City: Atlanta, GA

Category: Shopping

Telephone: (404) 881-8801

Address: 728 West Peachtree St.

Description: During the 2007–2008 season, the Atlanta Opera moved permanently from the 4,500-seat Boisfauillet Jones Civic Center in Midtown Atlanta to the 2,750-seat John A. Williams Theatre at the new Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center in suburban Cobb County, about 20 miles from Downtown Atlanta. The inaugural season included productions of Puccini’s Turandot, Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro and Humperdick’s Hansel and Gretel, a new production marking the Atlanta Opera conducting debut of Yoel Levi, former Atlanta Symphony Orchestra conductor. The company was formed in 1985 and staged its annual fall and winter seasons at the Fox Theatre and Atlanta Civic Center. It was an alternative to the annual tour by New York’s Metropolitan Opera and gave local singers and musicians the opportunity to show their talents on a big stage with national and international musicians. In its new home, Atlanta Opera will continue to offer pre-performance lectures, opera-in-the-school educational programs, and video previews of upcoming operas. From 1910 to 1987, the Met’s annual spring tour paid a weeklong visit to Atlanta. When the Met ceased touring, Atlanta was said to be the only city on the tour still meeting its financial obligations. Many social doyennes, who lived for Opera Week each year, still grieve the loss of pre- and post-performance dinners and galas.