New Orleans Opera

New Orleans holds the distinction of hosting the first opera performance in North America, and the New Orleans Opera Association carries that extraordinary heritage into the present day. Performing at the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts, the company produces beloved standards of the Italian and French repertoire for audiences in a city where music is not merely entertainment but a way of life. The company's seasons reflect the Crescent City's deep Francophone and Mediterranean cultural roots, maintaining an operatic tradition that predates every other in the United States.