Temple University and Opera Philadelphia Reveal New Partnership

Innovative new operas that receive world premiere performances in Philadelphia will be heard by a much larger audience and college students will gain unique and valuable experiences thanks to a new partnership between Temple University and Opera Philadelphia.

Temple and the Opera recently signed an agreement to explore potential collaborations that harness the strengths and resources of both organizations. Student-focused initiatives will be prioritized within the partnership, with Temple students across multiple schools gaining real-world experience with both non-profit, and innovative entrepreneurial models, bolstered by Opera Philadelphia's vibrant network of artists and professionals.

The partners have established multiple areas of collaboration with the ability to add more as the partnership grows. Specifically, through BCM&D Records, the record label of Temple's Boyer College of Music and Dance that has earned five Grammy nominations, they will work to produce and release recordings of new operas that showcase artistic innovation and expand the genre.

Together, the organizations also plan to create opportunities for student entrepreneurship, specifically focusing on arts marketing and administration experiences where students from the School of Theater, Film and Media Arts will be tasked with helping to create storytelling content to drive audience engagement for Opera Philadelphia. A broad range of Opera Philadelphia visiting artists will work directly with Temple students, sharing their insights behind the professional creative process.

“We are delighted to partner with Opera Philadelphia as they are a renowned American Opera Company and a prime example of what a modern opera should aspire to be,” said Temple President John Fry. “Our Voice and Opera students as well as the entire Center for the Performing and Cinematic Arts will benefit from this new partnership, which also aligns closely with the priorities of Temple's recently released strategic plan, Forward with Purpose. Through partnerships like this one, we are creating a connected educational and cultural landscape in Center City, which benefits not just the Temple and Opera Philadelphia communities but the City of Philadelphia as a whole.”

“The visionary way Temple approaches creating opportunities for their students represents the forward-facing, multi-disciplinary training that leads to real success. I see so many points of intersection with our ‘Opera, but different' way of doing things,” said Anthony Roth Costanzo, General Director & President of Opera Philadelphia. “This partnership generates synergies that support students and artists alike and simultaneously can build new audiences for the arts—by providing students real-world opportunities to engage with the creative process and learn alongside some of today's most innovative performers and creators at a crucial stage of their education. This partnership builds on Opera Philadelphia's many recent collaborations from the Philadelphia Museum of Art to the Four Seasons Hotel to the Wanamaker Building. As our reach, venues, and performance opportunities continue to grow, I am excited to find opportunities to bring to bear the incredible talent Temple students have to offer and help show it to the city and the world. Any Owls fan would surely agree that it will be a hoot."

Together, Temple and Opera Philadelphia have already partnered to record the “remarkably successful” February world premiere of Complications in Sue, the heralded opera created by 10 composers with a libretto by Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning playwright Michael R. Jackson in his operatic debut and starring MacArthur Genius and cabaret icon Justin Vivian Bond. In April, they will record Sleepers Awake, a dream-like rendering of the fairytale “Sleeping Beauty” by composer Gregory Spears at the historic Academy of Music. Both recordings will be released through BCM&D Records