Complications in Sue Program Book

MASON BATES / LIBRETTO BY GENE SCHEER / BASED ON THE BOOK BY

MICHAEL CHABON

THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF

THE PULITZER PRIZE–WINNING NOVEL IN ITS OPERATIC PREMIERE TICKETS START AT $25 METOPERA.ORG

World Premiere

February 4, 5, 6, 8, 2026 Academy of Music

Libretto by Michael R. Jackson, based on an idea by Justin Vivian Bond

Music by Andy Akiho, Alistair Coleman, Nathalie Joachim, Missy Mazzoli, Nico Muhly, Rene Orth, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Kamala Sankaram, Dan Schlosberg, and Errollyn Wallen

Mrs. Claus, Co-Ed 1, Algorithm 1, Child Self, Death Kiera Duffy

Newscaster, Algorithm 2, Octogenarian, Death Rehanna Thelwell

Co-Ed 2, Algorithm 3, Neighbor, Death Nicky Spence*

Santa Claus, Roger, Octogenarian, Death Nicholas Newton

Conductor Caren Levine*

Co-Director Raja Feather Kelly

Co-Director Zack Winokur

Set Designer Krit Robinson*

Lighting Designer Yuki Link*

Costume Designer for Justin Vivian Bond JW Anderson*

Costume Designer Victoria Bek

Sound Designer Chris Sannino

Hair and Make-Up Designer Amanda Miller*

Stage Manager Jennifer Shaw

*Opera Philadelphia debut

Performed in English with English supertitles

This production contains adult language and content

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OFFICERS

Charles C. Freyer | Chair

Anthony Roth Costanzo*| President

Barbara Augusta Teichert | Vice Chair

Alexander M. Hankin | Secretary

David Low | Treasurer

Stephen K. Klasko | Immediate Past Chair

MEMBERS

Ira Brind

Lawrence Brownlee

William Dunbar

David Ferguson

Charles C. Freyer

Deena Gu Laties

Alexander M. Hankin

Benjamin Hildner

Peter Leone

David Low

Sarah Marshall

Agnes Mulroney

Nabila Sajid

Nancy Sanders

Carolyn Horn Seidle

Ellen Steiner

Barbara Augusta Teichert

Lisa Washington

Kathleen Weir

Yueyi (Kelly) Zhou

HONORARY MEMBERS

Dennis Alter

H.F. (Gerry) Lenfest†

Stephen A. Madva, Esq.,

Chairman Emeritus

Alan B. Miller

Alice W. Strine, Esq.

Charlotte Watts

ADVISORY BOARD

Betsy Z. Cohen

Renée Fleming

John Hunter

Henry Timms

HI FRIENDS,

This opera is upside down and inside out. Common logic and current practice would dictate that a new opera begins with a composer, and that composer chooses a subject and then finds someone who can write the words.

But here at OP, it’s opera but different. This thrilling world premiere has a very unusual genesis that represents a vibrant and collaborative collision of so many extraordinary artists. It all began when I got a phone call from Michael R. Jackson several years ago. I thought, is this really the Pulitzer- and Tony-winning playwright of A Strange Loop calling me? He asked if we could have lunch, and when we sat down together, he confessed that he wanted to write a libretto. He told me that he thought opera could help him find new expressive possibilities, and I reassured him that if there’s anything opera’s good at, it’s transcending.

Years later, when I started at Opera Philadelphia, I was still thinking about my conversation with Michael when the cabaret legend Justin Vivian Bond told me that she had an idea to play a woman named Sue in an opera called Complications in Sue. I took Viv’s idea to Michael and asked if he would write Sue’s life in 10 parts because I thought we should try something: the surrealists in 1920s Paris used to play a parlor game called “The Exquisite Corpse” in which they would fold a piece of paper into different sections, and one artist would draw part of a figure on their section. They would then fold the paper so the next artist couldn’t see their section when drawing. The final work, the form made up of these different sections, was intended to bypass rational control and thus reveal the unconscious.

Could we do something similar with this opera if we asked ten different composers to each write a single scene? We are lucky to have gathered some of the most luminary compositional voices in our field, some incredibly experienced in opera, and some for whom this represents their first operatic outing. We gave them each their scene in the libretto, but none of the other scenes, and only a brief summary of the plot. They composed in this vacuum, and what has emerged is a kind of collective unconscious, all unified by the common thread of Michael’s crystalline text and iconoclastic mind.

I’m struck by the layers of beauty in both the piece itself, the production built around it, and the performances at the heart of it. Opera is about these expressive possibilities, new and old, and I can’t wait to see how they strike you. Who is Sue? Is she you? It’s complicated.

Anthony Roth Costanzo General Director & President

OPERA PHILADELPHIA STAFF

LEADERSHIP

Anthony Roth Costanzo, General Director & President

Corrado Rovaris, Judy and Peter Leone Music Director

Veronica Chapman-Smith, Vice President of Community Initiatives

Jonathan Neumann, Chief Development Officer

Catherine Reay, Vice President of Administration & Human Resources

MUSIC

Michael Eberhard, Director of Casting & Artistic Administration

Elizabeth Braden, Director of Music & Chorus

Grant Loehnig, Head of Music Staff

Nathan Lofton, Orchestra Contractor & Personnel Manager

Timothy M. Ressler, Orchestra Librarian & Personnel Coordinator

J. Robert Loy, Assistant Orchestra Librarian

PRODUCTION

Bridget A. Cook, Director of Production

Drew Billiau, Director of Design & Technology

Stephen Dickerson, Technical Director

Millie Hiibel, Costume Director

Emily Wanamaker, Associate Director of Production

Will Vence Jr., Artistic Operations Coordinator

DEVELOPMENT

Adele Mustardo, Director of Events

JT Newman, CFRE, Director of Development

Veronika Perez, Development Manager

ADMINISTRATION

Brianna Thompson, Office Manager

MARKETING & GUEST SERVICES

Claire Frisbie, Director of Marketing

Michael Knight, Director of Guest Services

Jeffrey Mason, Guest Services Manager

Yvette Bedgood, Guest Services Associate

COMMUNITY INITIATIVES

Kyleigh Archer, Manager of Youth and Community Programs

Kyle Chastulik, Teaching Artist

Dicky Dutton, Teaching Artist

Elizabeth Gautsche, Teaching Artist

Chloe Lucente, Teaching Artist

Maedeh Mehdipour, Teaching Artist

Sepehr Pirasteh, Teaching Artist

Emilie Kaelani, Community Arts Facilitator

Valentina Sierra, Program Manager, Residency

Chabrelle Williams, Community Arts Facilitator

Dr. Lily Kass, Scholar in Residence & Program Manager, Dress Rehearsal

Karim Boyd, Backstage Pass Consultant

SCENE

Daniel Jin Applebaum

Courtney Beck

Linda Jackson

Gwyneth Muller

Aisha Wiley

FINANCE

RADAR Nonprofit Solutions

COUNSEL

Ballard Spahr, LLP, General Counsel

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Luzi Media

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Haeg Design

SYNOPSIS

By Michael R. Jackson

The runtime of Complications in Sue is approximately 90 minutes with no intermission.

Scene 1

Music by Errollyn Wallen

In a hospital nursery full of newborns, Death enters and finds baby Sue. Death welcomes her to the world, tells her what’s to come, and says they will only meet once again.

Scene 2

Music by Missy Mazzoli

Santa Claus complains to Mrs. Claus about how he feels irrelevant and worries that he might be replaced by AI. Mrs. Claus reminds him that there’s a 10-year-old girl named Sue who still believes in him, and he needs to believe in her.

Scene 3

Music by Andy Akiho

At a university in the northeast, two college co-eds gossip about Sue while watching her from afar. They both hate her and want to be her.

