MANAYUNK

Originally Published in Manayunk.com Magazine.

By Leo Dillinger

After eight years of wandering from one venue to the next throughout the region, The Delaware Valley Opera Company (DVOC) has finally returned to the area where they started.

The company will perform three operas this summer at the Venice Island Performing Arts and Recreation Center for their 36^th Summer Opera Festival.

DVOC originated in Roxborough in 1979, performing at the Hermitage Mansion. Since then, the company has grown from a small group of 20 who scrambled about the community to find more performers to a collective of 300 to 350 people. That number not only includes performers, but set builders, costume designers, and other various task handlers who work behind the scenes as well.

About eight years ago, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation started planning a major construction project that forced the company to leave the Hermitage Mansion and find a new venue. For the past several years DVOC has been looking for a home and this year they finally found it in the new state-of-the-art, 250-seat Performing Arts Center on Venice Island.

“After being in the area for 28 years, we were here and there and all over the place,” DVOC President Sandra Day said. “It is such a wonderful feeling being back. It’s like our reward for all of our turmoil. And to come to such a gorgeous theater! The theater is just outstanding, the best facility we’ve ever performed in.”

The Delaware Valley Opera Company serves as a stepping-stone for those who want to take part in the fine arts. Whether you’re a young, developing artist looking to add experience to their resume or an older adult who has developed an opera voice later in life, DVOC offers an opportunity to be educated and perhaps even begin a career in opera. Some former company members have gone on to perform at the Metropolitan Opera House and beyond.

By showing their hard work and excellent showmanship, the DVOC hopes to inspire the Manayunk community to take part in their performances, be it on or off stage. It is an excellent way for locals to work with each other and become more engaged in the arts. Now that the company has traveled the region and returned to where it started, there’s no time like the present to get involved.  

“This is truly a homecoming in many ways,” DVOC Vice President Milo Morris said. “Being outside the city, we served a very different community and now we have an opportunity to engage with the Philadelphia community again.”

Schedule of Events

Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss II
Saturday, June 13 @ 8PM

Wednesday, June 17 @ 8 PM

Sunday, June 28 @ 3 PM

Magic Flute by Mozart
Saturday, July 11 @ 8PM

Wednesday, June 15 @ 8 PM

Sunday, July 19 @ 3 PM

Tosca by Giacomo Puccini
Saturday, August 8 @ 8 PM

Wednesday, August 12 @ 8 PM

Sunday, August 16 @ 3 PM