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Opera, but different

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PHIL ADELPHIA PREMIERE

Suddenly Last Summer October 22, 23, 25, 2026 FORREST THEATRE Music by Courtney Bryan

Libretto by Gideon Lester and Daniel Fish based on the play by Tennessee Williams

A co-commission and co-production with Fisher Center LAB Presented by special arrangement with The University of the South, Sewanee, Tennesse By arrangement with Boosey and Hawkes, publisher Performed in English with English supertitles Catherine Holly Mikaela Bennett*

Movement Director Beth Gill*

Mrs. Venable Stephanie Roth Haberle*

Revival Movement Director Mel Krodman*

Dr. Cukrowicz Branden Lindsay*

Scenic Design Marsha Ginsberg*

Painter Lucy Tarquinio*

Costume Design Terese Wadden

Mrs. Holly Miriam Silverman*

Lighting Design Stacey Derosier*

George Nick Westrate*

Revival Lighting Design Christopher Frey

Conductor & Music Supervisor Nathan Koci*

Projection Design Joshua Thorson*

Director Daniel Fish*

Sound Design Garth MacAleavey*

Revival Director Mikhaela Mahony

Make-Up Design Anne Ford-Coates*

Philadelphia Boys Choir Conductor Jeffrey R. Smith

Hair & Wig Design Bobbie Zlotnik* Stage Manager Jennifer Shaw

Ms. Silverman’s performances and Mr. Westrate’s performances have been pre-recorded. *Opera Philadelphia debut

This production is made possible with generous support from Robert Turner 3

Board of Directors OFFICERS

Charles C. Freyer, Chair Anthony Roth Costanzo*, President Barbara Augusta Teichert, Vice Chair Alexander M. Hankin, Secretary David Low, Treasurer MEMBERS

HONORARY MEMBERS

Ira Brind Lawrence Brownlee Alice Donavin Day William Dunbar Charles C. Freyer Deena Gu Laties Alexander M. Hankin Benjamin Hildner Peter Leone Helen Little David Low Sarah Marshall Agnes Mulroney Katherine L. Niven Nabila Sajid Nancy Sanders Carolyn Horn Seidle Ellen Steiner Barbara Augusta Teichert Lisa Washington Kathleen Weir Yueyi (Kelly) Zhou

Dennis Alter H.F. (Gerry) Lenfest† Stephen A. Madva, Esq., Chairman Emeritus Alan B. Miller Alice W. Strine, Esq. Charlotte Watts A DV ISORY BOA RD

Betsy Z. Cohen Renée Fleming John Hunter Henry Timms

† Deceased * Ex officio 4

Photo by Dominic M. Mercier

Hi Friends, But is it OPERA? That is a question I hear a lot especially in the context of new work, interdisciplinary collaborations, rediscovered pieces, or any number of things that might go on the stage of an opera company like ours. More than 400 years ago, when opera was born in Italy, there were a bunch of people puzzling over how to combine two things which existed separately: really good theater and really good music. When they started to merge them along with other disciplines that would make a performance complete, they didn’t call it opera at first. They dubbed it “dramma per musica” or “drama through music.” It was only later that the moniker opera came into being as a kind of shorthand. It simply means “a work,” a translation of the Latin opus. What has always been true about opera is that it is a way to express emotions that go beyond what speech can express. Composer Courtney Bryan’s new voicing of Tennessee Williams’ chilling tale of the unspeakable explores this dichotomy. While some characters talk themselves in circles, only one character can sing her truth, a truth her aunt feels is madness worthy of a lobotomy. Williams’ sister was very dear to him and was herself subjected to a lobotomy he very much lamented. People have speculated that part of the reason their parents authorized the lobotomy was because of uncomfortable truths his sister was exposing. Suddenly Last Summer was clearly a very personal story for Williams, and this operatic reimagining renders the depth of emotion he must have felt while writing it palpable. It is drama and music—drama THROUGH music—or in other words, very much opera.

–Anthony Roth Costanzo GENER AL DIRECTOR & PRESIDENT

Opera Philadelphia Staff LE ADERSHIP

Anthony Roth Costanzo, General Director & President Corrado Rovaris, Judy and Peter Leone Music Director David Levy, Executive Vice President David Walker, Chief Philanthropy 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 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 PHIL ANTHROPY

Adele Mustardo, Director of Events & Donor Engagement Kerriann Otaño, Philanthropy Officer Samantha Blatt, Associate Director of Individual Giving Meghan Dunne, Associate Director of Foundation & Government Grants Mary Ellen Cosaboon, Donor Relations & Corporate Partnership Manager Clarissa Cheung, Development Operations Manager Sarah Diggins, Philanthropy Associate

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SE ASON ART AND DESIGN

Ben Wiseman

Writing the Voice of Truth: An Interview with Composer Courtney Bryan

Courtney Bryan Photo Taylor Hunter

Can you describe the conceptual ideas behind the piece and how they shaped the decision to create a hybrid opera-play format, where singers and actors share the stage? COURTNEY BRYAN: The drama

centers on uncovering the truth of what happened to Sebastian—a character we never actually meet since he dies before the play begins. The only person who knows what really happened to Sebastian is his cousin Catherine, whom the rest of the characters are trying to silence.

We began exploring a conceptual idea that director Daniel Fish suggested: Catherine, as the “voice of truth,” would be the only character who sings, while the other characters are speaking roles. In this way, the piece was developed through a collaborative process with the creative team, drawing on a music-theater model of development.

In addition to Catherine singing, the work includes a boys’ choir. We chose to specifically include the voices of preteen boys, which are integral to the story, at times representing the group of boys Sebastian exploited, and who ultimately bring about his demise. What’s the dramatic impact of combining speech and singing in performance? CB: I wrote the score knowing I needed to balance the music and acting happening onstage simultaneously, without one form taking precedence over the other. It’s like you’re watching two scenes at the same time.