Scene 4

Music by Nathalie Joachim

A newscaster reports from inside Sue’s imagination. After recapping current events, the newscaster turns to 30-something Sue’s life events. Sue is doubting her relationship with Roger even though he’s perfect on paper.

Scene 5

Music by Dan Schlosberg

Ten years later, Roger leaves a voicemail for Sue, calling her back after receiving an unexpected phone call from her.

Scene 6

Music by Cécile McLorin Salvant

An Algorithmic Trio descends on Sue. Collectively, they are the algorithm, and they’ve been studying her since birth. They’re frustrated because she’s not clicking on what she should be and not even using her phone as much.

Scene 7

Music by Alastair Coleman

Sue’s neighbor is talking to her on the phone. They don’t know each other well, but he doesn’t have many people to talk to, so he confides in Sue about his deepest secrets.

Scene 8

Music by Kamala Sankaram

Sue’s child self, a kind of astral projection, observes Sue in her 70s.

Scene 9

Music by Rene Orth

Two octogenarians lounge in the dayroom of a nursing home. While Sue waits for Death, they defiantly run from it.

Scene 10

Music by Nico Muhly

Death returns, this time as a quartet, to celebrate Sue’s 99th birthday with a cake and take her with them.

LIFE AND DEATH

By Shannon Eblen

It started as a joke: What if acclaimed cabaret artist Justin Vivian Bond starred in an opera where they played a woman named Sue, and the opera was called Complications in Sue?

When Bond shared this germ of an idea, “I thought, ‘wait a minute,’” said Anthony Roth Costanzo. As the new general director of Opera Philadelphia, Costanzo wanted to commission a world premiere for the company’s 50th anniversary season, but that was less than a year away, and world premieres take time.

He had also been speaking with the award-winning composer, lyricist, and writer Michael R. Jackson, who, inspired by the “scale and possibility” of opera, wanted to write a libretto.

“Truth be told, this idea was the combination of inspiration and practicality,” Costanzo said.

Costanzo thought of the Surrealist game Cadavre Exquis (Exquisite Corpse), in which artists passed around folded pieces of paper, each drawing a segment of a body without being able to see the result until the end.

“What if we divided an opera into 10 pieces,” Costanzo recalled thinking, “and instead of asking one composer to write an hour and a half or two hours of an opera, I asked each composer to write eight minutes. Who could say no to that?”

Missy Mazzoli couldn’t. The composer was in Paris when she received a phone call from Costanzo. Hearing him name the collaborators — Bond, Jackson, the directors Zack Winokur and Raja Feather Kelly — she instantly said yes. It was like a dream — and almost could have been since Costanzo unintentionally reached her at 3 a.m. Paris time.

The next morning, “I was at breakfast with my longtime librettist Royce Vavrek, and I said, ‘I think I agreed to something last night, but I need to call Anthony.’”

Costanzo commissioned composers who had worked with Opera Philadelphia before as well as ones who had not, with a range of experiences and styles. Each composer received the libretto for their scene and a brief description of the whole opera. It was only in the past few weeks that all the creators finally saw their exquisite corpse take its full form.

This aspect appealed to Nathalie Joachim, currently Composer in Residence at Opera Philadelphia and no stranger to working out of context. “It’s exciting to think about it like that,” she said, “a bunch of artists coming together, sort of playing penpal with one another without being able to see what might come next.”

With only the title and the central character of Sue, Jackson crafted a libretto that would follow Sue’s life from birth to death and built out supporting characters, including Death itself, who bookends Sue’s story.

“I think of life being in cycles, and there’s this duality of life and death in that where there is life, there is death,” Jackson said. “Death is always there and it frames what your life is, in a way.”

Costanzo assigned the scenes deliberately; Nico Muhly wrote the fourpart harmonies of the final scene, where Death takes Sue. Mazzoli wrote 10-year-old Sue as seen through the eyes of Santa and Mrs. Claus — a departure from her weightier works such as Breaking the Waves.

“Opera is a place for big ideas and often serious themes, and it was such a relief to be asked to do something that was a little bit silly and lighthearted,” Mazzoli said.

Sue is influenced by the world today and the encroachment of a virtual existence on our physical one; Santa bemoans the scourge of artificial intelligence, and a later scene sees Sue confronted by her Algorithm. But it also represents universal human experiences: birth, death, and all the complications in between.

“My friend always says, ‘Life is a long and a short story,’” Jackson said, “and I feel that the vignettes that Sue is a part of, or contained within, are really emblematic of that.”

"Opera Philadelphia is about breaking the mold in some important ways ... and this is an amazing and interesting experiment to see what happens when we turn things on their head." — Anthony Roth Costanzo

Complications in Sue is one of a kind. Over the course of a year, it brought together creators from the worlds of musical theater, cabaret, opera, and fashion. From the libretto pre-dating the music, to the spoken lines that weave the scenes together, to the, well, complications of the musical contracts, this opera breaks all the conventional rules. But as longtime followers of both Costanzo and Opera Philadelphia know, what are he and the company if not rule breakers?

When Costanzo’s Glass Handel, an OP co-production, premiered, he watched people from outside of the world of opera — fans of art, fashion and dance — line up to see painter George Condo, fashion designer Raf Simons, and dancer and choreographer Justin Peck.

You in the audience today: Maybe you are a musical theater aficionado who saw Jackson’s A Strange Loop and came to hear his first opera libretto. Maybe you’re a fan of Bond’s, or the Jonathan Anderson designs she is donning, or of Kelly’s choreography.

Maybe it was just the $11 ticket that brought you here.

These points of entry, ways of making opera more accessible, are always on Costanzo’s mind.

“I think Opera Philadelphia is about breaking the mold in some important ways,” he said, “and this is an amazing and interesting experiment to see what happens when we turn things on their head.”

Not to mention, he pointed out, the rare experience of hearing “ten of the greatest living composers” in one sitting.

Bond reflected on seeing what began as a joke years ago become real.

“I think it will be a singular show,” Bond said. “We’re hopefully making something that will expand people’s ideas of what is possible.”

LIBRETTIST

Michael R. Jackson

Michael R. Jackson is one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people of 2022. His Pulitzer Prizeand New York Drama Critics Circlewinning A Strange Loop (which had its 2019 world premiere at Playwrights Horizons in association with Page 73 Productions) received 11 Tony nominations in 2022 and was called “a full-on laparoscopy of the heart, soul, and loins” as well as a “gutsy, jubilantly anguished musical with infectious melodies” by Ben Brantley for the New York Times. In addition to A Strange Loop, he also wrote book, music, and lyrics for White Girl in Danger. Awards and associations include: a New Professional Theatre Festival Award, a Jonathan Larson

Grant, a Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award, an ASCAP Foundation Harold Adamson Award, a Whiting Award, the Helen Merrill Award for Playwriting, an Outer Critics Circle Award, a Drama Desk Award, an Obie Award, a Fred Ebb Award, a WindhamCampbell Prize, and a Dramatist Guild Fellowship. He is an alum of Page 73’s Interstate 73 Writers Group.

COMPOSERS

Andy Akiho

Andy Akiho is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and seven-time GRAMMY®-nominated composer whose music is recognized for its intricate rhythmic drive, vivid colors, and boundary-pushing imagination. Praised as “trailblazing” by the Los Angeles Times and “increasingly in-demand” by the New York Times, he has earned international acclaim for works that engage both the ear and the eye, often embracing the natural theatricality of live performance.

