Regional Opera Company of the Week: Opera Company of Philadelphia

BroadwayWorld.com, the largest theatre site on the net, continues its expansion into other areas of entertainment with our latest feature -The Regional Opera Company of the Week!

This week's featured Opera Company is the Opera Company of Philadelphia!

Opera Company of Philadelphia (OCP) has been opening its doors since 1975 when it committed itself to delivering outstanding productions of both traditional repertoire and new operatic works. The company assembles the finest International Artists to educate, deepen and diversify the opera audience in the greater Philadelphia area. The company produces both large scale and more intimate chamber performances at the Academy of Music and in the Perelman Theater respectively. In addition to these two spaces the company frequently performs throughout the community. The OCP is so committed to new works that the General Directors David B Devan, OCP launched in 2011 the American Repertoire Program to produce a new American work in each of the next ten seasons as well as the nation's first collaborative Composer In Residence Program with New York's Gotham Chamber Opera and Music-Theatre Group.

The American Repertoire Program initiative was launched just last June with Dark Sisters, a new opera with music by Nico Muhly and a libretto from Stephen Karam. The opera, which tells the story of a polygamist family during a period of crisis, was co-commissioned with New York's Gotham Chamber Opera and Music-Theatre Group and had a critically-acclaimed November 2011 World Premiere. The next American Repertoire Program production opens next month with an East Coast Premiere of Silent Night, co-produced with the Minnesota Opera.

Since the Company's founding, OCP has had a strong tradition of identifying and cultivating rising young talent and casting these future stars alongside internationally acclaimed singers. OCP is fortunate to have two of the country's foremost operatic training grounds here in Philadelphia, with The Academy of Vocal Arts and The Curtis Institute of Music. Each season, the Opera Company engages artists from these institutions in a variety of programs, from education and outreach events, to supporting roles in mainstage productions.

OCP is committed to audience development and cultivation. The company has created educational programs which introduce opera into the curriculum at public and private schools. The Sounds of Learning program has brought opera to over 130,000 students by integrating opera into their core curriculum. Another program, Hip H'opera, works to build self-esteem of at-risk youth by combining classical music and pop culture. OCP also has many adult programs and outreach. Visit the website at http://www.operaphilly.com/ for more information.

Another way the company cultivates its audience is through the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation's "Random Acts of Culture" Initiative. The Knight Foundation has been committed to making 1,000 of these "pop-up" performances available by bringing artists out of the performance halls and into the streets as a reminder of how the classical arts enrich lives. OCP first performed a pop-up Brindisi chorus from La traviata in April 2010, which garnered over 3.5 million hits on YouTube. This was followed by the now-celebrated Hallelujah Chorus at Macy's in Center City Philadelphia, featuring the Wanamaker Organ and over 650 area choristers, which became a holiday YouTube sensation in 2010 and garnered national press coverage and nearly 8 million hits from over 100 countries. Stay tuned for the next "Random Acts of Culture" near you.

Current Season
The 2012-13 Season opened with La bohème last September and October but for anyone in the Philadephia area- you don't want to miss the upcoming production of Silent Night next month.

Silent Night

Friday, February 8, 2013 at 8:00 pm
Sunday, February 10, 2013 at 2:30 pm
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 7:30 pm
Friday, February 15, 2013 at 8:00 pm
Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 2:30 pm

Scott Frost is a Production and Stage Manager and a Freelance Costume Designer. In addition to being a theatrical manager and designer he currently works for Music Theatre International, the leader in the theatrical licensing industry, specializing in Broadway, Off-Broadway and West End musicals.

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