For example, Catherine—who is being held in a mental institution—is onstage while her aunt describes her as babbling and incoherent. As the other actors speak, Catherine sings these long notes that don’t form 7

complete, intelligible phrases. The audience sees and hears her, but her presence feels abstract because you don’t understand what she’s saying. The speech and singing exist in different universes, and that juxtaposition makes Catherine feel both present and removed. Timing was also a very important consideration—like, how to balance the pace of spoken text with sung text. Speech moves more quickly, while singing, even at a fast tempo, is musical and spread out. I had to create a score with flexibility built in for the different types of performance being layered.

Mikaela Bennett as Catherine Holly Photo by Maria Baranova

How did you approach writing music for Catherine, the “voice of truth”? CB: Over the course of the opera,

Catherine goes from singing really stretched-out, unintelligible phrases to ultimately speaking her truth. After being given a truth serum, she begins to deliver text more quickly and clearly, almost as if speaking (though she’s singing throughout). It’s a gradual progression that builds to a climax in Scene 4. 8

As she begins singing her truth, the music becomes very dramatic. I loved the idea of exploring the full range of her voice. There are moments when she’s sharing some very disturbing details, and the music moves into her low register, giving her a grounded, controlled quality. At these big moments in the opera, I wanted Catherine to move between different modes of expression — something between babbling and shouting out her truth. What’s the significance of birdsong in this opera? CB: Birds are referenced throughout Tennessee Williams’ play. In his notes, he includes specific descriptions of which birds are heard and the kinds of sounds they make. While they aren’t main characters, they form a presence in the world of the play. At the end, the boys are described as transforming into black birds that devour Sebastian.

I knew early on that I wanted to incorporate birdsong into the musical language of the opera. Williams mentions sweet-singing birds and flesh-eating ones, which led me to research different types, like the yellow warbler, red cardinal, and vultures, as well as birds native to uptown New Orleans, where the story is set. I created a chart of bird song transcriptions for the ensemble players, with instructions for how to follow the general shape of the bird call while also improvising, so the effect feels natural. Some passages feature notated bird calls, while others suggest the sound of wind or flapping wings. In Scene 2, there’s a Choral Feature written for the boys’ choir that explores two types of writing. Some of the choral writing features harmonies inspired by Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington, sung on open vowels. And

Photo by MARIA BARANOVA

then there’s writing for the choir that goes into improvised birdsong.

text could push me in new musical directions.

As a New Orleans native, what drew you to this play, and what did you want to capture through this drama?

For example, in the closing aria, Catherine describes Sebastian’s final moments as he runs and the boys transform into birds and devour him. Setting that scene to music was a particular challenge. I’m used to dealing with difficult topics in my music, but oftentimes I bring an element of hope. Here, the only sense of hope we found was in Catherine finally speaking her truth — but there’s so much gruesomeness in that last image.

CB: It was a great challenge to take

on a play set in New Orleans. When I first read the script, I could hear the accents and the pacing of the voices immediately. But it represents a very different place than my New Orleans. The play is about a very rich white family in the 1950s Garden District — what someone from New Orleans would recognize as “old money.” So, it was interesting to engage with a different side of New Orleans than I know. What drew me most to the project was the emotional intensity of Tennessee Williams’ writing. As a composer who thinks about capturing a lot of different types of emotions in music, I knew his

Ultimately, it was the intensity of Tennessee Williams’ storytelling — how his stories haunt you and stick with you — that drew me to this project the most.

This interview with Courtney Bryan is reprinted courtesy of Boosey & Hawkes, the composer’s publisher . 9

Synopsis

Suddenly Last Summer takes place in Mrs. Violet Venable’s grand home in the Garden District of New Orleans. Mrs. Venable is showing a young brain surgeon, Dr. Cukrowicz, around the tropical garden created by her late son, Sebastian. Sebastian died last summer while traveling with his cousin, Catherine Holly. Since Catherine returned to New Orleans, she has been obsessively recounting the events that led to Sebastian’s death and has been committed to a private mental asylum, St. Mary’s, at her aunt’s expense. Mrs. Venable tells the doctor of her close relationship with her late son, a poet who wrote just one poem a year. She recalls a trip that she and Sebastian took to the Galapagos Islands, where they observed birds of prey devouring sea turtles on a beach. The doctor tells Mrs. Venable of his pioneering work in brain surgery at Lion’s View, a state asylum. He has developed an experimental lobotomy procedure, for which he needs funding. Mrs. Venable offers to support his research—if he agrees to perform a lobotomy on Catherine that will prevent her from telling the story that threatens to destabilize the Venable family. She has brought him to the house to evaluate Catherine and to persuade him to undertake the operation.

Photo by MARIA BARANOVA

Catherine arrives at the house, in the care of nuns from St Mary’s. As she waits to meet her aunt and the doctor, she again begins the story of Sebastian’s death in the beach town of Cabeza de Lobo, as the nuns attempt to restrain her. Catherine reveals that Sebastian was homosexual, and that she—like his mother before her—was procuring young men for him when he died. Catherine’s mother and brother, George, arrive and try to silence Catherine. Their reason is in part financial; Sebastian’s will contains a substantial provision for Catherine and George, which Mrs. Venable is planning to contest if Catherine continues telling her story. Mrs. Venable and the doctor return. Catherine realizes that he is from Lion’s View, and understands what her aunt is planning to do to her. Catherine confides in the doctor that Sebastian rescued her and took her to Europe last year, after a stranger had tried to assault her during a Mardi Gras ball. The doctor prepares to examine Catherine. He injects her with a truth serum, and she recounts the entire story of Sebastian’s demise in Cabeza de Lobo. The running time of Suddenly Last Summer is approximately 60 minutes with no intermission 11

“The Work of a Poet is the Life of a Poet”: The Sources of Suddenly Last Summer By Teagan Walsh Tennessee Williams often incorporated aspects of his own life and personal experiences into his plays, and Suddenly Last Summer is no exception. Here are some of the most prominent autobiographical elements of the play:

