New Art & Opera Facility Breaks Ground

Arthur Blank continues his meaningful mark on Atlanta. In this case, the new Atlanta Opera facility, which will affect generations to come and is named in memory of his mother, Molly Blank.

The hero leading the charge is Tomer Zvulun, general and artistic director of the Atlanta Opera, who was featured in the Atlanta Jewish Times Lowdown column describing his Harvard education, service as an IDF medic, and ability to fundraise.

Under a bold red and blue circus tent, a stone’s throw from the Beltline on the Bobby Jones Golf Course, ground was broken on Monday, Feb. 16. About 80 of Atlanta Opera’s patrons and fans came to see renderings, mini performances, and wine and dine to welcome what will be changing the face of Atlanta’s art scene. Affairs to Remember catered inside the active construction site where joyful character murals from the Atlanta Center for Puppetry Arts lined the walls.

Zvulun, who wore a gold shovel on his lapel, addressed the crowd, referring to one of his biggest accomplishments — keeping the opera open during COVID with a tent in a baseball field with 40 productions when the rest of the city practically shut down.

“Actually”, he said, “It’s this very same tent.” He continued, “For years, the Atlanta Opera has moved toward an interdisciplinary, multi-genre model, placing chamber, opera, and dialogue with films, spoken theater, musical theater, cabaret and concert work so that no single form dominates. This new facility is that kind of artistic collision, a performing arts campus in the forest where the line between opera house, cinema, rehearsal studio, classroom, and park dissolves.” Zvulun ended with a champagne toast after three Atlanta Opera studio artists performed.

At the heart of the new center is a unique performance space with 200 seats, Rosemary Hall, that will be a nature-framed, state-of-the-art recital hall, built for acoustic clarity and a sense of intimacy between artists, audience, and landscape, and ideal for chamber operas, recitals, and cabarets. Alongside that is the Atlanta Opera Coca-Cola theater, a fully transformable environment that can morph from the largest rehearsal room in Atlanta to a venue for chamber opera, film, musical, or play.

The new venue is historic as Buckhead’s Beltline segment links neighborhood trails in an urban green space on six acres, extending into a lawn, inviting families, children, neighbors, and dogs to mingle, rest, and play. On some days, it will become an outdoor viewing room where audiences gather on the grass to watch live performances or a broadcast, listening via Bluetooth-enabled headphones, creating a sonic experience under open sky; on others, it becomes a “running free” space for children, attending camp, classes, and seminars inside the building.

Internal construction is expected to be completed in the fall of 2027 with the grand opening in January 2028. There will be ample room for performance, rehearsal, production, education, and administrative uses.

On hand was Dr. Hal Brody, who has served on the Opera board for five years. With a creative streak, he imagined Michael Chabon’s novel, “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay,” might make for a great production. He told the AJT, “I am enchanted by many performances, but my favorite is Jacques Offenbach’s opera, ‘Les Contes d’Hoffmann (“The Tales of Hoffmann”).’”

At a time when other opera companies are cutting back, the Atlanta Opera is experiencing record-breaking ticket sales and a balanced budget. Seven annual productions are planned for 2026 with an annual budget of $17 million and no deficit. In 2024, The Atlanta Opera attained a top-tier status among American opera companies, including the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the companies of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Seattle, Dallas, and Santa Fe.