OPERA America's National Opera Center is a communal home for opera and the performing arts in New York City. Make it your place for recitals, rehearsals, recordings, and more.
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The ribbon-cutting at the National Opera Center’s opening in September 2012, with Charles MacKay, Frayda B. Lindemann, and Marc A. Scorca at center (photo: Ken Howard)
When OPERA America moved its headquarters from Washington, D.C., to New York City in 2005, the intention was to create a modern, affordable space where companies from around the country could hold auditions. The resulting National Opera Center, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this fall, became something much more: The 25,000-square-foot facility is a home for opera in New York, bringing together a community of artists, creators, administrators, and teachers.
The Opera Center opened in September 2012 on two floors of 330 Seventh Avenue, a 1928 Art Deco high-rise that had been a fur factory in what was once Manhattan’s bustling Fur District. The building’s construction, designed to support the weighty machinery of furriers, allowed OPERA America to carve out custom spaces across both floors and to create two large recital halls without visible support beams. The larger of them, Marc A. Scorca Hall, spans both floors. The Opera Center also features an array of vocal studios, several meeting spaces, and a recording studio.
Over the past decade, the Opera Center has welcomed about 80,000 visitors each year. Guests use the space for everything from vocal lessons and live-streamed recitals to workshops of new operas and meetings of creative teams. While the Opera Center’s spaces temporarily went silent due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the facility reopened last fall, and its halls are once again buzzing with activity.
Thanks to generous support from OPERA America Board Member C. Graham Berwind, III, the Opera Center is kicking off its second decade with a major upgrade: Its recording studio has been completely revamped with a state-of-the-art 40-channel audio mixer and 3.01-megapixel cameras. These significant upgrades will allow artists to livestream and record their performances with striking clarity for many years to come.
The Opera Center’s Marc A. Scorca Hall during construction (photo: Jeff McCrum)
The Opera Center’s Marc A. Scorca Hall after completion (photo: Jeff McCrum)
Composer Composer Jake Heggie applauds Talise Travigne and Stephen Costello at an Opera Center event (photo: Noah Stern Weber)
Davóne Tines performs at an Opera Center event featuring composer Matthew Aucoin (at piano) (photo: Noah Stern Weber)
Joyce DiDonato sits down with OPERA America President/CEO Marc A. Scorca for a conversation at the Opera Center (photo: Noah Stern Weber)
A Year at the Opera Center: By the Numbers
80K visitors
1Kmeetings & workshops
700 performances
300 rehearsals
150 recordings
22% of all rentals are for youth-focused education and music groups 200
Opera Center Memories
To commemorate the National Opera Center’s 10th anniversary, OPERA America recorded reminiscences from singers, administrators, teachers, and others who’ve made the Opera Center their creative home over the past decade.