Photo by MARIA BARANOVA LOBOTOMY

Williams’ beloved sister Rose underwent a lobotomy in 1943. The procedure was seen as a last resort for her, after years of being shuffled between various psychiatric institutions and convalescence homes to cure her psychological torment, eventually diagnosed as schizophrenia. Williams was very close with Rose, who was three years his senior. And though he hated her outbursts, which were often violent and sexual in nature, what he hated most was the idea of turning his beloved sister into a shell of her former self. In a 1936 letter to his grandparents, following one of Rose’s many hospital stays, Williams said that Rose was “not normal and probably has not been for a long time, but is not ranting around like she was before.” His parents’ decision to approve the 12

lobotomy — then a relatively new and experimental procedure, first performed just 8 years earlier — caused anguish for Williams, and created a significant rift in the family. In July of 1943, just a few months after the lobotomy, Williams told his parents in a letter that “It is obvious that [Rose] still has her delusions, and I don’t see how she could live outside an institution of some kind.” THE VENABLE HOUSE

The distinctive Venable house where the play takes place, with its grand central elevator and lush, tropical gardens, also has a real-world counterpart. In 1958, as he wrote Suddenly Last Summer, Williams was staying in the FreretBultman House, a historic home in the Garden District of New Orleans owned by his friend Muriel

Bultman-Francis. The house, built in 1859 in the Greek revival style, includes a large indoor garden which still exists, and which, as Williams describes in the opening stage directions, looks “more like a tropical jungle, or forest in the prehistoric age.” Bultman-Francis, an art collector and public-relations agent, is described by her obituary as helping “a struggling playwright named Tennessee Williams. She found Mr. Williams a place to live, which turned out to be the setting for a play later made into the film Suddenly Last Summer.”

sense of inclusion and serves as atonement for his perceived moral wrongdoing. Cannibalism, for Williams, always seems to be accompanied by or the result of some sort of perceived sexual impropriety; Sebastian’s homosexuality, the Poet’s promiscuity, Anthony Burns’ masochism. PSYCHOTHERAPY

As the theater critic John Lahr notes in his biography of Williams, “Suddenly Last Summer […] was a direct product of Williams’ turmoil on the analyst’s couch.” CANNIBALISM Williams underwent extensive psychoanalysis in 1957 with the Williams often returned to the theme of cannibalism in his writing. psychiatrist Lawrence Kubie, who was famed for his ability to “cure” As he noted in an interview in The homosexuality. This period of Philadelphia Inquirer, “Someone outside pressure, combined with is always eating at someone else the forced introspection of analysis, for position, gain, triumph, greed, led to both the shift in Williams’ whatever. The human individual view of his familial dynamics and is a cannibal in the worst way.” a renewed motivation to create He explored the subject in two something from the experience. As short stories in the collection One part of his treatment, Williams was Arm and Other Stories, published confined to the Austen Riggs Center in 1948, a decade before Suddenly in Massachusetts and was cut off Last Summer. In “The Poet,” he from all his “addictions,” writing describes a nameless artist who being one. Despite this, his time captivates a group of children with his stories. Upon his death, they find spent under analysis would provide and surround his skeleton. The poet ample material to be dramatized: closely resembles Sebastian Venable: the mental institution, the clinical but curious psychoanalyst, and a an attractive writer who wanders renewed fixation on atoning for his the beaches like the Pied Piper, a gaggle of local children at his heels. own homosexuality. Of course, there was no keeping him from his work, In “Desire and the Black Masseur,” and less than a year later, Suddenly he tells the story of Anthony Burns, Last Summer reached the stage. a white wholesale clerk who enters a violent sexual relationship with a masseur, who eventually eats him. For Burns, the purpose of the consumption is twofold: it fulfills Teagan Walsh ’28 is a student a lifelong desire to be “swallowed in Bard College’s Theater & Performance Program. up,” to attain a sort of suffocating 13

Artists

Suddenly Last Summer Courtney Bryan Composer Courtney Bryan is a Steinway Artist and 2023 MacArthur Fellow, who served as Opera Philadelphia’s Composer in Residence from 2022-2024 and currently serves in the same capacity with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. Recent works include DREAMING (Freedom Sounds), performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble at New York’s Kaufman Music Center; Visual Rhythms, a new art-inspired orchestral piece for Jacksonville Symphony; House of Pianos, which Bryan premiered in 2023 with the LA Phil New Music Group (chamber ensemble version) and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (full orchestra version); and Gathering Song (libretto by Tazewell Thompson), composed for bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green and the New York Philharmonic. Bryan’s compositions have been performed by Opera Philadelphia, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (Creative Partner, 2020–2023), Jacksonville Symphony (Mary Carr Patton Composer-In-Residence, 2018–2020), London Sinfonietta, LA Phil, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and Chicago Sinfonietta in a wide range of renowned venues, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and Blue Note Jazz Club. Recent accolades include the Herb Alpert Award in the Arts (2018), Samuel Barber Rome Prize in Music Composition (2019–2020), United States Artists Fellowship (2020), and the Civitella Ranieri Foundation Fellowship (2020–2021). She is the Albert and Linda Mintz Professor of Music at Newcomb College in the School of Liberal Arts at Tulane University. Her music is published by Boosey & Hawkes.

Artists

Suddenly Last Summer Gideon Lester Librettist Gideon Lester is Artistic Director and Chief Executive of the Fisher Center at Bard, and Senior Curator at the Open Society University Network’s Center for the Arts and Human Rights. A Tony and Olivier award-winning creative producer, festival director, and dramaturg, he has collaborated with and commissioned a broad range of American and international artists across disciplines, including Romeo Castellucci, Justin Vivian Bond, Tania El Khoury, Brice Marden, Sarah Michelson, Claudia Rankine, Kaija Saariaho, Peter Sellars, and Anna Deavere Smith. Recent projects include the world premiere of Justin Peck and Sufjan Steven’s Illinoise; Common Ground, an international festival on the politics of land and food; Daniel Fish’s Oklahoma! (Tony Award; Olivier Award); Pam Tanowitz’s Four Quartets and Song of Songs; Ronald K. Brown and Meshell Ndegeocello’s Grace and Mercy; and Peter Sellars’ film This body is so impermanent… Lester received his B.A./M.A. from Oxford University, and completed graduate training at Harvard, where he was a Fulbright and Frank Knox Scholar.

