1
general::
Phrase(s): open with someone or something
to begin a season, session, series, or performance with someone or something. • The conference will open with a series of invited speakers. • The performance opened with Donna, who played the flute.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
Begin with, as in The concert season opens with the Symphony performing Mahler's Ninth. This idiom uses open in the sense of "begin," a usage dating from the late 1600s.
American Heritage Idioms