Star Artists and Company Premieres: the Exciting 2008-2009 Season 04-21-2008 The Opera Company of Philadelphia has announced a 2008-2009 Season that the Philadelphia Inquirer called "fearless," featuring five operas, three major new productions, a host of international artists, and the first-ever, star-studded Opera Company of Philadelphia production at the Perelman Theater. Spotlight on Productions: Anticipated Designer Debuts in 2008-2009 04-21-2008 From the whimsical world of Maurice Sendak’s fairytale Hansel and Gretel to the romantic grandeur of John Pascoe’s classic 17th Century French setting for Cyrano, OCP strives to make every moment at the opera as theatrically striking as it is musically moving. Next season, Opera Company General and Artistic Director Robert B. Driver collaborates with two new designers on the opening and closing productions of the season. Driver also introduces a dynamic creative team to audiences for Turandot and produces a favorite, returning OCP production at the Academy of Music. Plus, stay tuned for details on an intimate production of The Rape of Lucretia at the Perelman Theater. Invest in Opera’s Bright Future! 04-21-2008 Make a gift today to the Annual Fund and move from being an opera spectator to a full collaborator at OCP. Community Programs: Engage in Opera! 03-26-2008 Each season, the Opera Company of Philadelphia provides lectures within the community surrounding its productions. One of the most popular is A Taste of Opera, which is presented on a Sunday afternoon before each production’s premiere. Prepare for our spring production, Bellini’s tour de force bel canto masterpiece Norma, at our next presentation of A Taste of Opera on Sunday, March 30th from 2:00 - 4:00 PM. Becoming Norma 03-01-2008 We asked soprano Christine Goerke to tell us a bit about a role so complex that only the strong survive! Here is what she shared with us... The Incomparable Norma 03-01-2008 It's been called a vocal Mount Everest, one of the most thrilling works in the operatic repertoire, and this April, Bellini's ultimate masterpiece Norma dazzles Philadelphia with a stunning international cast of stars.Music Director Corrado Rovaris leads this authentically-Italian production, which is realized by veteran director Kay Walker Castaldo Curtis Opera Theatre Produces the Much-Anticipated Philadelphia Premiere of Golijov's Grammy-Winning AINADAMAR 03-01-2008 One of the most talked-about operas in years, Osvaldo Golijov's Grammy Award-winning opera Ainadamar (Fountain of Tears) receives its exhilarating Philadelphia premiere with four performances this March in a new production by the Curtis Opera Theatre. This special, first-time collaborative endeavor brings the celebrated student artists of the Curtis Opera Theatre, led by Artistic Director of Vocal Studies Mikael Eliasen, to the Perelman Theater as a part of the Kimmel Center Presents series. The Opera Company of Philadelphia, where many Curtis opera students get their first professional, onstage experience and later return in the midst of their thriving international careers, is proud to make this important new work available to its subscribers as an extension of the long-standing relationship between the two institutions. Opera Company of Philadelphia Presents the East Coast Premiere of CYRANO 11-28-2007 View a scene from Maurice Sendak's HANSEL AND GRETEL 11-09-2008 Courtesy of Indianapolis Opera. Starring Julia Ann Wolf as Hansel; Sheryl Woods as Gretel; and James Caraher presiding over the Indianapolis Opera Orchestra. Rising Stars Burn Bright: Lauren Curnow and Maureen McKay Venture Into the Woods as Hansel and Gretel 09-02-2007 Say the name Engelbert Humperdinck to many people on the street and they will assume you’re referring to the British singer who hit number one on the pop charts during the 1960s... Stage Magic On Tap to Light Up the 2007-2008 Season 09-02-2007 New Productions of Rigoletto and Cyrano, plus designs by Maurice Sendak and John Conklin