Daniel Fish Librettist Daniel Fish is a New York-based director who makes work across the boundaries of theater, film, and opera. He draws on a broad range of forms and subject matter, including plays, film scripts, contemporary fiction, essays, and found audio. His acclaimed 2019 production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! transferred to Broadway from St. Ann’s Warehouse, following its premiere at the Fisher Center at Bard, and won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. The production then transferred to London’s West End, where it won the Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival. Other recent work includes White Noise, inspired by the novel by Don DeLillo (Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen, Theater Freiburg, NYU Skirball Center), Michael Gordon’s opera Acquanetta (Prototype, and also a Fisher Center premiere), Who Left This Fork Here (Baryshnikov Arts Center, Onassis Stegi), and Ted Hearne’s The Source (BAM Next Wave, LA Opera, San Francisco Opera). He is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Department of Performance Studies and has taught at The Juilliard School, Bard College, Princeton University, and the Department of Design for Stage and Film at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. He is the recipient of the 2017 Herb Alpert Award in the Arts for the Theater, as well as an Obie Award and a Tony nomination. 15

Artists

Suddenly Last Summer Mikaela Bennett (she/her) Catherine Holly

Opera Philadelphia debut

Ottawa, Canada

R E C E N T: Soloist, Fauré Requiem and SEVEN: A Cycle of Sins,

MasterVoices; Catherine Holly, Suddenly Last Summer, Bard SummerScape; Concert with Cécile McLorin Salvant, Little Island N E X T: Iphigenia the Younger, Iphigenia, National Forum of Music

(Wrocław, Poland) and DE SINGEL (Antwerp, Belgium)

Stacey Derosier (she/her) Lighting Designer

Opera Philadelphia debut

Brooklyn, NY

R E C E N T: Lighting Designer, The Saviors, Atlantic Theater Company;

Lighting Designer, School Girls, Manhattan Theatre Club; Lighting Designer, Lincoln in the Bardo, The Metropolitan Opera N E X T: Lighting Designer, The Visitors, Second Stage

Marsha Ginsberg (she/her) Scenic Design

Opera Philadelphia debut

New York, NY

R E C E N T: Scenic Designer, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Deutsche

Oper Berlin; Scenic Designer, Hildegard, LA Opera & Prototype; Set & Costume Designer, Don Pasquale, Opera Theatre of St. Louis N E X T: Scenic Designer, Die Zauberflöte, Hamburg State Opera

Stephanie Roth Haberle (she/her) Mrs. Venable

Opera Philadelphia debut

Sparta, New Jersey

R E C E N T: Margarita, The Master and Margarita, Bard

SummerScape; Belle Stark, Rocket to the Moon, Bard SummerScape; Gertrude, Hamlet, McCarter Theatre Center. N E X T: Maggie Fike in the Red Dead Redemption video games

Nathan Koci (he/him) Conductor & Music Supervisor

Opera Philadelphia debut

New York, NY

R E C E N T: Music Director, The Lunch Box, Berkeley Repertory

Theatre; Music Director, Illinoise, Broadway, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, & Bard; Music Director, Oklahoma!, National Tour N E X T: Accordion, The Head & The Load, Cal Performances

Artists

Suddenly Last Summer Mel Krodman (they/them) Revival Movement Director

Opera Philadelphia debut

Philadelphia, PA

R E C E N T: Longitudinal Deviser/Performer, The Sincerity Project

Iteration #5 (of 12), Team Sunshine Performance Co./FringeArts; CoArtistic Lead/Deviser/Performer, Those With 2 Clocks, Tall Order/ The Wilma Theater; Artistic Lead/Performer, BOYZ WILL BE BOYZ 4 LYFE, Cannonball Festival N E X T: Deviser/Performer, Speculative Horizons: Philadelphia 2076,

The Practice Space/FringeArts

Branden Lindsay (he/him) Dr. Cukrowicz

Opera Philadelphia debut

South Carolina

R E C E N T: Elijah Brown, Train Dreams, Netflix; James, Mother Road,

Berkeley Repertory Theatre; Ensemble, Merry Wives, The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park

Garth MacAleavy (he/him) Sound Designer

Black Lodge 2022 Soldier Songs (film) 2020

Home, Town

R E C E N T: Sound Designer, Kronos Quartet Summer European Tour;

Front of House Engineer, Vail Dance Festival; Sound Designer, What to Wear, Brooklyn Academy of Music N E X T: Sound Designer, Illinoise, Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Mikhaela Mahony (she/her) Revival Director

The Listeners 2024

Marblehead, Massachusetts

R E C E N T: Recent: Revival Director, The Listeners, Lyric Opera of

Chicago; Director, Turandot/Puzzles and Games, Alice Tully Hall; Director, Redwood, Ensemble Studio Theatre. N E X T: Director, Susannah, Curtis Institute of Music

Amanda Sheriff (she/her) Catherine Holly (Cover)

The Listeners 2024 Don Giovanni 2025

Houston, TX

R E C E N T: Yniold, Pelléas et Mélisande, Opera Baltimore; Barbarina,

Le nozze di Figaro, Atlanta Opera; Sarah, Ragtime, Opera Montana N E X T: Despina, Così fan tutte, Tulsa Opera

This is your Opera Philadelphia. Help bring audiences closer to the wonder of opera!

