Philadelphia, PA - Building on the success of an acclaimed year of artistic creation, described by the New York Times as “laying claim to the mantle of making new material during the pandemic” and “one of the best bets going, worldwide,” Opera Philadelphia has announced plans for an untraditional 2021-2022 season that will bring performances to audiences in a variety of venues ─ indoors, outdoors, and from the comfort of home.
Opera Philadelphia's 2021-2022 season's lineup of live, in-person, and streaming programs
Three live performances from three different stages in Philadelphia will be paired with a second season of works conceived and created for streaming on the Opera Philadelphia Channel, continuing the company’s “ongoing effort to bring a wider range of voices into the repertory” (National Public Radio).
Amici e Rivali at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts - In 2018 at The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, two of today’s most brilliant tenors, Lawrence Brownlee and Michael Spyres, engaged in a dazzling encore duet of “Ah! Vieni nel tuo sangue” from Gioachino Rossini’s Otello, video of which went viral.Pre-Season Concert, Thursday, August 26, 2021, Mann Center for the Performing Arts
Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex and George Walker’s Lilacs - Igor Stravinsky launched music’s neoclassical movement, and according to no less a figure than Leonard Bernstein, Oedipus Rex was the most “awesome product” of the Russian composer’s neoclassical years. January 21 & 23, 2022, Verizon Hall
Verdi’s Rigoletto - Opera Philadelphia returns to its longtime home for grand opera for the first time in more than two years with a production of Verdi’s unforgettable tragedy Rigoletto, long one of the most popular works in the operatic canon. April 29, May 1, May 6 & May 8, 2022, Academy of Music
The Drama of Tosca Opera Philadelphia - In a special concert adaptation performed and filmed this month at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, the tragic tale of Tosca takes on a completely new dimension. Premieres June 17, 2021, Opera Philadelphia Channel
Organ Stops Opera Philadelphia- For many years, the Opera Philadelphia Chorus has participated in Organ Day, an annual event sponsored by the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ in Verizon Hall. With that program canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, Opera Philadelphia's choristers developed a new program to celebrate the city’s many historic pipe organs. Premieres July 2021, Opera Philadelphia Channel
Glass Handel Opera Philadelphia - Premiering as part of O18, the second edition of Opera Philadelphia's fall festival, Glass Handel was a bona fide ‘happening’ ─ an immersive, multidisciplinary operatic installation headlined and created by American countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo in collaboration with producer Cath Brittan and avant-garde fashion/art company Visionaire. Premieres October 2021, Opera Philadelphia Channel
Henze’s El Cimarrón Opera Philadelphia - With the grandeur of an epic poem, Hans Werner Henze’s 75-minute drama, El Cimarrón (The Runaway Slave), tells the story of Esteban Montejo, a Cuban born into slavery in 1860 who, as a young man, escaped bondage on a sugar plantation, survived in the jungle, fought for Cuban independence from Spain, and lived to describe it all before dying at the age of 113. The work is a tour-de-force for four musicians – baritone, flute, guitar, and percussion – all of whom are also called upon to play percussion throughout. Premieres November 2021, Opera Philadelphia Channel
“The 2021-2022 season is a first step towards returning to a new normal at Opera Philadelphia, as we get back to bringing audiences and artists together for live performances while also integrating cinematic work into our ongoing exploration of the future of opera,” said David B. Devan, General Director & President of Opera Philadelphia. “With music, artists, and storytelling at the center of all activity, this season offers opera lovers both near and far an opportunity to enjoy a wide range of revelatory operatic experiences that remind us both why we love this art form and how it continues to evolve in the 21st century.”
Subscriptions for this integrated season of live and streaming opera are now on sale at operaphila.org or by calling 215.732.8400 (Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.).
