The Opera Company of Philadelphia
The Opera Company of Philadelphia is the city’s only producer of grand opera, performing at the beautiful Academy of Music, America’s most historic opera house which celebrates its 150th birthday this year!. Boasting a long history of spectacular productions, the Opera Company of Philadelphia is considered home to some of opera’s brightest singers, composers, directors and conductors.
The Company was established in 1975 through a merger of the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company and the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company. During the 1980s, Luciano Pavarotti was a frequent guest, with the Company producing four cycles of the tenor’s multi-winner International Voice Competitions. Important works by Britten and Debussy premiered there, as well as the East Coast Premiere in February 2006 of the new American opera Margaret Garner by Richard Danielpour and Toni Morrison. Since 1991 the Company has experienced significant growth under the leadership of General and Artistic Director Robert B. Driver and continues expanding still with the significant additions of Music Director Corrado Rovaris in 2004 and Managing Director David B. Devan in January 2006.
The Opera Company of Philadelphia currently produces four operas with six performances each, offering audiences a unique blend of favorites and little-known operatic gems. With English translations projected above the stage, “A Taste of Opera” lectures providing a look inside current productions, and outreach programs designed to both educate and entertain, OCP makes opera easily accessible to the public. Combining the highest quality of opera with an exquisite and historic venue, the Opera Company of Philadelphia delivers a truly breathtaking experience.
The 2006-2007 Season opens in October with Puccini’s mega-romantic masterpiece La bohème, the acclaimed inspiration for the Broadway sensation and hit movie RENT. This impassioned tale is set against the backdrop of Left Bank Paris where artists mingle and find love and heartbreak. In November, Rossini brings the classic fairytale to life in the entrancing, romancing Cinderella, an opera replete with laughter and dizzyingly delightful tunes. In February a jewel of American opera, Porgy and Bess, comes to the stage with soulful and tireless favorites such as Summertime; I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin; and It Ain’t Necessarily So. And in May, Falstaff, in which the literary genius of Shakespeare is married with Verdi’s final operatic tour-de-force, brings this blockbuster season to a close.
Opera offers a wonderful sampling of all of the art forms – orchestral splendor, rousing choral work, powerful solo artists, dazzling costumes, theater and dance all in one evening. We hope you will join us!
http://www.operaphilly.com/ |