(originally incorporated as the Delaware Valley Lyric Opera Guild) was started in 1979. The intention of its founders was to offer a stepping stone for singers, providing training and education through exposure to all facets of operatic production, and performance opportunities in a variety of operas. During the first year, two operas and a concert were produced at various Center City locations while a permanent space was sought.
In 1981, the Company discovered the Hermitage Mansion, one of Philadelphia's historic Fairmount Park homes, and began to lease it from the City. A year later, an outdoor stage was built in the natural amphitheater behind the Mansion and became the Paul D. Osimo Outdoor Theatre. The Mansion serves also as the Company's administrative base, rehearsal space, costume and scenery storage site, and the location for its Winter Concert Series in the living room.
The primary focus of the Company is its Summer Festival - three operatic productions in June, July and August in the Osimo Theatre. During its 25 years of existence, the Company has performed over 100 performances and presented more than 52 operas.
Operas and Operettas performed by the Delaware Valley Opera Company 1980-2004
Bizet, Georges
Carmen November 1989 (Concert); August 1993; August 2000
Délibes, Leo
Lakmé October 2001 (Concert)
Donizetti, Gaetano
A Daughter of the Regiment July 1987
Don Pasquale August 1985
L'Elisir d'Amore July 1983; July 1992
Lucia di Lammermoor September 1981; November 1990 (Concert); June, 1999
Finko, David
Polinka July 1991
That Song July 1991
The Klezmers July 1991
A Woman is a Devil July 1995
At the Ocean Bottom July 2000
The Golden Medina August 2002
Gounod, Charles
Faust January 1981; August 1991; June 2004
Humperdinck, Engelbert
Hansel and Gretel August 1981; August 1982; October 1984; July 2002
Kern, Jerome
Showboat June 1989
Lehar, Franz
The Merry Widow June 1988; August, 1999
The Land of Smiles June 1996; October 2001 (Concert)
Leoncavallo, Ruggiero
I Pagliacci July 1982; August 1995; August 2001
Mascagni, Pietro
Cavalleria Rusticana July 1981; September 1981; June 1982; August 1995; August 2001
Massenet, Jules
Manon August 1988
Menotti, Giancarlo
The Medium August 1982; November 1997, July 2003
The Telephone November 1997
Amahl and the Night Visitors December 1985; December 2002; January 2004
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus
The Abduction from the Seraglio March 1987
Cosi fan tutte May 1986; July 1993
The Magic Flute August 1984; July 1998
The Marriage of Figaro July 1989; July 2004
Don Giovanni July 1990; July 1999
The Impresario July 2003
Offenbach, Jacques
The Tales of Hoffmann August 1986; August 1996
Pergolesi, Giovanni Battista
La Serva Padrona August 1981; February 1989; September 1989
Poulenc, Francis
Dialogues of the Carmelites July 1986; July 1997; August 2003
La Voix Humaine September 1997
Puccini, Giacomo
Madama Butterfly July 1984; August 1998
Suor Angelica July 1985
La Rondine July 1985; June 1994
Tosca June 1986; August 1997; August 2004
La Bohème August 1987; August 1992; June 1998; June 2001
Il Tabarro July 1988; July 1994
Gianni Schicchi July 1988; July 1994; July 1995; July 2000
Ravel, Maurice
L'Enfant et les Sortilèges August 1983
L'Heure Espagnole August 1983
Rodgers, Richard
Carousel February 1993 (Concert)
South Pacific May 1994 (Concert)
Romberg, Sigmund
The Student Prince June 1983; September 1984; June 1993
The Desert Song June 1991
The New Moon June 1997
Rossini, Gioacchino
The Barber of Seville June 1984; July 1996; June 2003, September 2003
Schickele, Peter
The Stoned Guest June 1980
Strauss, Johann
Die Fledermaus June 1982; June 1987; June 1992
The Gypsy Baron June 1990
Verdi, Giuseppe
Aida January 1991
La Traviata June 1985; August 1994
Rigoletto August 1989; June 2000
Un Ballo in Maschera August 1990; May 2003 (Concert)
Otello April 2001 (Concert)
Macbeth October 2002 (Concert)
Il Trovatore May 2005 (Concert)
Wolf-Ferrari, Ermanno
The Secret of Suzanna July 1982
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