Artists

Suddenly Last Summer Miriam Silverman (she/her) Mrs. Holly

Opera Philadelphia debut

New York, NY

R E C E N T: Mavis, The Sign in Sydney Brustein’s Window, Broadway;

Gretchen Regan, Your Friends & Neighbors, Apple TV; Mira Blair, The Disappear, Minetta Lane Theatre N E X T: Claire Archer, The Verge, The Public Theater

Lucy Tarquino (she/her) Painter

Opera Philadelphia debut

Brooklyn, NY

R E C E N T: “Winter Painting,” Entrance Gallery (Brooklyn, NY); “Cave

Paintings,” Dover Stone Church (Dover Plains, NY)

N E X T: “Bow Tunnel Altar,” Bow Tunnel (Indiana County, PA)

Joshua Thorson (he/him/they) Projection Designer

Opera Philadelphia debut

Brooklyn, Rochester, NY

R E C E N T: Projection Designer, Oklahoma! National Tour; Projection

Designer, Vaughan Williams’ Job, Bard Music Festival; Projection Designer, Rachmaninoff’s The Miserly Knight, Bard Music Festival N E X T: Projection Designer, Where The Bridge Floats

Terese Wadden (pro/nouns) Costume Designer

A Quiet Place 2018 The Wake World 2017

Wilmette, IL

R E C E N T: Costume Designer, Suddenly Last Summer, Bard

SummerScape; Costume Designer, Kramer/Fauci, St. Ann’s Warehouse; Costume Designer, The Magic Flute, Shepard School of Music N E X T: Costume Designer, La bohème, Norwegian National Opera

and English National Opera

Nick Westrate (he/him) George

Opera Philadelphia debut

Michigan, USA

R E C E N T: Director/Designer, A Streetcar Named Desire, A.C.T. San

Francisco; Hjalmar Ekdal, The Wild Duck, TFANA/Shakespeare Theatre DC; Edwin Booth, Manhunt, AppleTV

Bobby Zlotnik (he/him) Hair & Wig Designer

Opera Philadelphia debut

Pittsburgh, PA

R E C E N T: Wig Designer, Mean Girls, The Cape Playhouse;

Wig Designer, Emma, Peterborough Players

N E X T: Wig Designer, The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, Minnesota

Opera 20

Orchestra VIOLIN I

A LT O S A X O P H O N E

Sophia Stoyanovich

Doris Hall-Gulati

VIOLIN II

TROMBONE

Eliane Menzel

Jason Stein

VIOL A

PERCUSSION

Jonathan Kim

Ralph Sorrentino

CELLO

Branson Yeast

PIANO

Grant Loehnig

BASS

Dimitrios Mattas FLUTE

Brendan Dooley Kimberly Trolier, alto flute

Philadelphia Boys Choir Philadelphia Youth Choral Ensembles Jeffrey R. Smith, Conductor Aiden Arkainno Samuel Balne Pierce Barsanti Eric Frasch

Kieran Goh Elija Horst Liam Linville Cole Nemer

Harry Robert Pfeiffer Griffin Reilly Ari Salzberg

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Artistic & Production Staff Assistant Director ............................................................................................Kira Weaver* Associate Costume Designer..................................................................Adeline Christina* Associate Set Designer..................................................................................Michael Lewis Assistant Stage Managers .................................................... Karly Amato, Lillian Welsh Audio Description ................................................... Nicole Sardella , Beth Feldman Grant Principal Pianist .......................................................................................... Grant Loehnig Properties Supervisor ....................................... Avista Custom Theatrical Services, LLC Supertitle Author/Operator ............................................................................ Tony Solitro Head Electrican/Programmer ............................................................ John Allerheiligen Head Properties .................................................................................. Samantha Higgins Head Flyman ................................................................................................ James Murphy Assistant Electrician ................................................................................... Heather Pynne Video Programmer ..................................................... Colin Sass (10th Floor Productions) Projection Technician ...................................... Dalton Whiting (10th Floor Productions) Audio Engineer ............................................................................................. Chris Sannino Assistant Costume Director ........................................................................... Becca Austin Cutter/Drapers ................................................................... Morgan Porter, Sarah Mitchell First Hands ........................................................................ Joy Rampulla, Patrick Mulhall Wardrobe Supervisor ........................................................................................ Elisa Hurley *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 77-274 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

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2 026 -2 027 G A L A

Voices for Peace S AT U R DAY, A P R I L 2 4 , 2 0 2 7

Mark your calendars for a powerful celebration of peace through the transformative power of music. An extraordinary concert at the Academy of Music will bring together several Nobel Peace Laureates with star singers and our full orchestra for a musical program that illustrates what peace requires and what it means. The evening is a special partnership with the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker peace and justice organization. We will celebrate AFSC’s groundbreaking work on their 110th anniversary and the 80th anniversary of AFSC and British Friends’ acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of Quakers worldwide. The concert will be followed by a spectacular dinner at the Four Seasons Philadelphia, thanks to their generous sponsorship. More information at operaphila.org/gala Sponsorships on sale now. Individual Gala tickets and Pick Your Price Concert tickets on sale February 2027.

Your generosity makes extraordinary opera possible. Because of you, artists can create boldly, audiences can experience something unforgettable, and Opera Philadelphia can continue bringing new voices and new stories to our community.

To join, visit operaphila.org/support or call 215.732.8400 24

Thank You! Opera Philadelphia expresses our deepest gratitude to the individuals and institutions whose support of the Annual Fund allows us to bring you Suddenly Last Summer. List current as of September 16, 2026.

L E A D E R S H I P C I R C L E $10 0 , 0 0 0

C H A I R M A N ’ S C O U N C I L+ $ 5 0 , 0 0 0

Ira Brind and Stacey Spector Dani Cohen and Dr. Lucia Carbone TF Cornerstone Judith Durkin Freyer and Charles C. Freyer Ms. Thérèse M. Esperdy Katherine and John Karamatsoukas David Low E.A. Michelson Philanthropy Mrs. John P. Mulroney Edith Carol Stein Barbara Augusta Teichert Wyncote Foundation Mr. John R. Alchin and Mr. Hal Marryatt Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Barbara and Amos Hostetter Ms. Lisa D. Kabnick and Mr. John H. McFadden Donald and Gay Kimelman Paul L. King Judy and Peter Leone Andrew J. Martin-Weber Mellon Foundation Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage Barbara and Amos Hostetter Nancy and Barry Sanders Katie Adams Schaeffer and Tony Schaeffer Carolyn Horn Seidle Bud and Betty Shapiro The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation The William Penn Foundation

