Despite setbacks, Opera Philadelphia to press on with Wanamaker building performances

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Plans to activate the now-vacant Macy’s department store in Philadelphia’s Wanamaker Building with musical performances have been delayed due to an unexpected intervention by the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections.

Nevertheless, Opera Philadelphia is continuing to press forward with its Pipe Up! series. General Director and President Anthony Roth Costanzo could not be specific, but said concerts should begin in the Grand Court by the end of October.

“Unfortunately, there were these cancellations of shows due to new approvals needed from L&I,” he said. “We’ve paused our performances, but we are really excited to resume. Nothing that Opera Philadelphia has planned here on out will be reduced in any way.”

Pipe Up! launched Sept. 7 with the sold-out organ concert “Meet Me at the Eagle,” followed by a three-week series of cabaret performances, “The Layaway,” produced by the Bearded Ladies Cabaret as part of the Philly Fringe Festival.

The CEO of Philly Fringe, Nell Bang-Jensen, said the first weekend of the cabaret brought together an unusual audience mix.

“There were people at that first weekend who are diehard Bearded Ladies fans, there were people who love the Fringe Festival, there were people who love the opera,” she said. “Then there were people who just wanted to see the Wanamaker building. That led to this really interesting cross section of people.”

But the cabaret was forced to halt after its first two performances when L&I discovered the building was overdue on several certifications, including those for sprinklers, elevators and escalators. Costanzo is waiting for approvals to be finalized before committing future concerts to specific dates.

Programs will include “A Gorgeous Evening of Music,” a collaboration with Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square wherein longtime Wanamaker principal organist Peter Richard Conte will perform with singers from the Opera Philadelphia chorus at the Longwood Conservatory and the Wanamaker Grand Court.

The concert at Longwood Gardens is scheduled for Oct. 23. Costanzo hopes to lock down a date at Wanamaker shortly before or after.

The series will also feature concerts by opera tenor Lawrence Brownlee, and one curated by composer-in-residence Nathalie Joachim. There will also be several free, drop-in recitals of the famed pipe organ, which will not be ticketed.

Unlike the normal world of opera, where productions are typically planned and announced months or even years in advance, the opportunity to take over the empty Macy’s space forces Opera Philadelphia to be much more nimble, hustling new performances sometimes in a matter of days.

“Now, we’re operating more like an underground club, or a pop-up, or a speakeasy,” Costanzo said. “There’s a certain energy and fun to inviting people to something and letting them enjoy it.”

Costanzo is confident the public is eager to attend performances in the Wanamaker building, based in part on the fact that the “Meet Me at the Eagle” concert in September sold out within hours.

“People are so thrilled and emotional to hear that sound,” he said. “To give them spontaneous access to it has a certain vibrancy that I think is very connected to the energy in Center City.”