The Harrison Opera House is home to Virginia Opera – one of the best opera houses in the states. The opera house is under the artistic leadership of Maestro Peter Mark. The company is known and respected nationwide for the identification and presentation of the finest young arties; for its impeccable musical presentation, dramatic integrity and for the ingenuity and variety of its education and outreach youth programs. The Company has a working budget of $6 million with 36 main stage performances in three markets reaching nearly 80,000 attendees and a donor base of at least 6,000 contributors.

The original opera house was erected in the 1940s and designed as an entertainment venue for USO troops, who overwhelmed the audiences. Formerly, the Virginia Opera Center Theater, the renovated house was re-christened Edythe C. and Stanley L. Harrison Opera House in 1993. Virginia Opera was launched with two productions in the Norfolk Center Theater and has since expanded. In March of 1994, by unanimous vote of the Virginia General Assembly, Virginia Opera was named The Official Opera Company of the Commonwealth of Virginia in recognition of the organization's contribution to the Commonwealth, and to the world of opera.

Virginia Opera is one of the finest regional opera companies in the nation and is the only company to perform regularly in three separate main stage venues – Norfolk, VA., Richmond, VA., and GMU Center for the Arts, Fairfax, VA. In addition, Virginia Opera reaches more than 200,000 students and community members each year through its impressive variety of innovative Education and Community Outreach Programs. This makes the company a significant contributor to curbing social ills and a respectable cultivator of interests and potential in the world of arts.

The Harrison Opera House is an intimate 1,632-seat theater and is the home to the Virginia Opera. It is a three-story grand lobby with a magnificent balcony lobby, floor to ceiling windows, superior acoustics and box seating on mezzanine and balcony levels that enhances the spectacular interior. Visiting the opera is usually a grand affair and in the Harrison Opera house, its intimate ambience and glittering chandeliers allows you to sip champagne and drink in the glamour of the evening.

To experience opera in Norfolk is to savor it in surroundings of grand elegance. Ample modern amenities contribute to your enjoyment. You can park in brightly lit lots on both sides of the theater for $4 per car. Limited on-street parking is also available. Refreshment stands and bars serve before performances and during intermissions.