Bloomberg Philanthropies Linda and David Glickstein Ms. Deena Gu Laties, in honor of Willo Carey Hamilton Family Charitable Trust Independence Foundation National Endowment for the Arts OPERA America The Buck Family Foundation Robert L. Turner CH A IRM A N’S COUNCIL $25,000

Paul M. Angell Family Foundation Comcast NBC Universal Eugene Garfield Foundation Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia at Comcast Center Allen R. and Judy Brick Freedman Venture Fund for New Opera Mark and Helene Hankin Family Mrs. Sheila Kessler Joel and Sharon Koppelman The H.F. Lenfest Fund The McLean Contributionship Steven Pesner The Presser Foundation Dr. Renée Rollin Michael L. Spolan Ellen Steiner

P L AT I N U M PAT R O N $15 , 0 0 0

S I LV E R PAT R O N $ 5 , 0 0 0

William A. Barone and Sylvia K. Lanka-Barone Myron and Sheila S. Bassman Lawrence Brownlee George Day and Alice Donavin Day Hauser & Wirth Contemporary Art Gallery Feather O. Houstoun Ro and Martin King Mr. and Mrs. William E. Little Jr. Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer and Joe Neubauer Ms. Jacqueline B. Mars PECO David and Susan Rattner Dr. and Mrs. Andrew Wechsler Ms. Leslie Whipkey Mrs. Kelly Zhou and Dr. Brett Frankel

Anonymous Eugene and Virginia Beier Robert and Julie Jensen Bryan Laura Drake William and Fay Dunbar Dorothea Endicott Mr. Andrew R. Gelber and Dr. Don Schwarz Deborah Glass, in memory of Leonard Mellman Joan and William Goldstein Gray Charitable Trust Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance Mr. and Mrs. Jim Groch Howell Lockhart Seiple Trust Stuart A. Schwartz and Sheila Jamison-Schwartz Mr. Kenneth Klothen and Ms. Eve Biskind Camille Dickinson Labarre So-Chung Shinn and Tony W. Lee Anne Silvers Lee and Wynn Lee The Leone Family In memory of Joseph G. Leone Liddy Lindsay Dr. and Mrs. Michael B. Love Susan and Graham McDonald Mrs. Naomi Montgomery† Ms. Katherine L. Niven Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Dr. Joel and Mrs. Roberta Porter Estate of Jan F. Rigaud Drs. Richard and Rhonda Soricelli Esther Spear Nancy and Joel Streim Mr. Andrew Szabo and Ms. Susan M. Long Mrs. Monica Taylor Lotty and Mr. Brendan Lotty Truist Judith W. Whellan

D I A M O N D PAT R O N $10 , 0 0 0

Aaron Copland Fund for Music Willo Carey and Peter A. Benoliel† Ms. Sarah Billinghurst Solomon Peggy and Mark Curchack Mr. Jeffrey P. Cunard and Ms. Mariko Ikehara Carol S. Eicher Jane Ginsburg and George Spera Benjamin Hildner John Otto Haas 1955 Trust Alan Levin William S. Mulherin and Joseph Baker Barbara Tober Bonnie and Lon Greenberg Sarah and Brad Marshall Tom and Jody O’Rourke Bill Robling and Deborah R. Kravetz Mrs. Keith R. Straw Universal Health Services Lisa Washington Kathleen and Nicholas Weir Ann Ziff G O L D PAT R O N $ 7, 5 0 0

Mr. James P. Macelderry† and Ms. Marilyn S. Fishman National Sawdust Remmel Foundation 26

B R O N Z E+ PAT R O N $ 3 , 5 0 0

Ms. Susan Asplundh Center City District Mr. and Ms. Robert S. Duplessis Dr. Frank F. Furstenberg Barbara Glauber

Mr. George Graham and Mr. Kyle Merker Thomas S. Heckman and Mary Jo Ashenfelter William Lake Leonard, Esq. Dr. Joseph McGowan B R O N Z E PAT R O N $ 2 , 5 0 0

Anonymous (4) Steven C. Abbott and James Stephens Lydia Alvarez, In memory of Isabelle Ferguson Apgar-Black Foundation Cynthia and George Balchunas Mrs. Joanne Berwind Drs. Deidre and Michael Blank Carrie and J. Bradley Boericke Laurie Wagman, In memory of Irvin J. Borowsky Nancy Brodie Elaine Woo Camarda and A. Morris Williams, Jr. Georgette Ciukurescu James Cohen, PE Mr. Stephen Cohen and Mr. John McNett Tobey and Mark Dichter Dr. Garrett FitzGerald Mr. and Mrs. Carl Flaxman Eduardo Glandt and George Ritchie Fred and Michelle Harde Drs. Christina L. and Richard J. Herring Jonathan Marder Dwight and Christina McCawley Ninja Transfers LLC Helen Pettit David Craig and Jackie Renner Rush Order Tees Joyce Seewald Sando Mr. and Mrs. Curtis E. Sawyer Ms. Jan Shaeffer and Mr. Dennis Bianchi Kobie Smith Mr. Jeffrey Sosnick The Rev. Richard L. Ullman Carol Westfall Dr. Leah Whipple Ms. Karen Ann Wibrew

Janet Yaseen Foundation Ms. Ana-Maria V. Zaugg and Mr. David W. Anstice Mr. Robert Zimet PA R T N E R $1, 0 0 0

Anonymous Anonymous, In Honor of Susan Solomon Jobert Abueva and Eric Lee Judy S. Allison America-Italy Society of Philadelphia Marcia and Larry Arem Mr. Fred Allen Barfoot Karen Bedrosian-Richardson Dr. Regina Blaszczyk and Lee O’Neill Rita B. Bocher, Ph.D. Dr. Harmar Brereton and Mrs. Leslie W. Brereton Maddy and Jim Carlson Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation Ms. Julie Cohen and Mr. Nigel Blower Ms. Therese Dolan Ph.D. Robert and Florence Dolceamore Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation Vivian Barton Dozor Elise Drake Mr. John Driscoll Robert and Monica Driver Barbara Eberlein and Jerry Wind James R. Fairburn Thomas Faracco 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 Marsha Lynn Gordon and Javier Garcia Thomas and Debra Lew Harder Mr. Wallace Hussong Dr. and Mrs. William Jantsch Elbrun and Peter Kimmelman Laura LaRosa Mr. and Mrs. David Levy Matthew Ligman 27

