December 19, 20, 21, 2025
Perelman Theater
The Seasons
Philadelphia Premiere
December 19, 20, 21, 2025
Perelman Theater
Music by Antonio Vivaldi
Based on The Four Seasons with additional arias and ensembles by Vivaldi
Libretto by Sarah Ruhl
Co-Conceived by Anthony Roth Costanzo and Sarah Ruhl
In collaboration with Pam Tanowitz and Zack Winokur
Directed by Zack Winokur, Choreographed by Pam Tanowitz
Developed by SCENE and AMOC*
The Poet The Farmer The Painter
The Performance Artist
The Cosmic Weatherman
The Choreographer Dancer Dancer Dancer Dancer Dancer Dancer
Flute Soloist
Conductor Director
Choreographer
Co-Set Designer
Co-Set Designer
Co-Costume Designer
Co-Costume Designer
Lighting Designer Stage Manager
*Opera Philadelphia debut
Anthony Roth Costanzo
Abigail Raiford*
Kangmin Justin Kim*
Whitney Morrison*
John Mburu*
Megan Moore*
Maggie Cloud*
Marc Crousillat*
Taylor LaBruzzo*
Brian Lawson*
Stephanie Terasaki*
Anson Zwingelberg*
Emi Ferguson*
Corrado Rovaris
Zack Winokur*
Pam Tanowitz*
Mimi Lien*
Jack Forman*
Victoria Bek
Carlos Soto
John Torres
Betsy Ayer*
Performed in English, Italian, and Latin with English supertitles
A co-production with SCENE, AMOC*, and Boston Lyric Opera
The Seasons
Cover artwork: The Theatre and Its Double, 2024, courtesy of Arthur Poujois and General Assembly. Photo by Jack and Jess Hall.
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
Derren Mangum, Director of Institutional Giving
Adele Mustardo, Director of Events
JT Newman, CFRE, Director of Development
Veronika Perez, Development 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
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
ADMINISTRATION
Brianna Thompson, Office Manager
FINANCE
RADAR Nonprofit Solutions
COUNSEL
Ballard Spahr, LLP, General Counsel
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Luzi Media
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Haeg Design
HI FRIENDS,
How did the weather make you feel when you woke up today? Vivaldi wrote so much music that translated weather into emotion, I'm convinced he often thought about that question. His uniquely beautiful brand of synesthesia connects us to the climate around us. When I started talking to playwright Sarah Ruhl seven years ago, we imagined how we might tell a new story with old material, taking gems from Vivaldi's oeuvre and stringing them together with new words and a new context. When we brought the idea to set designer Mimi Lien, she challenged us to figure out what a set could be if it didn't have the normal material makeup of stage decor. That brought us to MIT Media Lab Ph.D. candidate Jack Forman, who joined together with Mimi to figure out how we might take a simple, clean substance like dish soap, and make it into weather for the stage through creative applications. Choreographer Pam Tanowitz helped us embody the music and the weather, and director Zack Winokur shaped the sum of these parts into the show that you are about to see tonight. This piece embodies the deep commitment to collaboration, creative thinking, and musical storytelling that is at the very core of opera as an artform and reimagines how it can manifest.
On a personal note, I am so excited to step on stage tonight for the first opera that I get to sing in at Opera Philadelphia during my tenure as general director. Getting to work on this project both behind the scenes and on the stage is a unique thrill and an emotional moment for me as I get to make music happen with our music director Corrado Rovaris, our entire Opera Philadelphia team, as well as the extraordinary artists who have joined forces to make this show. As I think about stepping into this role, I remember one of Sarah’s lines that the characters feel the weather inside of them more than they feel the weather outside of them. If we can connect to our emotional experience of weather, maybe it will help us connect with the world around us a little bit differently.
Anthony Roth Costanzo General Director & President
MICHAEL CHABON
THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF
THE PULITZER PRIZE–WINNING NOVEL IN ITS OPERATIC PREMIERE TICKETS START AT $25 METOPERA.ORG
Peter Gelb Maria Manetti Shrem General Manager
Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director
Daniele Rustioni Principal Guest Conductor
SYNOPSIS
By Sarah Ruhl
Five artists (a poet, former actress turned farmer, performance artist, choreographer, and painter) all gather at a remote farm in the country hoping to be inspired by the beauty of nature to make their art, retreating from the city and the rest of the world. But when they arrive, the weather outside and the seasons are disordered. Winter follows spring; the time is out of joint. A Cosmic Weatherman appears and reports on the weather and its disordered nature. But these artists are able to feel the emotional weather inside of them more acutely than they feel the weather outside of them.
