The Pennsylvania Opera Theater (TPOT) was an American

opera company Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretti ...

located in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Founded in 1975 by Barbara Silverstein, the company presented an annual season of opera until it closed due to financial reasons in 1993. The company was dedicated to presenting new and more rarely performed works in the English language. Most of the company's performances were staged at the

Merriam Theater Miller Theater, originally the Sam S. Shubert Theatre and formerly the Merriam Theater, is Philadelphia's most continuous location for touring Broadway show theatre. It is located at 250 South Broad Street within the Avenue of the Arts cultural ...

. Silverstein served as the company's Artistic Director during its 18-year history. The POT's first performance was on May 22, 1976 with a production of Otto Nicolai's '' The Merry Wives of Windsor''. New works staged by the company included Margaret Garwood's ''Rappaccini's Daughter'' (1983), Vincent Persichetti's ''The Sibyl'' (1985) and

David Ives David Ives (born July 11, 1950) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He is perhaps best known for his comic one-act plays; ''The New York Times'' in 1997 referred to him as the "maestro of the short form". Ives has also written ...

and Greg Pliska's ''The Secret Garden'' (1991). In 1982 the company presented the United States premiere of Haydn's '' Orlando paladino'' with tenor

John Gilmore John Gilmore may refer to: * John Gilmore (activist) (born 1955), co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Cygnus Solutions * John Gilmore (musician) (1931–1995), American jazz saxophonist * John Gilmore (representative) (1780–1845 ...

in the title role. Other rarely performed works staged by the company included Argento's '' Postcard from Morocco'' (1977), Benjamin Britten's version of John Gay's ''

The Beggar's Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satiri ...

'' (1978), Francesco Cavalli's ''

Ormindo ''L'Ormindo'' is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Francesco Cavalli to an original Italian libretto by Giovanni Faustini. The manuscript score is held at the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice,The score has been digitized bIMSLP while a copy ...

'' (1979), Offenbach's ''

La belle Hélène ''La belle Hélène'' (, ''The Beautiful Helen'') is an opéra bouffe in three acts, with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The piece parodies the story of Helen of Troy, Helen's elopement with Paris (myt ...

'' (1980),

Mark Bucci Mark Bucci (26 February 1924, New York City – 22 August 2002, Camp Verde, Arizona) was an American composer, lyricist, and dramatist. Influenced by Giacomo Puccini, his work is composed in a contemporary yet lyrical style, which frequently empl ...

's '' Sweet Betsy From Pike'' (1980),

David Amram David Werner Amram III (born November 17, 1930) is an American composer, arranger, and conductor of orchestral, chamber, and choral works, many with jazz flavorings.

's ''Twelfth Night'' (1981), Rossini's ''

Le comte Ory ''Le comte Ory'' (''Count Ory'') is a comic opera written by Gioachino Rossini in 1828. Some of the music originates from his opera '' Il viaggio a Reims'' written three years earlier for the coronation of Charles X. The French libretto was by Eug ...

'' (1981), Donizetti's '' Il furioso all'isola di San Domingo'' (1982), Weil's ''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a " play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Villon, with mu ...

'' (1984), Britten's ''

The Turn of the Screw ''The Turn of the Screw'' is an 1898 horror novella by Henry James which first appeared in serial format in '' Collier's Weekly'' (January 27 – April 16, 1898). In October 1898, it was collected in ''The Two Magics'', published by Macmil ...

'' (1987), Henry Purcell's ''

The Fairy-Queen ''The Fairy-Queen'' (1692; Purcell catalogue number Z.629) is a semi-opera by Henry Purcell; a "Restoration spectacular". The libretto is an anonymous adaptation of William Shakespeare's comedy ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. First performed ...

'' (1988), and Robert Ward's ''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as ...

'' (1989). The company's final performance was of Mozart's '' Così fan tutte'' on May 14, 1993 at the Merriam Theater with Jennifer Jones as Fiordiligi, Janine Hawley as Dorabella, Matthew Lau as Guglielmo, Robert Baker as Ferrando, Sara Seglem as Despina, and Robert Holden as Don Alfonso.

Free Library of Philadelphia The Free Library of Philadelphia is the public library system that serves Philadelphia. It is the 13th-largest public library system in the United States. The Free Library of Philadelphia is a non-Mayoral agency of the City of Philadelphia gover ...

: ''Folder: Pennsylvania Opera Theater''

References

{{Authority control Culture of Philadelphia Pennsylvania opera companies Musical groups from Philadelphia Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups disestablished in 1993