Opera Philadelphia Performs a Philadelphia First

Opera Philadelphia was awarded FEDORA’s prestigious Fedora Generali award on June 28, 2019, for its innovative opera, Denis & Katya. Presented to the company during a ceremony in Venice, Opera Philadelphia is the first American company to receive this award. The Philadelphia premiere of Denis & Katya will take place on September 18th in the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, running for a total of eight performances.

A European program, FEDORA was established with the goal of supporting the next generation of opera and ballet artists. Under the presidency of Jérôme-François Zieseniss, the organization awards three prizes to teams that collaborate to produce a promising new opera or ballet, or educate new audiences. Of these, the Fedora Generali prize is awarded to an innovative international opera co-production. 

Composed by Philip Venables and directed by Ted Huffman, Denis & Katya was co-produced by Opera Philadelphia, Music Theatre Wales and Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier. The opera tells the tragic real-life story of two Russian teenagers and covers their love, deaths, and the technology that permeated every moment in between.

Denis & Katya caught critics’ attention largely in part to the video and text interwoven throughout the performance. The opera will feature both an American cast and one from Music Theatre Wales when it runs in Philadelphia in September. The show will then travel to the UK in February and March of 2020 before moving on to Montpellier. 

Opera Philadelphia is a pioneer in the development of Philadelphia’s high-end arts scene. Drawn to the historic neighborhood of the city, visitors from across the region travel to see shows at Opera Philadelphia. This is all thanks to the efforts of Dave Davan, the general director of Opera Philadelphia who has focused on using metrics to drive decisions, lasting partnerships and relationships with the worldwide opera community. In fact, The New York Times described Opera Philadelphia as “one of American opera’s success stories.”

Tickets are available online. Be sure not to miss this award-winning show!

Article written by Scott Blum-Woodland, Valeria Bossio, Zimri T. Hinshaw, and Amelia Winger on behalf of Global Philadelphia Association