Cleveland Opera was incorporated by David Bamberger, Carola Bamberger, and John D. Heavenrich in March 1976 and presented its first season in October and November of that year with sold-out productions of Puccini's Madama Butterfly and Rossini's The Barber of Seville.
Its casts included some of opera's greatest artists, among whom were Roberta Peters, Jerome Hines, Sherrill Milnes, and (in concert) Plácido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, and José Carreras.
Following the departure of David Bamberger, the company pursued financial policies that weakened it considerably.
The decision was made to merge with another struggling company that operated largely in the summer, Lyric Opera Cleveland.
The merged company was named Opera Cleveland and gave its first staged production in April 2007.