Opera On Film Series Brings 30 Cinematic Works To Festival O22

When Opera Philadelphia's renowned Festival O returns this September for the first time since 2019, it will not only bring multiple live opera performances to several spaces in the city; it will also spawn a new film festival within the opera festival, composed of some 30 cinematic operas over 12 screenings at the Philadelphia Film Center.

Opera on Film, presented from Tuesday, Sept. 27 through Sunday, Oct. 2, is a big-screen binge of the operatic art form's cinematic possibilities, gathering both feature-length and short-form films featuring an array of artists crossing time and genres: artist and director William Kentridge; opera singers Patricia Racette, Karen Slack, Zachary James, Lester Lynch, and NBC's The Voice finalist John Holiday; film directors James Darrah, Pedro Almodóvar, Joseph Losey, Mary Birnbaum, and E. Elias Merhige; composers Tyshawn Sorey, Rene Orth, Missy Mazzoli, Terence Blanchard, Paola Prestini, and Amanda Feery; actress Tilda Swinton; and pop superstar Beyoncé.

"Since 2020, we have witnessed an unprecedented period of creativity and flexibility in the opera industry, as the pandemic and our inability to gather on stage spawned a tremendous growth in operatic film experimentation," said David B. Devan, General Director & President of Opera Philadelphia. "As we return to Festival O, we've created a series to celebrate this unprecedented period of artistic achievement by performers, directors, and opera producers across the globe, screened alongside classic opera films and films inspired by opera. Whether you're an opera buff or a film buff, Opera on Film is six days of binge-worthy art that we can experience together on two screens at the Philadelphia Film Center, the city's premiere hub for film."

The company received more than 800 submissions to Opera on Film via FilmFreeway. In choosing 20 official selections to screen alongside special presentations and films produced by Opera Philadelphia, series producers Frank Luzi and Sarah Williams worked with a screening panel consisting of film specialist Rob Buscher, Board Chair of the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival; Philadelphia-born visual artist and film director Tiona Nekkia McClodden; and Director of Casting & Artistic Administration Michael Eberhard.

Audiences can enjoy the entire series for just $25 with an Opera on Film badge. Festival packages, film badges, and performance tickets are now on sale at operaphila.org, or by calling 215.732.8400 (Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.). Tickets for individual film screenings will go on sale through the Philadelphia Film Center box office in September.

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