Elizabeth Burns Mahoney Mr. John G. Malcolm Mr. John Mastrobattista and Ms. Madeline Leone Mr. Thomas Miller Judy C. Miner Mr. Benjamin F. Minick Steven Z. Mitchell Abigail and Mark Nestlehutt Rochelle L Ostroff-Weinberg Ms. Jane G. Pepper Patricia Perfect Mr. Stephen Perry Rachel Reynolds Stuart Ross and Patricia Devine Mr. and Mrs. Henry G. Scott Angela B. Silverman George R. Smith Steven A Gold Charitable Educational Institutions Trust Kathleen Ross and Daniel Szyld Ms. Judith Tannenbaum Ms. Marta Barbeosch Varela Dennis Varley Jadwiga Villa Arnold Weiss Kenneth and Susan Weiss Reverend Margaret A. Wellert Stephen Zeller S U S TA I N E R $ 5 0 0

Anonymous (4) George Ahern Estate of Eleanor M. Allen Jean Arnold Jenna and Abraham Axler Sandra Baldino Clark Hooper Baruch Edward Bedrick Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Broadt Tim Broadt Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence Brown Mrs. Karen D. Buchholz Mr. Leo M. Carey and Ms. Sonya D. Mouzon Ms. Moitreyee Chatterjee-Kishore Frank Tobin and Ilene Chester Peter Clark and Jonathan Rosenbloom Jonathan Conant 28

Paula Cook Mark Cornish Judith-Ann Corrente Dr. and Mrs. Edwin Coyle Ms. Micaela de Lignerolles Mr. Paul Desanctis Mr. and Mrs. Norman S. Ellman John H. Erickson and Harry I. Zaleznik David L. Eskin Ms. Gita Estersohn Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Fiorenza Barry Fisch Ryan Fleur and Laura Banchero Mr. Dennis Gallagher and Ms. Carol Barthel Esq. Linda Dubin Garfield Michael Gealt Ph.D. Leila Christine Grad, M.D. Mrs. Margaret S. Griffin and Mr. Scott Sillars Cheryl Gunter and Paul Rabe Mrs. Kate Hall Ms. Kathleen Harleman David and Ann Harrison, Esqs. Mr. and Mrs. Philip Hauser Mr. Daniel Holmes Lee M. Huber F. John Hagele Richard and Judith Hurtig Judith Insell Mr. Mountaine Jonas Richard and Grace Karschner Drs. Ken and Julie Kendall Ms. Carol Sue Klein Jo Ann Klein Beste Kuru Charles B. Landreth Laura A. Lane and David R. DeVoe Drs. Jerry D. & Julie Meranze Levitt Dr. Thomas S. Lin Lawrence and Nancy Ludgus Cirel and Howard Magen Paul J. Martin Jon McMillan Mr. Robert J. McShea, Jr. and Mr. Bill Ward Carol and Tom Miller

Moscow Philanthropic Fund Elizabeth Burns Mahoney Mr. John G. Malcolm Mr. John Mastrobattista and Ms. Madeline Leone Mr. Thomas Miller Judy C. Miner Mr. Benjamin F. Minick Mary and Steve Mitchell Abigail and Mark Nestlehutt Rochelle L Ostroff-Weinberg Ms. Jane G. Pepper Patricia Perfect

Mr. Stephen Perry Rachel Reynolds Stuart Ross and Patricia Devine Mr. and Mrs. Henry G. Scott Angela B. Silverman George R. Smith Steven A Gold Charitable Educational Institutions Trust Kathleen Ross and Daniel Szyld Ms. Judith Tannenbaum Ms. Marta Barbeosch Varela Dennis Varley

The people who inspire us leave a lasting mark on our lives. Opera Philadelphia is honored to recognize the following individuals who have generously given in honor of or in memory of another.

Lydia Alvarez, in memory of Isabelle Ferguson Anonymous, in honor of Susan Solomon Mrs. Sandra Baldino, in honor Sarah Marshall Michael Barone, in memory of Alice and Bill Barone Mr. David Barquist and Mr. Douglas Schaller, in memory of W. William Schwartz Alyse and James Bodine, in honor of Sarah and Brad Marshall Ms. Samantha Brand, in honor of Alexander Hankin Ileen Branderbit, in honor of Lisa Washington Mr. Peter Clark, in honor of Anthony Roth Costanzo Lucy Clemens, in honor of Michael Knight Mrs. Kathryn Deans-Schaub, in memory of Hon. Harry Carl Schaub Therese Dolan, PH.D., in honor of Dr. Lucy Rorke-Adams Ms. Jessica Corrine Fine, in memory of Bette and Leo Fine Teresa Frink and Stephen Varenhost, in honor of Judy and Peter Leone Andrew R. Gelber, in memory of Sylvia Gelber

Deborah Glass, in memory of Leonard Mellman David Grieco, in memory of Anna Bressi Robert Grosse, in honor of Anthony Roth Costanzo Ms. Deena Gu Laties, in honor of Willo Carey Jen Herrmann, in honor of Mildred (Millie) Mitchell Collier Eric Lee, in honor of Sergio Esperdy, and his remarkable daughters! Mrs. Cirel Magen, in memory of Michael and Howard Magen Mrs. Agnes Mulroney, in honor of Jack Mulroney Nicholas Peronace, in memory of Anna Bressi Stacy Reynolds, in honor of Joseph and Mark Klinger Mrs. Gabriela Seiders, in memory of Joanne Hilsee Ms. Marta Barbeosch Varela, in honor of Grant Loehnig Richard Verano, in memory of Anna Bressi Laurie Wagman, in memory of Irvin J. Borowsky To celebrate or remember someone special with a gift in their name, contact the Opera Philadelphia Philanthropy department at philanthropy@operaphila.org. 29

Corporate Partners Our Corporate Partners generously support Opera Philadelphia’s artistic and educational programming through contributions and in-kind donations.

