Philadelphia’s premiere opera company begins its new season this month with a new name and a fresh approach to presenting its work. The Opera Company of Philadelphia starts its first season as Opera Philadelphia. The name changed to better reflect the diversity and scope of its artistic output.
Now, from the traditional opera company that grew out of the 1975 merger of the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company and the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company, comes a producer and presenter with a three-stranded approach. And, says General Director David Devan, maybe even three separate sets of audiences.
Opera Philadelphia’s season opens with Giuseppe Verdi’s Nabuco at the Academy of Music on September 27thand a live, big-screen simulcast open to the public on Independence Mall the next night.