Orchestres et l'Opéra
The Atlanta Opera
About The Company
The Atlanta Opera’s mission is to build the major international opera company Atlanta deserves, with a vision to reimagine opera.
Founded in 1979, The Atlanta Opera has celebrated opera for over 40 years. The Opera works with world-renowned singers, conductors, directors, and designers who seek to enhance the art form.
Under the leadership of internationally recognized sta
About The Company
The Atlanta Opera’s mission is to build the major international opera company Atlanta deserves, with a vision to reimagine opera.
Founded in 1979, The Atlanta Opera has celebrated opera for over 40 years. The Opera works with world-renowned singers, conductors, directors, and designers who seek to enhance the art form.
Under the leadership of internationally recognized stage director and Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. General & Artistic Director Tomer Zvulun, The Atlanta Opera expanded from three to four mainstage productions at Cobb Energy Centre and launched the acclaimed Discoveries series. In recent years, the company was recognized by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as part of its “Best of 2015” awards; it was nominated for an International Opera Award in 2016; and it won ArtsATL’s 2019 Luminary Award for Community Engagement, recognizing its successful Veterans Program in partnership with The Home Depot Foundation.
In addition, The Opera was featured in a 2018 Harvard Business School case study about successful organizational growth, and Zvulun presented a TEDx Talk at Emory University entitled “The Ambidextrous Opera Company, or Opera in the Age of iPhones.”
Our History
Atlanta’s taste for opera began in the early years of the 1900’s with the Metropolitan Opera’s annual week-long tour to Atlanta. Performing at the Auditorium-Armory, the fabulous Fox Theatre and finally the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center, the Metropolitan Opera’s annual tour was a major social event. Every night of the week featured the performance of a different opera starring opera legends including Enrico Caruso, Leontyne Price, and later, Luciano Pavarotti. The audience included a who’s who of Atlantans and was celebrated with posh parties at the Georgian Terrace, Piedmont Driving Club and other upscale venues.
In 1979, the Atlanta Civic Opera was born, a result of a merger between two competing entities, Atlanta Lyric Opera and Georgia Opera. The first artistic director was noted composer Thomas Pasatieri. The company’s first production was The Seagull on Friday, March 14, 1980 at the Fox Theatre. The following December, a festive gala was held in Symphony Hall with such noted young artists as Catherine Malfitano, Jerry Hadley and Samuel Ramey. In 1985, the company was renamed to The Atlanta Opera.