INTERNATIONAL OPERA THEATER
Uniting artists from more than 36 countries to create world premiere opera that links the Italian lyric tradition with the innovative spirit of modern America.
THE MISSION
International Opera Theater (IOT) is a non-profit organization based in both Philadelphia and Italy. Founded in 2003, the company is dedicated to the transformative power of spontaneity-driven art in opera and musical theater — an approach grounded in the fundamentals of commedia dell'arte and the principles of complexity, swarm, and emergence theory.
As a cultural ambassador connecting Italy and the United States, IOT draws from both heritages to create contemporary world premiere operas that link the Italian lyric tradition with the innovative spirit of modern America.
Global Collaboration
Since its founding, IOT has commissioned original operas and multicultural works, bringing together artists from more than 36 countries. The company collaborates with some of the finest artistic organizations in the world, including The Philadelphia Orchestra, The International Festival of Culture in Bergamo, The Smithsonian Institution, The Museum of Modern Art, The American Composers Forum, and The Association for the Highest Level of Musical Perfection in Saluzzo.Shaping a new field of interdisciplinary art, IOT's work exemplifies the virtues of participation, dialogue, and respect essential to community building in a globally developing world.
Committed to a sustainable production model, IOT's musical and stage directors work through an intuitive, movement-based system to realize a premiere — often years in the making — in less than one month.Costumes and sets are primarily fabricated in Philadelphia under the guidance of Mi-Kyoung Lee, internationally renowned South Korean maker and head of fiber arts at the University of the Arts, whose studio transforms remainder fabrics and everyday materials into objets d'art.
Education & Cultural Exchange
At the heart of IOT's mission is the facilitation of self-discovery and nonverbal intercultural communication. Through imagination-driven productions, master classes, interactive auditions, and international competitions, IOT trains a new generation of operatic artists — bringing artists from throughout the world to Italy, and from Italy and beyond to Philadelphia.
IOT's cultural education programs engage children through an innovative, empowering paradigm, including a landmark global peace initiative that recreates the final performance of an opera given 55 times by youth in a WWII concentration camp — honoring young people across all cultures who were never able to return home.