Recent major projects include Nisei, a sweeping new concerto for cellist Jeffrey Zeigler premiered at the 2024 Sun Valley Music Festival; Sculptures, his triple GRAMMY®-nominated collaboration with visual artist Jun Kaneko and the Omaha Symphony; and BeLonging, a powerful new work created for Imani Winds that garnered two GRAMMY® nominations. His music has been commissioned or performed by leading ensembles and institutions including the New York Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, American Composers Orchestra, The Industry, and Music@ Menlo. His double GRAMMY®-nominated multimedia work Seven Pillars, written for Sandbox Percussion and choreographed by Benjamin Millepied, enjoyed a sold-out run at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.

Akiho maintains an active presence as a guest artist and mentor at festivals and conservatories, complementing a career centered on composition. An accomplished steel-pannist, he brings a distinctive percussive sensibility to his work. Born in Columbia, South Carolina, he is based in Portland, Oregon, and New York City.

Alistair Coleman

Underwritten by

The Allen R. and Judy Brick Freedman Venture Fund for New Opera

Praised for “rhythmically-pulsing and mysteriously, majestically-gliding writing” (Gramophone Magazine), composer Alistair Coleman is building a rapidly expanding career through collaborations with today’s leading musicians and institutions. As Composer in Residence of Young Concert Artists, his music has premiered at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and on tours in Europe and Asia. Dedicated to interdisciplinary exploration, his string quartet Moonshot was developed in collaboration with Glenstone Museum and the Smithsonian.

The 2025–26 season features commissions for Opera Philadelphia, cellist Zlatomir Fung at the Park Avenue Armory, pianist George Li with the Kansas City Symphony, Juilliard’s Pride Songbook, and the Clarion Choir & Orchestra. His music also appears on the Viano Quartet’s debut album Voyager, released on Platoon.

Recent highlights include performances by the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Curtis Symphony Orchestra, New York Youth Symphony, and National Philharmonic; a work for Philharmonische Gesellschaft Bremen’s bicentennial; and residencies with Chamber Music Northwest. He has received three ASCAP Morton Gould Awards, as well as prizes from Juilliard, the American Composers Forum, and NPR.

A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School, Alistair began Ph.D. studies at Princeton University in fall 2025 and holds the Roger Sessions Fellowship.

Nathalie Joachim

Nathalie Joachim is a GRAMMY®nominated performer and composer celebrated as “a fresh and invigorating cross-cultural voice” (The Nation). The Haitian American artist’s work reflects an authentic commitment to storytelling and human connectivity, advocating for social change and cultural awareness, which are qualities that have earned her recognition as “powerful and unpretentious” (New York Times).

Joachim’s 2025–26 season includes multiple appearances with Opera Philadelphia as Composer in Residence, highlighted by her contribution to the World Premiere opera Complications in Sue. She presented music from her upcoming opera Le présent éternel at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in November 2025 and joins the New York Philharmonic in May 2026 for an expanded version as part of its Sound On series. Additional engagements include performances at Carnegie Hall and the Juilliard School as an Arnhold Creative Associate, premieres of Solitude + S P A C E at Princeton and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and Fanm d’Ayiti performances with DeCoda in San Francisco and at Stanford University. Joachim serves as Assistant Professor of Composition at Princeton University. She is a recent Scholar in Residence at the Museum of Modern Art (2024–25) and a United States Artist Fellow. She is an alumna of the Juilliard School and the New School.

Missy Mazzoli

Recently deemed “one of the more consistently inventive, surprising composers now working in New York” (New York Times), Missy Mazzoli has had her music performed by the New York Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony, Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, Cincinnati Orchestra, National Symphony, LA Opera, Opera Australia, Scottish Opera, Opéra Comique, Norwegian National Opera, Eighth Blackbird, Kronos Quartet and many others. She is one of the first two women to receive a commission from the Metropolitan Opera; her work Lincoln in the Bardo will premiere there in October 2026. Highlights of 2025–26 include the world premiere of her new opera The Galloping Cure at the Edinburgh International Festival, two new productions of Breaking the Waves in Germany, and performances by the Konzerthaus Orchestra Berlin, and the Copenhagen Philharmonic. Mazzoli has been nominated twice for GRAMMY® awards for Best Classical Composition, and recent commissions include Violin Concerto: Procession for Jennifer Koh and the National Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony, and the BBC Proms; The Listeners for Opera Philadelphia, Chicago Lyric Opera, and Norwegian National Opera; and Millennium Canticles for Third Coast Percussion. She was Composer in Residence at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (2018–2021), and Opera Philadelphia (2012–15). In 2016, with composer Ellen Reid, she founded Luna Composition Lab, a mentorship program for young female and non-binary composers. Her works are published by G. Schirmer.

COMPOSERS

Nico Muhly

Nico Muhly is an American composer who writes orchestral music; works for the stage; choral, chamber, and sacred music. He’s received commissions from the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, and Wigmore Hall; his choral music, both sacred and secular, has been performed by The Tallis Scholars and choirs across the United Kingdom. He has been featured at the Barbican, King’s Place and the Philharmonie de Paris as composer, conductor, pianist, and curator. An avid collaborator, he has worked with choreographers Benjamin Millepied, Justin Peck, Kyle Abraham, and Mark Morris; vocal collaborators include Iestyn Davies, Renée Fleming, and Nicholas Phan; artists Sufjan Stevens, The National, Teitur, Anohni, James Blake, and Paul Simon. His work for screen includes scores for The Reader, Kill Your Darlings, the BBC’s adaptation of Howards End, and Pachinko for Apple TV+.

He has worked with visual artists Maira Kalman, Yu Hong, and Oliver Beer, and has created site-reactive works for the National Gallery, London and the Guggenheim Museum’s Asian Art Initiative at the Venice Biennale and written articles for The Guardian, the New York Times, and the London Review of Books.

Recordings of his works have been released by Decca and Nonesuch, and he is part of the artist-run record label Bedroom Community, which released his first two albums, Speaks Volumes (2006) and Mothertongue (2008).

Rene Orth

Underwritten by The Allen R. and Judy Brick Freedman Venture Fund for New Opera "A master composer” with a “sophisticated sound world” (Classical Voice North America), Rene Orth writes music described as “always dramatic, reflective, rarely predictable, and often electronic” (Musical America). She recently completed a three-year tenure as Composer in Residence at Opera Philadelphia.

Upcoming premieres for the 2025-26 season consist of a solo cello piece for Sarah Rommel at Yellow Barn; a violin and bass clarinet piece for Yvonne Lam and Mingzhe Wang; a 12-minute song for soprano, viola, and piano that will tour with Curtis on Tour; and an 8-minute scene in Complications in Sue, commissioned for Opera Philadelphia’s 50th anniversary celebration.

In 2023, Opera Philadelphia presented the “triumphant world premiere” (Wall Street Journal) of 10 Days in a Madhouse, cocommissioned by Opera Philadelphia and Tapestry Opera, which subsequently won the 2024 MCANA Best New Opera Award and was a finalist in the 2024 International Opera Awards for “Best World Premiere.” Other distinctions include grants and awards from OPERA America, American Composers Forum, Kentucky Foundation for Women, and the National Association of Teachers of Singing.

Cécile McLorin Salvant

Composer, singer, and visual artist Cécile

McLorin Salvant is passionate about storytelling and exploring connections between vaudeville, blues, folk traditions, theater, jazz, and Baroque music. An eclectic curator, she unearths rarely recorded, forgotten songs with strong narratives, power dynamics, twists, and humor.

She won the Thelonious Monk competition in 2010 and received GRAMMY® Awards for three consecutive albums: The Window, Dreams and Daggers, and For One to Love. In 2020, she received the MacArthur fellowship and Doris Duke Artist Award. Her debut and follow-up Nonesuch Records projects, Ghost Song (2022) and Mélusine (2023), have also received two GRAMMY® nominations.

