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Top Operas In Philadelphia

If you are a lover of opera, or even if you are just curious and want to try it out, you may wonder where can you see an opera in Philadelphia. There are several theaters and music halls that put on productions and the occasional opera. Philly has just one official opera company and they put on about 10 different productions a year throughout the city. Here are the 5 best places to see opera in Philadelphia.

Opera Philadelphia
1420 Locust St.
Philadelphia, PA. 19102
(215)893-3600
www.operaphila.org

Opera Philadelphia is in its 40th season and will have events and showcases at several theaters in Philadelphia including the Academy of Music, the Kimmel Center and the Prince Theater. This is Philly's main professional opera. The group also has its own opera Lab and Composer in residence. Opera Philadelphia put on 6 different productions as part of the newly launched Repertoire program in 2011. They are usually co-working with another opera House. They are committed to producing both classical and brand new operas.

The Academy Of Music
240 South Broad St.
Philadelphia, PA. 19102
(215)893-1999
www.academyofmusic.org

The Academy of Music can seat about 2500 people and is the oldest operating opera House in the United States. The Academy is also the home to the Pennsylvania Ballet and is also known as  "The Grand Old Lady of Locust Street." It became a registered historic landmark in 1952. The Opera Turandot will be presented by Opera of Philadelphia September 23  to October 2, and the annual Gala is September 23.  In the spring you can enjoy Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro  April-May 2017.

The Perlman Theater At The Kimmel Center For Performing Arts
300 South Broad Street
Philadelphia, Pa. 19102
(215) 563-3501
www.kimmelcenter.org

The Kimmel Center is home to the Philadelphia Orchestra which is considered one of the top 5 in the entire world.  The Perlman theater is a bit more intimate than the Verizon center, and is where opera is generally shown with just 650 seats. The concert hall opened in 2001. You can see Breaking the Waves from September  22-October 1 and for subscribers you can arrive an hour before the show to listen to a lecture by the opera company's Michael Bolton.

Related- Top Theaters In Philadelphia

The Prince Theater
1412 Chestnut St.
Philadelphia, PA. 19102
(267) 239-2941
www.princetheater.org

The Prince Theater is a not-for-profit theatrical company that has produced around 90 world premier productions. They show both live theater and films here. The Prince was formerly known as the Karlton Theater from 1921-1950 and The Midtown Theater until 1995 where movies and films were shown. Opera Philadelphia will present Macbeth in the fall. It will have a short run on September 24 & 25, as part of their Aurora Series.

Merriam Theater
250 South Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA. 19102
(215)731-3333
www.merriam-theater.com

Formerly known as "The Shubert Theater" The Merriam seats over 1800 people and has been in operations since 1918. There are a variety of priced tickets for the different types of seating available from the online box office. It now also functions as for Performing Arts students and has been completely upgraded and renovated with the latest technology.This theater will occasional have opera, but more often you can find "Rock Opera" here, productions such as Rent, have been known to tour in this theater. This January a colorful Vaudeville type of show called Elephant and Piggie will be at the Merriam Saturday Jan. 21, 2017.

Related- Top Outdoor Theaters In Philadelphia

Christina Dagnelli is a freelance writer in Philadelphia and the author of Little Squares with Colors: A Different way to look at autism. Her work on examiner can be found here Examiner.com.

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