What a whirlwind it's been! For 12 days this September, Philadelphia became a stage for the future of opera. We kicked off the inaugural Festival O with an eye-popping gala celebrating the world premiere of Elizabeth Cree, with a performance conceived and developed by New Paradise Laboratories which transformed the Academy of Music. The very next day, the famed Komische Oper Berlin production of The Magic Flute opened its exclusive East Coast appearance at the Academy of Music, and the world premiere of We Shall Not Be Moved at the Wilma Theater and the Philadelphia premiere of War Stories at the Philadelphia Museum of Art followed.

Continuing the fun, Sondra Radvanovsky made her Philadelphia debut with a solo recital featuring Anthony Manoli and a Master Class featuring our Emerging Artists, plus The Wake World made its world premiere at The Barnes Foundation. During our closing weekend, friends and neighbors packed Independence National Historical Park for Opera on the Mall: The Marriage of Figaro! (Find your photobooth shots here.)

The final bows of O17 may have passed, but you can continue the festival festivities right now! Flip through our festival program book, chock-full of features on each of our productions, shop our online store for O17 merch, or tune into a selection of post-show Spotify playlists curated by the artists of O17. Visit our blog, Backstage, for in-depth stories on Festival O, or our YouTube channel for clips from your favorite productions.

But most importantly, save the date! Festival O returns September 20-30, 2018. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates on our spring season and O18.