Kamala Sankaram

Praised as “strikingly original” (New York Times), composer Kamala Sankaram moves freely between the worlds of experimental music and contemporary opera. Her work has been performed internationally at venues including Dutch National Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Carnegie Hall, and the Kennedy Center. She has been an artist in residence at the Glimmerglass Festival, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and is currently in residence at Minnesota Opera. As a biracial Indian American and trained sitarist, Sankaram has drawn on Indian classical music in many of her works, including Thumbprint, A Rose, Monkey and Francine in the City of Tigers, Jungle Book, and the forthcoming The Many Deaths of Laila Starr. Also known for pushing the boundaries of form and style, she has created an opera for the trees of Prospect Park (as winner of the 2021 Creative Time Open Call), the world’s first virtual reality opera, an augmented reality music walk for Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, and a technonoir featuring live datamining of the audience, among other pieces. Sankaram is the leader of Bombay Rickey, an awardwinning operatic Bollywood surf ensemble. Sankaram holds a Ph.D. from the New School and is currently a member of the composition faculty at the Mannes School of Music in New York City.

COMPOSERS

Dan Schlosberg

Brooklyn-based composer, pianist, and conductor Dan Schlosberg’s music has been performed at Carnegie Hall, (le) poisson rouge, and David Lynch’s Festival of Disruption. Recent projects include his new musical The Counterfeit Opera (Little Island), which he composed and conducted; his opera The Extinctionist (Heartbeat Opera); compositions for Camino Real (Williamstown Theatre Festival); orchestrating/conducting The Last Bimbo of the Apocalypse (The New Group/Signature Theatre); arranging/ conducting Anthony Roth Costanzo’s solo album Countertenor (Nonesuch); orchestrating/conducting Marriage of Figaro (Little Island); the score for Patrick Wang’s film A. Rimbaud; conducting Costanzo and Justin Vivian Bond’s Only an Octave Apart; composing/music directing Jeremy O. Harris’s A Boy’s Company Presents.

Dan has collaborated with Angel Blue, Imani Winds, Anthony McGill, Ariana DeBose, Tony Kushner, Ben Stiller, and was the pianist for Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, and a featured soloist in Only an Octave Apart with the New York Philharmonic and NPR’s Tiny Desk. He has received the Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and two ASCAP Morton Gould Awards. Dan is the Music Director of Heartbeat Opera, and his work has been praised as “flat-out brilliant,” “the vision of a master sculptor,” (New York Times) and “ingenious” (Wall Street Journal).

Errollyn Wallen

Errollyn Wallen

CBE is a multiaward-winning, Belize-born British composer named as one of the world’s top 20 most-performed, living classical composers.

Her output includes 22 operas and a large catalogue of orchestral, chamber, and vocal works. She composed works for the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games in 2012, for Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden and Diamond Jubilees, a re-imagining of ‘Jerusalem’ for the Last Night of the Proms in 2020, and The Elements for the First Night of the Proms in 2025. Wallen is currently working on a new opera, A Christmas Miracle, premiering in 2026. Recent premieres include a violin concerto for Philippe Quint, Parade for Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields, Flourish for Chineke! Orchestra’s 10th anniversary, and a Latin setting of the Magnificat for the 500th anniversary of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford.

Two albums of her acclaimed orchestral works (the Violin Concerto on Philippe Quint’s Milestones and Errollyn Wallen: Orchestral Works were released in 2025 on the PENTATONE and Resonus labels. Wallen is the author of the 2023 book Becoming a Composer, was awarded an MBE in 2007, was made a CBE in 2020, and was appointed Master of the King’s Music by His Majesty the King in 2024. Other honors include: Fellowship of the Ivors Academy, Honorary Membership of Royal Academy of Music, a British Composer Award, a FIPA d'or for “Best Music for a Television Series,” and Alumna of the Year by King’s College, London University. In 2025 she was named BBC Classical Music Magazine’s “Personality of the Year.”

SUPPORTER SPOTLIGHT

Bill Robling and Deborah Kravetz

We sat down with Bill Robling and Deborah Kravetz, Center City residents and new Opera Philadelphia donors, to find out what drew them in, what keeps them coming back, and why they decided to invest in the company. What drew you to Opera Philadelphia?

We were drawn to Opera Philadelphia because we love opera and want to support our local Philadelphia cultural institutions. We have seen such innovative productions over the past several years, featuring both established stars in the opera world and also up-and-coming artists. The welcoming reception that we received from the beginning from the staff kept us coming back.

What stands out to you most about Opera Philadelphia?

What stands out most about Opera Philadelphia is the willingness to take on cutting-edge works, but not just for the sake of being different. Productions like Glass Handel, We Shall Not Be Moved, 10 Days in a Madhouse, and The Listeners have spoken to us. And the educational outreach and willingness to tackle controversial subjects like the problems with Madame Butterfly, for example. The forums that addressed that opera were great.

We love the artists that Opera Philadelphia has launched, most recently Sun-Ly Pierce for example, and the opportunity to meet these people and hear their stories. We also appreciate the emphasis on building new audiences. The future fan base, if you will, if the art form is to survive.

What made you decide to donate to Opera Philadelphia?

All of these factors inspire us to invest financially in Opera Philadelphia, and to be a part of this wonderful community. Where else would I have the opportunity to sit and chat with Larry Brownlee about college football?

ARTISTS Complications in Sue

Victoria Bek (she/her)

Costume Designer

New York, New York

The Seasons 2025 Don Giovanni 2025

Recent: Associate Costume Designer, Galas, Little Island; Costume Designer, Don Giovanni, Opera Philadelphia; Costume Designer, Twyla Tharp 60th Anniversary Tour, United States and Italy

Next: Costume Design, Broken Theater, AMOC*

Justin Vivian Bond (they/them/she/her) Sue

New York, New York

Only an Octave Apart 2022

Recent: Star/Singer/Performer, Residency, Café Carlyle; Star/Singer/Performer, Flaming September, St. Ann’s Warehouse; Star/Singer/Performer, Well, Well, Well, Joe’s Pub

Kiera Duffy (she/her)

Mrs. Claus, Co-Ed 1, Algorithm 1, Child Self, Death

Soprano | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Breaking the Waves 2016 10 Days in a Madhouse 2023

Recent: Julia, The Comet/Poppea, AMOC* at Lincoln Center's "Summer for the City" festival; Nellie, 10 Days in a Madhouse, Opera Philadelphia; Bess, Breaking the Waves, Detroit Opera

Raja Feather Kelly Co-Director

Fort Hood, Texas

Choreographer, Tartuffe, New York Theatre Workshop; Writer/Director, The Fires, Soho Rep; Choreographer, Lempicka, Broadway

Next: Choreographer, Lincoln in the Bardo, Metropolitan Opera

Caren Levine (she/her) Conductor

New York, New York

The Listeners 2024 Opera Philadelphia debut

Recent: Prompter, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (premiere), Don Giovanni, I puritani, Metropolitan Opera

Next: Prompter, Madama Butterfly, Metropolitan Opera; Cover Conductor, El último sueño de Frida y Diego (premiere), Metropolitan Opera

Yuki Link (she/her)

Lighting Designer

Kyoto, Japan

Opera Philadelphia debut

Recent: Lighting Designer, Parsifal, San Francisco Opera; Lighting Designer, Così fan tutte, Detroit Opera; Lighting Designer, Vanessa, Williamstown Theatre Festival

Next: Lighting Designer, Madama Butterfly, Lyric Opera of Chicago

Amanda Miller (she/her)

Hair and Make-Up Designer

New York, New York

Opera Philadelphia debut

Recent: Hair and Wig Designer, Marjorie Prime, Helen Hayes Theater; Hair and Wig Designer, Galas, Little Island; Wigmaker, Dexter: Resurrection, Paramount +

