Single tickets for the 2022-2023 Philadelphia Opera season go on sale Tuesday, July 19, when opera-goers can curate their experience with a wide range of options, starting with the return eagerly awaited by the O22 Festival, which opens the company’s season, which takes the stage after a two-year hiatus, expanding into new spaces and genres.

The O22 Festival opens with Toshio Hosokawa’s The Raven, sung by “powerhouse in the making” (Opera News) mezzo-soprano Kristen Choi, who won raves as Maddalena in Rigoletto in the spring, and showed her range in TakTakShoo by Rene Orth and Kanika Ambrose for the Philadelphia Opera Channel in 2021.

The Raven, based on Edgar Allan Poe’s famous poem, is revisited through an immersive experience enveloping Hosokawa’s play, crafted by director Aria Umezawa and Philadelphia’s own Obvious agency, which takes over the Miller Theater on Broad Street. Audience members will choose their level of interactivity to explore the multiple spaces of the theatre, with the performers as guides, and explore Poe’s verses.

Alongside the Academy of Music, Rossini’s Otello stars South African tenor Khanyiso Gwenxane in his US debut in the title role as he “masters the title role with a slightly brooding tenor, which stands out particularly well in the lyrical moments” (Mundo Classico), alongside Philadelphia Opera favorites Lawrence Brownlee, Daniela Mack and Alek Shrader. Brownlee debuts his 18th Rossini role as Rodrigo in director Emilio Sagi’s majestic and elegant rendition that evokes the golden world of Downton Abbey. Mack’s Desdemona receives unique attention in Sagi’s production, as a woman whose acts of rebellion and loyalty position her as the moral center of a changing world, and Shrader takes on the role of the avenger Iago. Rising stars Sun-Ly Pierce, Christian Pursell and Aaron Crouch are also making their debuts with the company.

Philadelphia Opera supporters can get up close and personal with the Otello ensemble at the O22 Festival Celebration Dinner. The event will include cocktails in the Music Academy lobby and a three-course dinner on stage. Tickets are on sale until September 7.

The world premiere of David T. Little’s Black Lodge is presented in film form with live performance at the Philadelphia Film Center, which will also host the company’s first-ever film festival. Black Lodge will be part film screening and part industrial rock opera concert, featuring the “punk opera show” (LA Times) Timur & the Dime Museum alongside musicians from the Opera Philadelphia Orchestra. Commissioned and produced by Beth Morrison Projects, with a book by Anne Waldman and story, screenplay and direction by Michael McQuilken, Black Lodge is inspired by Antonin Artaud, David Lynch’s Twin Peaks and William S Burroughs, blending opera and rock in an exploration of magic, mystery, regret and redemption.

In the afternoon, hear the future of opera perform alongside stars on their training ground, during a series of concerts at the Academy of Vocal Arts. Afternoons at the AVA will feature “richly talented” (New York Times) soprano Latonia Moore and “warm and rich” (Washington Post) bass-baritone André Courville in recital with current students of the famed institution. .

Opera on Film explores the crossover of opera into cinema that took on greater prominence at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Films produced by opera companies during theater closures are screened alongside classic opera films, opera-inspired films, and more. A full lineup of movies will be announced on July 26, but fans can purchase a full access badge valid for all movie screenings for just $25. as cinemas closed and more and more people sought culture from the comfort and safety of their homes.

The Carmina Burana + Credo winter concert combines one of the most recognized choral works with a work rarely performed since its inception. The Margaret Bonds Creed, based on a poem by WEB Du Bois, is an affirmation of racial justice, peace and black pride expressed through powerful melodic language and ingenious orchestration. Lina Gonzalez-Granados makes her debut as a conductor. “Disarmingly charming” tenor (Bachtrack) Alasdair Kent returns to the Philadelphia Opera, and soprano Brandie Sutton and “rising star” baritone (Philadelphia Inquirer) Ethan Vincent make their solo debuts.

An innovative La bohème from director Yuval Sharon ends the season on an upbeat note, with the classic story told in reverse to end with the promise of new love. The 100-minute whirlwind of Puccini’s beloved music is a quirky reminder of the experimental and evolutionary nature of this art form. “This melancholic first inspiration of young love is intensified, made all the more poignant by testifying to its fleeting nature,” said The Post and Courier. Soprano Kara Goodrich and tenor Joshua Blue return to the Philadelphia Opera as Mimì and Rodolfo, baritone Troy Cook returning as Marcello and soprano Melissa Joseph making her company debut as Musetta with her technique “Effortless” Vocal (Boston Musical Intelligencer).

Otello (new production)

Music by Gioachino Rossini; libretto by Francesco Berio di Salsa
Sep 23, 25, 30, Oct 2, 2022
music academy
Performed in Italian with English surtitles

The Raven (new production)

Music by Toshio Hosokawa
Based on the poem by Edgar Allan Poe
Sep 21, 24, 29, Oct 1, 2022
Merriam Theater
Performed in English with English surtitles

Black Lodge (world premiere)

Music by David T. Little; libretto by Anne Waldman
Written and directed by Michael Joseph McQuilken
Produced by Beth Morrison Projects
October 1 & 2, 2022
Main Stage at the Philadelphia Film Center
Performed in English with English surtitles

“Opera on Film”

Sept. 27-Oct. 2, 2022
Philadelphia Film Center

“Afternoon at AVA”

Co-presented with the Academy of Vocal Arts
September 24 and October 1, 2022
Helen Corning Warden Theatre, Academy of Vocal Arts

Carmina Burana + Creed (concerts)

Music by Carmina Burana by Carl Orff
Adapted from Carmina Burana
Music Creed by Margaret Bonds
Text by WEB Du Bois
February 3 and 5, 2023
music academy

La bohème (new production)

Music by Giacomo Puccini; libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa
April 28 & 30, May 5 & 7, 2023
music academy
Performed in Italian with English surtitles
Duration is approximately 100 minutes without intermission