The Atlanta Opera Board of Directors has unanimously re-elected Atlanta partner Rhys Wilson to a second three-year term as chair. The Atlanta Opera’s mission is to build the major international opera company that Atlanta deserves, while reimagining what opera can be, according to its website.

“Strong leadership is hard to come by,” said General and Artistic Director Tomer Zvulun. “Rhys’ guidance through a period of great challenges was exemplary. I am happy to work with him as we continue to blaze a singular path in an uncertain world.”

Wilson began his first term as Board chair of The Atlanta Opera in July 2019, and, when the pandemic hit Atlanta in the spring of 2020, he helped lead the company to the decision that it would find a way to continue producing fully staged operas during the pandemic. The result was the critically acclaimed Big Tent series, which produced 40 live opera performances and created work for nearly 200 artists at a time when almost every other performing arts organization had shut down — and all without a single reported COVID-19 infection.

Wilson is co-chair of the Mergers & Acquisitions Practice Group at Nelson Mullins, helping clients buy and sell businesses. During his 40-year career, he has handled over 150 M&A transactions and has received numerous accolades for his work. Wilson has been selected by his peers as one of the Best Lawyers in America and as a Vistage Lifetime Achievement Award Winner. He is the founder of the CEO Strategy Summit and a member of Children’s Healthcare’s Distinguished Clown Corps.

About Nelson Mullins
Established in 1897, Nelson Mullins is an Am Law 100 firm of more than 930 attorneys and government relations professionals with 31 offices in 15 states and Washington, D.C. For more information on the firm, go to www.nelsonmullins.com.

About The Atlanta Opera
Founded in 1979, The Atlanta Opera works with world-renowned singers, conductors, directors, and designers who seek to enhance the art form. The company has been named among the “Best of 2015” by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, has been nominated for a 2016 International Opera Award, and won ArtsATL’s 2019 Luminary Award for Community Engagement in recognition of its successful Veterans Program in partnership with the Home Depot Foundation. In addition, The Atlanta Opera was featured in a 2018 Harvard Business School case study about successful organizational growth, and Zvulun presented a TEDx Talk at Emory University titled “The Ambidextrous Opera Company, or Opera in the Age of iPhones.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, The Atlanta Opera was one of the only companies in the world to create a full, alternative season, consisting of no less than 40 live performances in two different outdoor venues, including a revolutionary custom-designed circus tent. The fundraising goal was tripled, and four new productions were created, each of which employed 150 cast, crew and staff.  The critically acclaimed productions and concerts were streamed in HD in the newly created streaming platform “Spotlight Media,” allowing The Atlanta Opera to reach a global audience.  National media coverage of the “pandemic season” included features in the Wall Street Journal and PBS Newshour.  For more information, visit atlantaopera.org.