St. Petersburg Opera

The St. Petersburg Opera Co. (SPO) is proud of our contribution to the artistic and economic growth of the Tampa Bay area over the past 13 years. We greatly appreciate the support of our opera family, which has enabled us to realize the dream of a prosperous and vibrant musical community, both for our residents and visitors to the area. In this, our 13th season, we are not only continuing to present high quality, fully staged professional operatic performances and over 65 collaborative community programs, but are also focused on significantly enhanced educational outreach initiatives. Among SPO’s core values is the belief that the operatic art form is relevant and should be made accessible to all. 

Season 12 was punctuated with SPO receiving six awards at the 2018 Theatre Tampa Bay Awards ceremony. In addition, SPO was named Best Opera Company by Creative Loafing for a third year running. 

Our 13th season of music-making began in October, with standing-room-only performances of Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Palladium Theater.  We've titled our mainstage season "Why Can't You Behave," in honor of our sometimes scandalous operatic characters and fun-filled family drama. The season will commence with Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate, and will be followed by a Puccini festival featuring a double bill of Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi, as well as the masterpiece, Madama Butterfly.

For the student population, we have made 11 presentations inside Pinellas County Schools already this season, and have welcomed groups of area schoolchildren at Opera Central for special matinee performances of Pinocchio, an opera for children. More than 600 students attended their first opera, part of our continuing effort to engage with, and give back to, all facets of our community. It is so rewarding to see an appreciation for opera kindled in these third-graders and other children at the Pinocchio performances.

Along with supporting our mainstage shows, your generous donations help to fund programs in our community, including favorites like our Maestro Series, intimate concerts at Opera Central, free public performances at venues like the Saturday Morning Market, and our orchestral Seasonal Sparkle show, among others.

It is because of the generosity of our community that we can say that we are a fiscal AND critical success.  Opera is by its nature a very expensive art form to produce, and without your help, high quality, live opera in St. Petersburg wouldn’t happen. Thank you for helping us build and sustain this cultural treasure in St. Pete!