[2][3] The company first presented the American premiere of Mozart's Il sogno di Scipione (1771), staged by Christopher Alden in 2001 at the Playhouse at the Abrons Arts Center, a 350-seat theater on the New Yorks's Lower East Side.
Two more American premieres followed in November 2002 with Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů's 1928 Dada opera, Les larmes du couteau (Tears of the Knife),[4] and his 1935 Hlas lesa (The Voice of the Forest).
[5] After incorporating as a non-profit organization in 2003, the newly renamed Gotham Chamber Opera (GCO) presented the American premiere of Swiss composer Heinrich Sutermeister's 1935 Die schwarze Spinne [de] (The Black Spider).
In October 2010, GCO with Tectonic Theater Project presented the U.S. premiere of Xavier Montsalvatge's El gato con botas [es][6] (Puss in Boots).
Gotham Chamber Opera included appearances on WNYC, displays at Bergdorf Goodman and Prada SoHo, annual collaborations with the Gagosian Gallery, and performances in various Manhattan venues.