World’s Smallest Opera House

Billed as the world’s smallest opera house, this 107-seat theater was renovated by the Amato Opera in 1964. Anthony and Sally Amato founded the company in 1948 to present grand opera at low prices, performed by aspiring young singers. Performances here were known for the intimate theater, talented performers, first-class orchestra, and imaginative sets designed by Richard Cerullo. The building itself was built as a cigar-rolling factory in 1899 and was owned and operated by Jonas Whitelaw, son of a Hungarian Jewish immigrant who ran a prosperous leaf tobacco business in Cuba. In 1906, it became the Holy Name Mission, serving the homeless for nearly four decades. In 2009, after the Amato company’s 61st season, Anthony Amato, at age 88, closed the theater and sold the building.

New York, New York · United States