You don’t have to travel to Italy to experience the beauty of opera. You can catch a show right here in Philly – starting at only $11.
Opera Philadelphia is Philly’s only producer of grand opera, expanding the Avenue of the Arts’ offerings of stage performances with productions that blend drama, music, and eye-catching visuals in shows that are almost entirely in song. That’s right, no spoken dialogue.
The company blew away previous attendance totals last year and became the only opera company in the United States to sell out, in large part because of a promotion to make the art form more accessible through a special ticket deal.
“Access to art is connected to social justice, and that’s what we firmly believe in,” Anthony Roth Costanzo, president of Opera Philadelphia, said on City Cast Philly. “It’s not just about making the art and putting it on stage. It’s about how that art touches people, touches community, affects those people’s lives.”
The opera company is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a jam-packed 2025-2026 season filled with paintings that come to life, world premieres, and reimagination.
“This season we have coming up, it shows you that opera can be everything,” Costanzo said. “It can be what you least expected. It can incorporate all these different voices both literally and figuratively that are telling stories that connect you.”
Here’s some of what to look forward to from Opera Philadelphia’s upcoming season.
Il viaggio a Reims
Art comes alive in the unique use of staging for the production of Gioachino Rossini’s “Il viaggio a Reims.” The original 200-year-old opera follows European aristocrats stranded while traveling for the coronation of King Charles X. Premiering here in September, Rossini’s work gets a modern update, following the characters in an art museum for the grand opening of a new exhibition as they succumb to secrets and passion. Other characters escape from their frames, adding a fantastical quality to the production.
The Seasons
Weather can stir memories and emotion, and the personal connection between us and the natural world is explored through the December premiere of “The Seasons.” The production follows artists seeking to ground themselves and connect with the earth while working on their craft, only to be thrown into chaos by extreme weather conditions. The performance is a reflection of climate change and a celebration of nature as it visualizes weather through music.
The Black Crown
The work of Langston Hughes made a significant contribution to the Harlem Renaissance, a cultural period of Black artistry and scholarship in New York City between the 1920s and 1930s. Premiering in May 2026, “The Black Crown” plays across genres – vaudeville, jazz, gospel – to reanimate Hughes and explore his life and legacy on stage.
🎧 Listen to Trenae’s conversation with Opera Philadelphia’s president and general director, Anthony Roth Costanzo, to hear more about Opera Philadelphia’s mission, how Philly’s responding, and when to catch a show this season.
