The Opera Philly Festival
The city will be transformed into a giant stage for Opera Philadelphia's first season opening festival.
It's called O17, and it's 12 days, seven operas and three world premieres in venues across the city.
The festival kicks off on Sept. 14th with the world premiere of Elizabeth Cree at the Kimmel Center's Perelman Theater.
"It is a Victorian thriller; it involves a serial killer," says David Devan, General Director and President of Opera Philadelphia. He also says a great deal of the opera is set in a Victorian Music Hall, "so it has a richness and a depth to that historical music."
War Stories is a double-bill that will make its first performance in the city at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, exploring more than 300 years of war.
The world premiere of We Shall Not Be Moved follows five North Philly teens who find refuge in the MOVE bomb site, "and they hear the voices of the people that perished in those fires, and they use that as a source to find their pathway forward," says Devan.
On the main stage of the Academy of Music, a new production of Mozart's The Magic Flute will transport audiences into an alternate universe. "This magical world with monsters and demons and goblins," enthuses Rachel Sterrenberg who plays the role of Pamina, "and it's super crazy."
This is the show's East Coast premiere, and the production incorporates full-scale animations that are projected onto a screen with the cast emerging out of the images.
Sterrenberg says, "It's almost like we're part of an animated movie."
Her co-star Jarrett Ott, debuting as Papageno, describes it this way: "You get to come and kind of watch a film, as if you're going to the movies, but just with a full orchestra underneath you and incredible singers up on stage."
On Sept. 23rd, you can enjoy a free showing of the Marriage of Figaro, which will be broadcast on giant HD screens at Independence Mall.
"People can self-curate their own experience," says Devan. "Think about it as Netflixing the opera experience and allowing people to binge watch and go deep into a wide range of experiences."
You can find the full Opera Philadelphia Festival schedule and buy tickets at THE ARTS IN PHILLY.
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