Official Piano

Official Piano Service Provider

For more information about sponsorship opportunities, EITC contributions, and corporate partnerships, please email philanthropy@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 30

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, please contact David Walker, Chief Philanthropy Officer, at walker@operaphila.org. Anonymous (13) Lorraine† and Ben Alexander† Eleanor M. Allen† Mary Jo Ashenfelter and Thomas S. Heckman Eileen Baird† Mr. Kenneth H. Barr Myron and Sheila S. Bassman Mr. † and Mrs. Robert Bergen Ms. Jane A. Berryman Dr. Claire Boasi Rita B. Bocher Ph.D. 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 Bruce Eisenstein, in memory of Dr. Toby Eisenstein Eddie and Rachel Eitches James R. Fairburn Mr. and Mrs.† Joseph P. Fanelli, Jr.

Ms. Joane 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 Mrs. Marjorie E. Garwig† 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 Mr. and Mrs. Joel E. Jensen† Jeffrey R. Jowett Mrs. Sheila Kessler Gabrielle and Ernest Kimmel Mr. Michael Knight 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† Susan M. Long and Andrew J. Szabo 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† Msgr. Felix M. O’Neill† Helen E. Pettit Mr. William Reily† David Rhody Dr. Scott F. Richard Mr. Laurence T. Robbins† Dr. Reneé Rollin Jeffrey and Kendell Saunders Robert Schoenberg† Carolyn Horn Seidle Mrs. Barbara Crea Shannon Mr. Jonathan H. Sprogell and Ms. Kathryn Taylor Mr. and Mrs. Morton F. Steelman† Mrs. Alise (Lee) Steinberg† Ellen Steiner Mr. Kenneth R. Swimm Mr. Victor Tees Michael Toklish† Christina M. Valente, Esq. Charlotte Watts Dr. and Mrs. Andrew Wechsler Esther C. Weil† George P. White† Drs. Anne and Jim† Williamson Kelley and Richard Wolfington Ms. Karen A. Zuro, Ph.D. 31

The Difference We Choose to Make Opera, But Different: A campaign for a future without boundaries

Opera is unlike any other art form. It brings together extraordinary voices, music, theater, poetry, visual art, design, and craftsmanship in a shared experience that invites us to see the world differently. Its future depends on people who believe opera should be fearless in its artistry and continually evolving. Launched in September 2025, the Opera, But Different Campaign grows from a simple belief: great opera becomes even more powerful when more people have the opportunity to experience it. Pick Your Price has demonstrated what is possible. By removing barriers, thousands of people have experienced opera for the first time, affirming something vital: when opera is generous in its welcome, people come. That conviction now shapes every part of the company. Guided by four convictions, the campaign is helping shape the Opera Philadelphia we are today and the one we aspire to become. • • • •

Radical Creation & Artistic Excellence Opera as a Civic Right Daring Leadership Financial Resilience

The campaign has reached $28 million toward its initial $33 million goal, providing the necessary resources to keep asking bigger questions about what opera can be and who it can reach. We hope you’ll join us. 32

With deepest gratitude to our generous lead supporters of the Opera, But Different campaign Every campaign begins with people willing and wanting to lead. We are honored to recognize the following Leadership Supporters, whose gifts of $25,000 or more are strengthening Opera Philadelphia today while investing in what comes next. The commitments below represent threeyear investments in both the Annual Fund and the Opera, But Different campaign. Thank you so much!

Ira Brind and Stacey Spector Judy and Peter Leone Mellon Foundation The Estate of Bud and Betty Shapiro Carol Stein

Bloomberg Philanthropies The Buck Family Foundation Thérèse Esperdy Judith Durkin Freyer and Charles C. Freyer Mr . Jeffrey P. Cunard and Ms. Mariko Ikehara Gay and Don Kimmelman, Henry J Kimmelman Foundation David Low Sarah and Brad Marshall Nancy and Barry Sanders Ellen Steiner TF Cornerstone Andrew J. Martin Weber

VA N G U A R D C I R C L E $250,000 – $499,999

S U S TA I N E R C I R C L E $50,000 – $99,999

LUMIN A RY CIRCLE $1, 0 0 0 , 0 0 0+

The Wyncote Foundation Barbara and Amos Hostetter, Pilot House E. A. Michelson Philanthropy Carolyn Horn Seidle Barbara Augusta Teichert CRESCENDO CIRCLE $500,000 – $999,999

Cohen & Company Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel Diamonstein-Spielvogel Foundation Donald and Gay Kimelman Paul L. King Mrs. Agnes Mulroney I N N O VAT O R C I R C L E $10 0 , 0 0 0 – $ 2 4 9 , 9 9 9

Katie Adams Schaeffer and Tony Schaeffer

Ms. Dominique Laffont Steven Pesner The Tang Fund Lisa Washington C O L L A B O R AT O R C I R C L E $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, please contact David Walker, Chief Philanthropy Officer, at walker@operaphila.org 33

Year Two!

Artistry Forward Fund Challenge

Opera, But Different Campaign Your support, matched dollar for dollar, through December! A founding supporter has committed $3 million over four years to match every gift made to Opera, But Different, the first campaign in Opera Philadelphia's history. This incredible community effort is now at the top of year two, with $500,000 in matching funds available between October and December. Every new and increased gift qualifies, and every dollar you give is matched with another. 34

The Black Clown photo by Dominic M. Mercier

The Artistry Forward challenge runs through 2029 because it is all about providing Opera Philadelphia with the resources to take real creative risks, to bring opera to everyone and across communities, and to build a company with the financial footing to plan for what's next. From October to December, one supporter is standing behind every gift you make. Your gift goes twice as far. To learn more about the campaign or to make a gift, please contact David Walker, Chief Philanthropy Officer, at walker@operaphila.org. 35