Next: Wigmaker for Lauren Hutton, Alone at Dawn, Amazon MGM Studios

Nicholas Newton (he/him)

Santa Claus, Roger, Octogenarian, Death

Bass-baritone | San Diego, California

Don Giovanni 2025

Recent: Alessio, La sonnambula, Metropolitan Opera; Mars, Castor et Pollux, Salzburg Festival; Leporello, Don Giovanni, Opera Philadelphia

Next: Friar Laurent, Romeo and Juliet, Opera Theatre of St. Louis

Krit Robinson (she/her)

Set Designer

Cincinnati, Ohio

Opera Philadelphia debut

Recent: Co-Founder/ Lead Designer, Orogeny, Site-specific Art

Installation Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens Lighting Collective; Scenic, Original Artwork, and Environmental Design, Oratorio for Living Things, Signature Theater; Scenic Designer, The Mother Play: A Play in Five Evictions, Studio Theatre

Next: Scenic Designer, Rheology, Playwrights Horizons

Christopher Sannino (he/him)

Sound Designer

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

10 Days in a Madhouse 2023

Recent: Sound Designer, Poor Judge, Pig Iron Theatre Co.; Sound Designer/Composer, Catastrophe: A Beckettian Cabaret, Die-Cast; Sound Designer, Franklin's Key, Pig Iron Theatre Co.

Next: Sound Designer, The Four Seasons Reimagined, BalletX and Dan Deacon

ARTISTS

Nicky Spence (he/him)

Complications in Sue

Opera Philadelphia debut

Co-Ed 2, Algorithm 3, Neighbor, Death

Tenor | Glasgow, Scotland

Recent: Sergey, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, English National Opera at the BBC Proms; Peter Grimes, Peter Grimes, Welsh National Opera; Laca, Jenůfa, The Royal Ballet and Opera, Covent Garden

Next: The Dream of Gerontius, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks with Simon Rattle

Rehanna Thelwell (she/her)

Newscaster, Algorithm 2, Octogenarian, Death

Mezzo-soprano | Atlanta, Georgia

The Listeners 2024 Oedipus Rex + Lilacs 2022

Recent: Aunt Lou, Highway 1, Detroit Opera; Sarah, Steele Roots, The Atlanta Opera; Mistress Quickly, Falstaff, Portland Opera

Next: Gertrude, Roméo et Juliette, La Monnaie de Munt

Zack Winokur (he/him)

Co-Director

Boston, Massachusetts

The Seasons 2025

Recent: Director, Harawi, Aix-en-Provence Festival; Director, Only an Octave Apart, St. Ann's Warehouse, NY Philharmonic; Director, Tristan und Isolde, Santa Fe Opera

Next: Director, The Black Clown, Opera Philadelphia

COVER SINGERS

Julia Laird

Mrs. Claus, Co-Ed 1, Algorithm 1, Child Self, Death

Imara Miles

Newscaster, Algorithm 2, Octogenarian, Death

Nathaniel Bear

Co-Ed 2, Algorithm 3, Neighbor, Death

Brandon Bell

Santa Claus, Roger, Octogenarian, Death

JW ANDERSON

Costume Design for Justin Vivian Bond

Opera Philadelphia debut

Founded in 2008 by Northern Irish designer Jonathan Anderson, JW ANDERSON is a Londonbased fashion house celebrated for its innovative approach to design, blending menswear and womenswear elements to create bold, thought-provoking silhouettes. The brand has earned international acclaim and numerous industry accolades, including multiple British Fashion Awards such as Emerging Talent, Ready-to-Wear (2012), The New Establishment Award (2013), Menswear Designer of the Year (2014) and a historic double win for Menswear and Womenswear Designer of the Year (2015).

More recently, JW ANDERSON secured Designer of the Year at The Fashion Awards in 2023, 2024, and 2025, marking three consecutive wins, and was recognized globally with the CFDA International Designer of the Year award in 2023. Its work has been featured in cultural institutions like the Victoria and Albert Museum or the Paris Louvre Museum.

A BREATH of FRESH AIR

At Dunwoody Village, nature is more than a backdrop — it’s a way of life. Whether you’re an avid gardener, bird watcher, photographer, or fervent environmentalist, Dunwoody Village’s 83 acres o er a vibrant, green haven just steps from your door. Contact us today to nd out more.

ORCHESTRA

VIOLIN I

Max Tan, concertmaster

Donna Grantham, assistant concertmaster

Meichen Liao-Barnes

Natasha Colkett

Elizabeth Kaderabek

Rachel Segal

Maria Im

Gared Crawford

Emily Barkakati

Mary Loftus

VIOLIN II

Tess Varley, principal

Luigi Mazzocchi

Heather Zimmerman Messé

Paul Reiser

Karen Banos

Sarah DuBois

Lisa Vaupel

Yoori Kim Williams

VIOLA

Jonathan Kim, principal

Jay Julio, assistant principal

Yoshihiko Nakano

Elizabeth Jaffe

Julia DiGaetani

Steven Heitlinger

CELLO

Branson Yeast, principal

Vivian Barton Dozor, assistant principal

David Moulton

Brooke Beazley

Elizabeth Thompson

BASS

Dimitrios Mattas, principal

Anne Peterson

Stephen Groat

FLUTE

Brendan Dooley, principal

Kimberly Trolier, piccolo

OBOE

Geoffrey Deemer, principal Oliver Talukder, English horn

CLARINET

John Diodati, principal

Allison Herz, bass clarinet

BASSOON

Norman Spielberg, principal Darryl Hartshorne

HORN

John David Smith, principal

Emerson Miller

TRUMPET

Brian Kuszyk, principal

Steven Heitzer

TROMBONE

Robert Gale, principal

Phil McClelland

TUBA

Paul Erion, principal

TIMPANI

Barry Dove, principal

PERCUSSION

Ralph Sorrentino, principal

Bradley Loudis

HARP

Ruth Bennett, principal

SUPERNUMERARIES

Lindsay Christinee*

Ev Dowling*

Olive Gallagher*

Shelby Hastings

Jo Lin*

Kerlin Pyun*

Al Ro*

ARTISTIC & PRODUCTION STAFF

Assistant Director .......................................................................................... Edward Sturm

Assistant Conductor ........................................................................................ Robert Kahn

Associate Lighting Designer ....................................................................... Kristina Kloss*

Assistant Hair and Make-Up Designer ........................................................... Mila Zidel*

Assistant Stage Managers ............................................ Aletha Saunders, Lillian Welsh

Principal Pianist ............................................................................................. Grant Loehnig

Associate Pianist ............................................................................................ Michael Lewis

English Diction ...................................................................................................... Lynn Baker

Properties Supervisor ................................. Avista Custom Theatrical Services, LLC

Supertitle Operator .......................................................................................... Tony Solitro

Audio Description ....................................................................................... Nicole Sardella

Head Electrican/Programmer ............................................................. John Allerheiligen

Head Properties ..................................................................................... Samantha Higgins

Assistant Electrician .................................................................................... Heather Pynne

Head Flyman ................................................................................................. James Murphy

Costume Assistant .......................................................................................... Becca Austin

*Opera Philadelphia debut

Opera Philadelphia thanks the following labor organizations whose members, artists, craftsmen, and craftswomen greatly contribute to our performances:

Opera Philadelphia Orchestra Musicians are proud members of the American Federation of Musicians, Local 77.

American Guild of Musical Artists / The American Guild of Musical Artists, the union of professional singers, dancers, and production personnel in opera, ballet, and concert, affiliated with the AFL-CIO, represents the Artists and Staging Staff for all purposes of collective bargaining.

