️

Many of you may recognize selections from our 2022 season which included the Opera at Art Bar Series (Opera at Art Bar, The Impresario, Three Dudes and a Diva, and Still Notoriously Hot *and Bothered*), opera classics at Irmo Okra Strut, The Impresario, Carols and Classics, and of course our first Pirates of Penzance Sing-A-Long at The Living Room (formerly known as Jubilee! Circle) 🥰