By Lynne Adkins

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The Opera Company of Philadelphia has a new name.

It’s now “Opera Philadelphia,” according to David Devan, the general director and president.

“We’ve been working very hard to put opera in the city,” he tells KYW Newsradio, “and that can mean a whole bunch of things in terms of where we perform.  And we wanted a more pliable, easier name so that we could put those various operatic activities underneath it or along with it.”

He says the old name made people think of performances only in grand opera houses, but Opera Philadelphia is trying to draw younger audiences.  In order to do that, he says, Opera Philadelphia is trying to bring the music to the people: staging surprise “pop-up” concerts in such places as department stores,  and offering free programs outside on Independence Mall.

More information is at operaphilly.org.