International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees / Local 8

Theatrical Wardrobe Union / Local 799, I.A.T.S.E.

United Scenic Artists / Local 829, I.A.T.S.E.

Box Office and Front of House Employees Union / Local B29, I.A.T.S.E.

Highway Truck Drivers and Helpers / Local 107, Teamsters

THANK YOU

Opera Philadelphia expresses our deepest gratitude to the individuals and institutions whose support of the Annual Fund allows us to bring you Complications in Sue. List current as of December 31, 2025.

LEADERSHIP CIRCLE

Wyncote Foundation at the Recommendation of Frederick R. Haas

Barbara and Amos Hostetter

E.A. Michelson Philanthropy

Carolyn Horn Seidle

Barbara Augusta Teichert

Ira Brind and Stacey Spector

Wyncote Foundation at the Recommendation of David Haas

Judy and Peter Leone

The Estate of Bud and Betty Shapiro

Jean and Gene Stark

Bloomberg Philanthropies

Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, Diamonstein-Spielvogel Foundation

Sarah and Brad Marshall

Mrs. John P. Mulroney

The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage

The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation

The William Penn Foundation

Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation

Anonymous

The Buck Family Foundation

TF Cornerstone

Mr. Jeffrey P. Cunard and Ms. Mariko Ikehara

Judith Durkin Freyer and Charles C. Freyer

Paul L. King

Nancy and Barry Sanders

Katie Adams Schaeffer and Tony Schaeffer

Edith Carol Stein

CHAIRMAN’S COUNCIL

Anonymous

Lorraine Alexander†

Willo Carey and Peter A. Benoliel†

Ms. Deena Gu Laties, in honor of Willo Carey

Hamilton Family Charitable Trust

Christian Humann Foundation

Independence Foundation

Donald and Gay Kimelman

The Presser Foundation

Dr. Renée Rollin

Ellen Steiner

The Tang Fund

Paul M. Angell Family Foundation

Bells Grocery Store

Katherine and Andrew Christiano

Comcast NBC Universal

Cunningham Piano Company

Eugene Garfield Foundation

Friends of Education

Linda and David Glickstein

Mark and Helene Hankin Family

Katherine and John Karamatsoukas

Mrs. Sheila Kessler

Joel and Sharon Koppelman

The H.F. Lenfest Fund

Mr. and Mrs. William E. Little Jr.

David Low

Andrew J. Martin-Weber

Constance C. Moore†

National Endowment for the Arts

Steven Pesner

Mr. Robert J. Schena

Michael L. Spolan

Dr. and Mrs. Andrew Wechsler

Platinum Patron

William A. Barone and Sylvia K. Lanka-Barone

Myron and Sheila S. Bassman

Lawrence Brownlee

Carol S. Eicher

Allen R. and Judy Brick Freedman Venture Fund for New Opera

Feather O. Houstoun

Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer and Joe Neubauer

PECO

Dr. Joel and Mrs. Roberta Porter

David and Susan Rattner

Ashley and Eli Wald

Lisa Washington

Ms. Leslie Whipkey

Mrs. Kelly Zhou and Dr. Brett Frankel

Diamond Patron

Aaron Copland Fund for Music

Anonymous

Chubb Limited

Peggy and Mark Curchack

Dr. Garrett FitzGerald

Bonnie and Lon Greenberg

Alan Levin

Ms. Jacqueline B. Mars

The McLean Contributionship

Tom and Jody O'Rourke

Pennsylvania Council on the Arts

Bill Robling and Deborah R. Kravetz

Drs. Richard and Rhonda Soricelli

Mrs. Keith R. Straw

Alice and Walter Strine, Esqs.

Barbara Tober

Universal Health Services

Ann Ziff

Gold Patron

Mr. James P. Macelderry† and Ms. Marilyn S. Fishman

William S. Mulherin and Joseph Baker

Kathleen and Nicholas Weir

Silver Patron

Anonymous

Truist

Ms. Sarah Billinghurst Solomon

Robert and Julie Jensen Bryan

George S Day, Ph.D. and Alice Donavin Day

Kay Deaux

Dr. Bruce Eisenstein in memory of Dr. Toby Eisenstein

Dorothea Endicott

David M. Ferguson, Ph.D.

Deborah Glass, in memory of Leonard Mellman

Joan and William Goldstein

Gray Charitable Trust

Mr. and Mrs. Jim Groch

Michelle Harde

Ms. Rhoda K. Herrold

Benjamin Hildner

Howell Lockhart Seiple Trust

Mr. Kenneth Klothen and Ms. Eve Biskind

KPK Development Co.

Camille Dickinson Labarre

Anne Silvers Lee and Wynn Lee

The Leone Family

In memory of Joseph G. Leone

Carol and Howard Lidz

Liddy Lindsay

Dr. and Mrs. Michael B. Love

Dwight and Christina McCawley

Susan and Graham McDonald

Mrs. Naomi Montgomery†

Ms. Katherine L. Niven

OPERA America

Colleen and Sean O'Riordan

The Dean and Zoe Pappas Family Foundation

Stuart A. Schwartz and Sheila Jamison-Schwartz

Andrew Gelber and Don Schwarz

Dr. Barry R. Shatzman

Mr. Jonathan H. Sprogell and Ms. Kathryn Taylor

Mr. Andrew Szabo and Ms. Susan M. Long

Mrs. Monica Taylor Lotty and Mr. Brendan Lotty

The Philadelphia Contributionship

Ms. Marta Barbeosch Varela

Judith W Whellan

Ms. Linda Wingate and Dr. William Liberi

Bronze+ Patron

Thomas S. Heckman and Mary Jo Ashenfelter

Jim & Maddy Carlson

Dr. Frank F. Furstenberg

Barbara Glauber

Mrs. Louise H. Reed

Dr. R.J. Wallner

Bronze Patron

Steven C. Abbott and James Stephens

Lydia Alvarez, in memory of Isabelle Ferguson

Anonymous (4)

Apgar-Black Foundation

Ms. Susan Asplundh

Cynthia and George Balchunas

Eugene and Virginia Beier

Mrs. Joanne Berwind

Mr. Allen D. Black and Mr. R. Randolph Apgar

Carrie and J. Bradley Boericke

Nancy Brodie

Elaine Woo Camarda and A. Morris Williams, Jr.

Georgette Ciukurescu

James Cohen, PE

Mr. Stephen Cohen and Mr. John McNett

Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation

Mr. and Mrs. Carl Flaxman

Eduardo Glandt and George Ritchie

Ms. Juliet J. Goodfriend and Dr. Marc R. Moreau

Drs. Christina L. and Richard J. Herring

Brad M. Hoppenfeld M.D.

Jeffrey R. Jowett

Ninja Transfers LLC

Dr. and Mrs. A. H. Nishikawa

Rush Order Tees

David Craig and Jackie Renner

Joyce Seewald Sando

Mr. and Mrs. Curtis E. Sawyer

Ms. Jan Shaeffer and Mr. Dennis Bianchi

Kobie Smith

Nancy and Joel Streim

The Rev. Richard L. Ullman

Mr. Mark L. Villamar and Ms. Esther Milsted Esq.

Laurie Wagman

Peter J. Wender

Carol Westfall

Dr. Leah Whipple

Janet Yaseen Foundation

Ms. Ana-Maria V. Zaugg and Mr. David W. Anstice

Mr. Robert Zimet

DONOR CIRCLE

Partner

Anonymous (2)

Judy S. Allison

Marcia and Larry Arem

Mr. Fred Allen Barfoot

Karen Bedrosian-Richardson

Dr. Regina Blaszczyk & Lee O’Neill

Rita B. Bocher Ph.D.

