Opera Philadelphia has announced its 2025-26 season鈥攖he company鈥檚 50th anniversary season鈥攚hich will include the world premiere of Complications in Sue, a new opera with a libretto by Pulitzer and Tony-winner Michael R. Jackson (A Strange Loop) and a score by 10 different composers.
Justin Vivian Bond will star as Sue, a woman 鈥渨hose personality is split in two,鈥� in the opera which follows her life through 10 decades, each decade scored by a different composer. The scenes will be composed by Andy Akiho, Alistair Coleman, Nathalie Joachim, Missy Mazzoli, Nico Muhly, Rene Orth, C茅cile McLorin Salvant, Kamala Sankaram, Dan Schlosberg, and Errollyn Wallen. Caren Levine will conduct, and Zack Winokur will direct the world premiere, which runs February 4-8, 2026 at Philadelphia鈥檚 Academy of Music.
Another world premiere, Sleepers Awake, will take the stage in April 2026. A new opera by composer Gregory Spears, co-conceived with and directed by Jenny Koons, Sleepers Awake is a reimagining of the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty, inspired by the writings of Robert Walser. The chorus will take on a starring role in the opera, in which 鈥渢he voices pull us into a liminal space where reality is fractured, cyclical, and shifting.鈥�
Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, who is also the company鈥檚 General Director and President, will star in Sarah Ruhl鈥檚 The Seasons, which had its world premiere this year at Boston Lyric Opera. Winokur also directs The Seasons, which is based on Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, and incorporates additional arias and ensembles by Vivaldi with a new English libretto by Ruhl. The work follows a group of artists who retreat to a remote farm to make art inspired by the beauty of nature. But increasingly extreme and erratic weather complicates the plan. The Seasons was co-conceived by Ruhl and Costanzo, and includes choreography by Pam Tanowitz, costume design by Carlos Soto, lighting design by John Torres, and set design by Mimi Lien, in collaboration with MIT Media Lab Design & Materials Technologist Jack Forman.
Closing out the season will be the Philadelphia premiere of The Black Clown, an adaptation of the Langston Hughes poem by the same name. Co-created by Dav贸ne Tines, Michael Schachter, and Zack Winokur, The Black Clown features Tines in the title role, and a score composed by Michael Schaechter that blends vaudeville, gospel, opera, jazz, and spirituals. The work had its world premiere given by the American Repertory Theater in 2018, and was presented by Lincoln Center in 2019. The production includes scenic and costume design by Carlos Soto, lighting design by John Torres, sound design by Kai Harada, and wig and hair design by Rachel Padula-Shufelt.
Accompanying these four contemporary works will be Rossini鈥檚 1825 opera Il viaggio a Reims, which will open the season in September. Originally written for the coronation of Charles X of France, Il viaggio a Reims concerns the comedic misfortunes that befall a group of aristocrats鈥攐ver a dozen principal roles written for some of the biggest opera stars of the day鈥攑reparing to travel to the coronation. The opera was never intended to have a life beyond the coronation, and Rossini recycled much of the score into the more frequently performed Le Comte Ory. Opera Philadelphia will present the Philadelphia premiere of Il viaggio a Reims in a production from Dutch National Opera, the Royal Danish Opera, and Opera Australia, directed by Olivier Award-winner Damiano Michieletto in his American debut. The large principal cast will include sopranos Emilie Kealani, Lindsey Reynolds, and Brenda Rae; mezzo-soprano Katherine Beck; tenor Minghao Liu; baritones Daniel Belcher and Alex DeSocio; bass-baritone Ben Brady; and basses Scott Conner and Anthony Reed.
In addition to the five opera productions, a 50th anniversary gala, titled Vox Ex Machina, will be held September 13. Opera Philadelphia has partnered with Drexel University's ExCITe Center and artist and creative technologist Daniel Belquer to create a machine that will generate a painting in response to audio input, which will be presented at the gala concert, converting each singer鈥檚 aria into a painting in real time. The resulting artworks will then be auctioned off at Philadelphia鈥檚 Reading Terminal Market.
The company also announced the continuation of the 鈥淧ick Your Price鈥� initiative, which began this season, making all tickets for every performance available for $11, or a higher price of the buyer鈥檚 choosing. Following the launch of the initiative in the 2024-25 season, every performance sold out in a matter of weeks, with 67% of single ticket buyers being first timers, and 69% being under the age of 45.
Opera Philadelphia鈥檚 2025-26 season is its first curated by Anthony Roth Costanzo in his tenure as General Director, and marks a sharp turn toward contemporary works that extend the idea of what opera can be. Said Costanzo in a statement: 鈥淔or 50 years, Opera Philadelphia has made art at the highest level, and as this visionary company continues to honor tradition and innovate, we are passionate about charting a new path for opera. Our 2025-2026 Season embraces everything that opera is and helps us envision what it can become. It鈥檚 opera, but different.鈥�
For more information about the season, including ticketing, visit .
