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 Amato (27 September 1917 – 16 August 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. These 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. Amato found a new permanent home in 1964 in a four-story building, next to a gas station and near the famous rock club CBGB, at 319 Bowery near Second Street, a former Mission House and restaurant supply store, which was converted into a theatre with rehearsal and storage space, 107-seats, a 20-foot stage and a tiny orchestra pit. Throughout its life, Amato Opera has maintained a policy of keeping prices low, charging only $1.80 a seat in 1964. By 1975 ticket prices were $3-4 and in 1998, they were $23. In 2008, tickets were $35 ($30 for students, children, and seniors), still modest compared to those at larger opera houses. The Amato Opera has grown famous as a testing ground for young singers; many of its performers have gone on to sing, direct, and conduct in opera companies around the world.... The orchestra is phenomenal. The sets, designed by Richard Cerullo for the past twenty years, are wonderfully designed to make the most of the Amato's small stage. And what the theater lacks in seating capacity it makes up for in intimacy. Amato Opera received commendations and awards from Mayors Abe Beame, Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani, and the Amatos were inducted into City Lore's Peoples' Hall of Fame, honored by the American Cultural Roundtable, and the Italian Heritage and Cultural Committee, in recognition for their contribution to the artistic life of New York City. Amato Opera closed after its last performance of The Marriage of Figaro on May 31, 2009. Email me