Curtis Opera Theatre is set to open its 2025–26 series with the opera “L’Orfeo” at the Philadelphia Film Center’s Mainstage Theater.

The opera will be shown on Nov. 14 and Nov. 16 in a production by John Matsumoto Giampietro. The cast will include rising young stars of the Curtis Opera Theatre, including tenor Harun Ellis Tekin as Orfeo, soprano Juliet Renée Rand as Euridice, bass-baritone Sebastian Wittmoser Herrera as Plutone, soprano Jennifer Robinson as Proserpina, mezzo-soprano Maisy Parker as Speranza, tenor Landry Allen as Apollo, soprano Maya Mor-Mitrani as La Musica/Eco, bass-baritone Edward Smith as Cartone, and mezzo-soprano Carlyle Quinn as Messaggera.

The production will also feature a chorus of Curtis Opera Theatre young artists, joined by members of the renowned Curtis Symphony Orchestra, all under the baton of David Stern.

Regarding his production, Giampietro said, “Our production of L’Orfeo centers around the psychic inheritance of ancient myths: ritual, symbol, and repetition in a contemporary and timeless context. We honor it as ‘the first opera’: the masterpiece that led to a new form of ritual, allowing audiences to witness the human experience through opera. The gift is that we continue to participate in this ritual over 400 years later with the creation of our own L’Orfeo, told from our perspectives and experiences, and with our bodies.”

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