Private company

Israel National Opera

Defunct Israeli opera company

Israel National Opera was Israel's principal opera company from its founding in 1947 until its closure in 1982.2 It was founded by Edis De Philippe.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

Israeli opera Thais 1948
Photo: סטודיו אלכסנדר, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons4

Israel National Opera was Israel's principal opera company from its founding in 1947 until its closure in 1982.2

The story

Founded by Edis De Philippe.1

The Israel National Opera was founded by the American soprano Edis de Philippe. It staged over 1,000 performances throughout Israel by 1958. The scarcity of trained Israeli opera singers led the company to bring in international guest artists. During the early 1960s both Plácido Domingo and his wife Marta Ornelas were principal singers with the company. Lack of government funding led to the company's final closure in 1982 after several years of financial problems.

In 1985, the Council for Arts and Culture created The New Israeli Opera through a partnership between the Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv and the Israel Chamber Orchestra.

From Wikipedia’s article on Israel National Opera, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Leadership

Who has led Israel National Opera, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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