Amato Opera

Amato Opera

The Amato Opera's home at 319 Bowery in New York City, May 2009
Location	East Village, Manhattan, New York City
Type	Opera company
Opened	1948
Closed	2009

The Amato Opera was an opera company located in the East Village neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York City. The company was produced by the husband and wife team of Anthony and Sally Amato and presented opera on a small scale with a reduced orchestra at low prices. Over its 61 years in existence, it encouraged and trained many young singers.

The company was founded in 1948 by husband and wife team Anthony (July 21, 1920 – December 13, 2011) and Sally Bell Amato (September 27, 1917 – August 16, 2000). Tony Amato acted as artistic director, choosing the repertoire, rehearsing and conducting the operas. In the early productions, he often cast students from his opera classes at The America Theatre Wing, where he was the Director of the Opera Workshop. There was no admission charge for the company's early performances, because union rules prohibited it. Instead, during the intermission the Amatos would "pass the hat around" for contributions. Sally acted as costumier, ran lights and box office and managed publicity and business matters. Under the alias Serafina Bellantoni, she sang in productions for over fifty years.

Their first production, Rossini's The Barber of Seville, was mounted in the auditorium of Our Lady of Pompeii Church at Bleecker and Carmine Streets. The following week, the company produced Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci. The company used many other locations in its early years, including the Kaufman Auditorium of the 92nd Street Y, the Fashion Institute of Technology, and Washington Irving High School auditorium.

In 1951, the company moved into its first permanent home at 159 Bleecker Street. In its new 299-seat theatre, the company gave four performances during nearly every weekend of the year. The company's repertory soon spanned 21 different operas, and it gave over 1,296 performances at the theatre. Productions were occasionally presented in nearby cities, such as New London and New Haven, Connecticut, and abridged children's performances were also given at The Town Hall. The Bleecker Street theatre closed in 1959, but the company continued to perform at other venues, including The Town Hall and 126 West 23rd Street.