Dr. Harmar Brereton and Mrs. Leslie W. Brereton

Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation

Ms. Julie Cohen and Mr. Nigel Blower

Robert and Florence Dolceamore

Vivian Barton Dozor

Mr. and Ms. Robert S. Duplessis

James R. Fairburn

Evan Fenaroli & Darren White

Lorraine Gallard and Richard H. Levy

Jim and Kay Gately

Andrew R. Gelber in memory of Sylvia Gelber

Jane W. Goldblum

Ms. Sandra E. Goodstein

Mr. George Graham and Mr. Kyle Merker

Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance

Ms. Susan Henry

Mr. Daniel Holmes

Rochelle and Ron Kaiserman

Alan Karr and Jeanne Ruane

Elbrun and Peter Kimmelman

Beste Kuru

Laura LaRosa

Mr. and Mrs. David Levy

Fran Levy and Leon L. Levy

Elizabeth Burns Mahoney

Mr. John Mastrobattista and Ms. Madeline Leone

John McGinley

Drs. Joseph and Jane McGowan

Mr. Thomas Miller

Dr. Judy Catherine Miner

Mr. Benjamin F. Minick

Steven Z. Mitchell

Abigail & Mark Nestlehutt

Ms. Jane G. Pepper

Helen E. Pettit

Anne Faulkner Schoemaker

Estate of Robert Schoenberg

Mr. and Mrs. Henry G. Scott

George R. Smith

Janet Wilson Smith

Steven A Gold Charitable

Educational Institutions Trust

Mr. Daniel Szyld and Ms.

Kathleen Ross

Ms. Judith Tannenbaum

Jadwiga Villa

Arnold Weiss

Kenneth and Susan Weiss

Reverend Margaret A. Wellert

Barbara Eberlein and Jerry Wind

Sustainer

Anonymous (2)

George Ahern

Jenna and Abraham Axler

Sandra Baldino

Drs. Deidre and Michael Blank

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Broadt

Tim Broadt

Mr. Leo M. Carey and Ms. Sonya D. Mouzon

Dr. and Mrs. Nicholas P. Cernansky

Ms. Vistula Chapman-Smith and Mr. Robert L. Smith

Frank Tobin & Ilene Chester

Jonathan Conant

Paula Cook

Mark Cornish

Ms. Micaela de Lignerolles

Mr. Paul Desanctis

Mr. John Driscoll

Mr. Scott Dyer

Mr. and Mrs. Norman S. Ellman

John H. Erickson and Harry I. Zaleznik

David L. Eskin

Barry Fisch

Ryan Fleur and Laura Banchero

Linda Dubin Garfield

Michael Gealt Ph.D.

Jane Ginsburg and George Spera

Marsha Lynn Gordon and Javier Garcia

Leila Christine Grad, M.D.

F. John Hagele

Mr. and Mrs. Philip Hauser

Mr. Charles Head, Jr. and Mr. John Faggotti, In Memory of John Ventura

Clark Hooper Baruch

Lee M. Huber

Richard and Judith Hurtig

Mr. Wallace Hussong

Brian Hylton

Judith Insell

Dr. and Mrs. William Jantsch

Richard and Grace Karschner

Jo Ann Klein

Amanda Kunze

Charles B. Landreth

Laura A. Lane and David R. DeVoe

William Lake Leonard, Esq.

Drs. Jerry D. and Julie Meranze Levitt

Marica D. Levy

Mr. Jeffrey Lienert

Lawrence and Nancy Ludgus

Ms. Maria Maccecchini

Paul J. Martin

Mr. George H. McNeely

Mr. Robert J. McShea, Jr. and Mr. Bill Ward

Carol and Tom Miller

Moscow Philanthrpoic Fund

Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Munson

Rochelle L Ostroff-Weinberg

Andrew Paciocco

Mr. Stephen Perry

Mr. Yves Quintin and Ms. Roseanne Loesch

Cheryl Gunter and Paul Rabe

Laurie A Rofini

Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Rohde

Dr. Pamela Rootenberg and Dr. David T. Springer

Ms. Elise Michelle Rosen

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel R. Ross

Ms. Lesley Seitchik

Susan Shaman

Barbara and George Smith

Mr. and Mrs. Corey R. Smith

Susan Solomon

Mary M Sproat

Termini Bros. Bakery

Mrs. Sallie Van Merkensteijn

Mrs. Peggy Wachs

Ms. Geraldine Wang

Dr. Steven and Janet Weinberger

Stephen Zeller

CORPORATE GIVING SOCIETY

The Corporate Giving Society generously supports Opera Philadelphia’s artistic and educational programming through contributions and in-kind donations.

CORPORATE PARTNERS

Ballard Spahr LLP

Termini Brothers Bakery

Steve Voudouris

For more information about sponsorship opportunities and EITC contributions, or to join Opera Philadelphia’s Corporate Giving Society, contact JT Newman, CFRE, Director of Development, at 215-893-5911 or newman@operaphila.org

Help students explore the magic of opera!

Businesses that support Opera Philadelphia may be eligible for Pennsylvania’s Education Improvement Tax Credit Program (EITC). Help students explore the magic of opera AND earn tax credits! Learn more at operaphila.org/eitc

LEGATO SOCIETY

If you love the special magic of an Opera Philadelphia experience, consider including the Opera in your estate plans. In doing so, you will join a community of supporters that help to ensure great operatic memories for generations to come. When you bequeath a gift of cash or stock, or make the Opera the beneficiary of your IRA or life insurance policy, you make a truly meaningful gift that costs nothing now, yet benefits the company later.

Making a legacy gift admits you into the Legato Society, which brings you closer to the art you love and connects you to others who share your legacy goals. We are proud to salute our Legato Society members in all Opera Philadelphia performance programs.

To learn more about making a planned gift or about the Legato Society, visit operaphila.org/legato, or contact JT Newman, CFRE, Director of Development, at newman@operaphila.org

Anonymous (12)

Lorraine† and Ben† Alexander

Eleanor M. Allen†

Mary Jo Ashenfelter and Thomas S. Heckman

Eileen Baird†

Drs. Frederic Joshua Barnett† and Heidi Kolberg

Mr. Kenneth H. Barr

Myron and Sheila S. Bassman

Mr.† and Mrs. Robert Bergen

Ms. Jane A. Berryman

Dr. Claire Boasi

Dr. Rita B. Bocher

Mr. Michael Bolton

Mrs. Sheila Buckley

Constance G. Burton†

Ms. Willo Carey

Dr. and Mrs. Peter Cassalia†

Dr. Thomas A. Childers and Dr. John B. Hall

Dr. Maria Elisa Ciavarelli†

Miss Lucy Clemens

Joan and Frederick Cohen

Dianne and Don Cooney

Mr.† and Mrs. Arthur Covello

Ms. Ginny L. Coyle

Mr. W. Kenneth Cressman and Mr. Lloyd Christy†

Ms. Joan DeJean†

Ms. Virginia Del Sordo†

Robert and Monica Driver

Mrs. Antoinette DuBiel†

Dr. Bruce Eisenstein

Eddie and Rachel Eitches

Mr. James Fairburn

Mr. and Mrs.† Joseph P. Fanelli, Jr.

