Company Profile

Company Overview

Since its formation in 1975, Opera Philadelphia has been the premier opera-producing organization in the Greater Philadelphia-area. The Opera’s three-series season format features three grand-scale productions in its traditional home, the historic 2,700 seat Academy of Music; two productions in the Aurora Series, which features new and rarely performed chamber operas in the 563 seat Perelman Theater; and Opera in the City, a series that diversifies audiences’ operatic experiences through site specific productions in unexpected venues around the city. The Opera is also championing new opera development with the American Repertoire Program, the Opera’s commitment to produce at least one American opera each year, and its Composer in Residence program.

The Opera is committed to engaging the Philadelphia region with innovative arts experiences. Each year the opera offers Opera on the Mall, a free, public HD broadcast of the season-opening production on the mall at Independence National Historical Park. Since 1991, more than 145,000 Philadelphia-area children have participated in Opera Philadelphia's award-winning Sounds of Learning ™ program which advances interdisciplinary learning by integrating opera into the core school curriculum, and the program has been recently expanded to reach more classrooms. The Opera also partners with numerous community organizations in an effort to make opera relevant to a more diverse constituency. Opera Philadelphia and Art Sanctuary’s collaborative program, Hip H’opera, was launched in 2006 and works to build the self-esteem of opportunity youth by bridging the gap between classical music and pop culture.