rehearsal and storage space, 107-seats, a 20-foot stage and a tiny orchestra pit. Each season included five or six different operas, typically a mix of comedies and tragedies, and the repertory eventually expanded to over 60 operas. Each opera ran over five weekends, and the company used multiple rotating casts. Amato also mounted Saturday morning Opera-In-Brief performances. Aimed at children, the Opera-In-Brief performances are full-length short operas or abridged versions of longer operas interspersed with narration. Throughout its life, Amato Opera maintained a policy of keeping prices low, charging only $1.80 a seat in 1964. By 1975 ticket prices were $3–4 and in 1998, they were $23. In 2008, tickets were $35 ($30 for students, children, and seniors), still modest compared to those at larger opera houses. PBS made a documentary film about Amato in 2001 called Amato: A Love Affair With Opera. PBS wrote, "The Amato Opera has grown famous as a testing ground for young singers; many of its performers have gone on to sing, direct, and conduct in opera companies around the world ... The orchestra is phenomenal. The sets, designed by Richard Cerullo for the past twenty years, are wonderfully designed to make the most of the Amato's small stage. And what the theater lacks in seating capacity it makes up for in intimacy." Productions in the small theater often featured a small ensemble of musicians who sat directly beneath the stage. Other times, the singers were accompanied only by a piano in the pit. The intimate setting resulted in a different operatic experience. In some cases, acting could be less exaggerated than in a larger house. Though the stage was small, scenery was typically fully realized and often quite striking visually. Because the singers were so close to the audience, it was easier to discern the individual parts in group scenes, such as quartets. Many productions benefitted from Amato's humor, and audiences were often amused at the opening of operas when two small chandeliers were hoisted up to the ceiling, mimicking the raising of the grand chandeliers at the Metropolitan Opera house. Amato Opera received commendations and awards from Mayors Abe Beame, Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani, and the Amatos were inducted into City Lore's Peoples' Hall of Fame, honored by the American Cultural Roundtable, and the Italian Heritage and Cultural Committee, in recognition for their contribution to the artistic life of New York City.