Ms. Joanne D. Fidler†

Susan and Bill Firestone

Aron and Joan Fisher

Ms. Harriet Forman†

Judith Durkin Freyer and Charles C. Freyer

Mr. Timothy V. Gardocki

Linda Dubin Garfield

Sylvia Green†

Dr. Mark H. Haller†

Mrs. Dorrance H. Hamilton†

Gail Hauptfuhrer

Mr. Charles Head, Jr. and Mr. John Faggotti

Stephen T. Janick

Karl Janowitz

Jeffrey R. Jowett

Mrs. Sheila Kessler

Gabrielle & Ernest Kimmel

Mr. Michael Knight

Dr. Beverly Lange

Mr. Tom Laporta

Gabriele Lee†

Anne Silvers Lee and Wynn Lee

John T. Lehman

Marguerite and Gerry† Lenfest

Mrs. Renee T. Levin†

Karen† and Michael Lewis

Carol and Howard Lidz

Mr. William A. Loeb†

Sonja E. Lopatynskyj†

Mr. Larry Thomas Mahoney

Dwight and Christina McCawley

Drs. Joseph and Jane McGowan

Eugene C. Menegon†

Mrs. Lois Meyers

Mrs. Ellen Cole Miller†

Mr. Siddhartha Misra

Mrs. Naomi Montgomery†

Constance C. Moore

Mgsr. Felix M. O'Neill†

Helen E. Pettit

Mr. William Reily†

David Rhody

Dr. Scott F. Richard

Mr. Laurence T. Robbins†

Dr. Renée Rollin

Jeffrey and Kendell Saunders

Robert Schoenberg†

Carolyn Horn Seidle

Mr. Jonathan Sprogell and Ms. Kathryn Taylor

Mr. and Mrs. Morton F. Steelman†

Mrs. Alise (Lee) Steinberg†

Ellen Steiner

Mr. Kenneth R. Swimm

Mr. Andrew J. Szabo

Mr. Victor Tees

Mr. Michael Toklish†

Christina M. Valente, Esq.

Charlotte Watts

Dr. and Mrs. Andrew Wechsler

Esther C. Weil†

George P. White†

Drs. Anne and Jim† Williamson

Richard and Kelley Wolfington

Ms. Karen A. Zurlo Ph. D.

50TH ANNIVERSARY GALA SPONSORS

Thank you to the following generous supporters of Vox Ex Machina, Opera Philadelphia’s 50th Anniversary Gala.

PRESENTING SPONSOR

George Condo and Hauser & Wirth

LEAD SPONSORS

Sarah and Brad Marshall

PLATINUM SPONSORS

Betsy and Ed Cohen

Judith Durkin Freyer and Charles C. Freyer

Judy and Peter Leone

GOLD SPONSORS

Mrs. Sandra K. Baldino

Ballard Spahr LLP

Sylvia Lanka-Barone and William Barone

Ira Brind and Stacey Spector

Laura Drake

David Haas and Lisa Clark

Mr. Brian D. Pedrow

Nancy and Barry Sanders

Katie and Tony Schaeffer

Carolyn Horn Seidle

Mr. and Mrs. William A. Slaughter, Esq.

SILVER SPONSORS

David Low

Mrs. Jacqueline B. Mars

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Lisa Washington

Ms. Leslie Whipkey

BRONZE SPONSORS

Anonymous

Maddy & Jim Carlson

Barbara Eberlein and Jerry Wind

Ms. Deena Gu Laties

Mrs. Sheila Kessler

Ro and Martin King

Dr. Joel & Mrs. Roberta Porter

Ellen Steiner

Susan M. Long and Andrew J. Szabo

Robert Taglieri and Timothy Moir

Kathy and Nick Weir

BENEFACTORS

Courtney Beck and Jonathan Harris

Frank and Nancy Bissinger

James and Alyse Bodine

Elaine Woo Camarda and A. Morris Williams, Jr.

Willo Carey

Dr. Thomas A. Childers and Dr. John B. Hall

Mr. Jeffrey P. Cunard and Ms. Mariko Ikehara

Tobey and Mark Dichter

Robert B. Driver

Helen Drutt

Ms. Teresa Fink and Mr. Stephen Varenhorst

Amy Finkelstein

Anne Gottleib

Dr. Allan Greenspan

Independence Foundation

Drs. Jason Karlawish and John Bruza

Dr. Alan F. Karr

Jon McMillan

Irene R. Miller

Ms. Katherine L. Niven

Ms. Marta Nottebohm

Helen E. Pettit

Eileen Rosenau

Katherine Sachs

Ronald Schafer

Jessica Stow

Barbara Augusta Teichert

Ms. Kristine Terrado

Barbara A. Walkowski

Dr. R. J. Wallner

Elizabeth B. Warshawer

OPERA, BUT DIFFERENT

WHEN INNOVATION MEETS INTENTION

In celebration of Opera Philadelphia’s 50th Anniversary, the company has embarked on its first-ever major campaign, Opera, but Different, marking a defining moment of visionary transformation. With an initial goal of $33 million, this ambitious, three-year comprehensive effort strengthens our artistic and financial foundation, ensuring continued innovation, adaptability to audiences, and long-term financial sustainability.

THE CAMPAIGN CENTERS ON FOUR FOUNDATIONAL PILLARS THAT BALANCE AMBITION AND RESILIENCE

Radical creation and artistic excellence – Investing in bold new works and reimagined classics, making opera accessible both inside and beyond the hall

Opera as a civic right – breaking down barriers to participation

Daring leadership – embracing risk to resonate with audiences in today’s cultural landscape

Financial resilience – building meaningful financial reserves to support long-term viability

To date, we have secured $19 million, reflecting extraordinary early momentum toward our goal. These gifts encompass commitments to both the Campaign and the Annual Fund, demonstrating a shared belief that opera can — and must — be a living, evolving art form.

WITH GRATITUDE TO SUPPORTERS OF OPERA PHILADELPHIA'S 50TH ANNIVERSARY CAMPAIGN

We are profoundly grateful to the following early Leadership Supporters, whose generosity of $25,000 and above is advancing Opera Philadelphia’s vision for a vibrant, thriving future. Gifts below represent three-year commitments encompassing both Annual and Campaign support.

LUMINARY CIRCLE

$1,000,000+

The Wyncote Foundation at the Recommendation of Frederick R. Haas

Barbara and Amos Hostetter

E. A. Michelson Philanthropy

Carolyn Horn Seidle

Barbara Augusta Teichert

CRESCENDO CIRCLE

$500,000–$999,999

Ira Brind and Stacey Spector

Judy and Peter Leone

The Estate of Bud and Betty Shapiro

VANGUARD CIRCLE

$250,000–$499,999

Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel Diamonstein-Spielvogel Foundation

Donald and Gay Kimelman

Mrs. Agnes Mulroney

INNOVATOR CIRCLE

$100,000–$249,999

Katie Adams Schaeffer and Tony Schaeffer

Bloomberg Philanthropies

The Buck Family Foundation

Judith Durkin Freyer and Charles C. Freyer

Mr. Jeffrey P. Cunard and Ms. Mariko Ikehara

Paul L. King

David Low

Sarah and Brad Marshall

Nancy and Barry Sanders

Edith Carol Stein

Ellen Steiner

TF Cornerstone

SUSTAINER CIRCLE

$50,000–$99,999

Ms. Dominique Laffont

Steven Pesner

The Tang Fund

Lisa Washington

COLLABORATOR CIRCLE

$25,000–$49,999

Betsy Cohen

Ms. Deena Gu Laties

Helen Little

Annual support is also recognized separately under Annual Fund recognition.

For more information about the Opera, but Different campaign or to explore ways to make your own impact, please contact Jonathan Neumann, Chief Development Officer, at neumann@operaphila.org.

Sleepers Awake

April 22, 24, 26

Academy of Music

The chorus takes the starring role in this world premiere from composer Gregory Spears.

The Black Clown

May 14, 15, 16, 17

Miller Theater

Davóne Tines fuses gospel, opera, jazz, and spirituals to bring a Langston Hughes poem to life. All tickets are Pick Your Price, starting at $11 | operaphila.org