The Opera People was founded in 2018 by Jonathan Charles Tay, David Charles Tay and Shridar Mani. Conceived as a collective of multi-disciplinary performers and industry professionals, it seeks to update and redefine the opera experience by melding technology with modern production techniques. The group made their debut with a recreation of Mozart's classic opera Il Re Pastore (The Shepherd King) at the Esplanade Annexe Studio in 2018 and followed up with the Southeast Asian premiere of Alexander Zemlinsky’s Der Zwerg in 2019.