Philadelphia Celebrates Opera With O17 Festival

It’s something of a binge-watching opportunity for opera fans, the chance to see multiple productions of both new shows and treasured favorites, all within a relatively small space. O17, as Opera Philadelphia is calling its festival season, is a nearly two-week celebration of the musical tradition, with performances being staged all around the heart of the City of Brotherly Love.

David Devan, the company’s general director, compared O17 to Netflix for the opera fan, where every channel (or stage) brings you something exciting and new. O17’s twelve day run will give fans the opportunity to take in large amounts of diverse opera as shows are staged more or less simultaneously.

Opera Philadelphia’s David Devan, pictured, says he hopes the O17 festival will reinvigorate the company’s ticket sales. Photograph by Chris Crisman

According to the Seattle Times: “So from Sept. 14 through the 25th, customers can choose from among five full-scale productions. Three are world premieres: “We Shall Not Be Moved,” with music by Daniel Bernard Roumain, libretto by Marc Bamuthi Joseph and directed by choreographer Bill T. Jones; “Elizabeth Cree,” by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts and librettist Mark Campbell, adapted from a thriller by Peter Ackroyd; and “The Wake World,” an adaptation of a mystical fairy tale by the English occultist Aleister Crowley with music by David Hertzberg that will be performed alongside the Impressionist treasures of The Barnes Foundation.”

O17 represents a departure from format for the Opera Philadelphia, which would normally stage four spaced-out shows in one season. Devan said that the eclectic new format is meant to help the Opera survive. The hope is, he says, that more locals and visitors will spring for tickets to several unique offerings than they did spend on traditional seasonal subscriptions. Devan admits that subscriptions have been lagging, despite critical reviews agreeing that the opera is just getting better.

With just over a week to go until the festival begins, all three of the premieres are nearly sold out, Devan said. Furthermore, ticket sales show nearly a third of buyers are outside of a 70-mile range of Philadelphia, suggesting that this is a destination event.