The painter and the poet fall in love in the spring but have a lovers' quarrel when the weather changes. The choreographer and the farmer fall in love. But the weather — an intense winter storm barreling through the spring — threatens their survival. After an argument with his beloved, the poet is knocked unconscious in the blizzard.
The painter rushes to find the poet to wake him. The roads to the hospitals are covered with snow. The painter sings to the poet, waking him finally. They vow to weather the storms together. The artists came to nature to be saved by it, and now feel they must save nature, and feel entirely helpless. Then the summer fires come. The choreographer perishes fighting the fire. The weather continues to get more extreme; the floods come, threatening this band of artists yet again. The power goes out. The performance artist arrives on her homemade ship, accompanied by a children’s chorus, to ferry them all to dry land. They all pray for a future together.
Photo: Nile Scott Studio
A NOTE FROM SARAH RUHL
“It’s that the world was failing at its one task — remaining a world. Pieces were breaking off. Seasons had become postmodern. We no longer knew where in the calendar we were by the weather … the ice cubes were melting … New things to die of were being added each day. We were angry all the time.”
– Sheila Heti, Pure Colour: A Novel
“If grief can be a doorway to love, then let us all weep for the world we are breaking apart so we can love it back to wholeness again.”
– Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeating refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”
– Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
“Both fire scientists and firefighters have suggested dropping the word season; the threat, they say, is year-round…”
– David Wallace-Wells, The Uninhabitable Earth
Photo: Nile Scott Studio
As we sit in rehearsals in 2024 New York City for the world premiere of this opera, the world burns: it is the third day of the wildfires in Los Angeles, creating historical, unfathomable loss. By day, the creative team listens to arias; by night, we check on loved ones and friends who are now — very suddenly — without houses, and who have become (what may have seemed like an abstract term a mere year ago) “climate refugees.” This is our new normal.
On one hand, I don’t have to remind anyone that the weather is getting more extreme as a result of concrete human policies; we experience these changes on almost a daily basis. On the other hand, I find that we are often numb to these changes: either they feel far away and televised, or they feel so close to home that we are in shock, in survival mode. So, for many, it is hard to feel anything about the changing weather besides uneasy dread.
Facing a burning world is so disturbing that people often dissociate, trying
not to feel anything about the earth’s trajectory. I wanted, with this opera, to see if audiences and collaborators could feel something about our changing weather, in an artistic space. Music opens us emotionally, and the familiarity of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons reminds me that the seasons themselves used to feel achingly familiar. By contrast, every year the seasons seem to get less familiar.
When I was little, I grew up listening to The Four Seasons on a cassette tape during long car trips with my family, looking out from the backseat window at the leaves, or the snow. I imagined the drama of the weather; or I saw it, looking out of the car window at a winter storm, often driving from Chicago to Iowa. When I grew up, I learned that Antonio Vivaldi, the “Red Priest,” wrote sonnets to accompany his Four Seasons. Each poetic line created specific imagery to go with particular moments in the concertos: birdsong, a goatherd sleeping, a drought, a rainstorm, a harvest, a hunt, a storm, a deep freeze.
Photo: Nile Scott Studio
When the visionary countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo approached me to work on a Baroque pastiche centering the work of Vivaldi, my first thought was to create a piece around The Four Seasons, but with the seasons out of order, reflecting our contemporary situation of disordered and extreme weather. I wanted to write my own haiku to partner with the music, a tribute to Vivaldi’s impulses to pair his music with poetry.
During the pandemic, when theaters were shut down, nature became my theater. I wrote one haiku a day to mark the transformations outside my window. I started as a poet but became a playwright in my 20s; for two decades, I was in the theater almost constantly, working as a playwright indoors, often in the dark. During the quiet of the pandemic, like many other people, I noticed birdsong as if it was for the first time. Observing the incremental seasonal changes in the natural world became my preoccupation; marking these momentary transformations with haiku became my practice. After the quarantine ended, I felt irresponsible not writing about the changes in the weather that were all around me.
As I worked on this libretto, I wondered what Vivaldi might have to teach us about the seasons and harmony, or about the seasons and disharmony. In the Baroque period, the natural world reflected an order in the cosmos, a sort of divine mirror. To me, Vivaldi’s music feels oddly Taoist — a celebration of change as the only constant. When I did a deep dive into Vivaldi, it was a revelation to discover that he wove many of the melodies from The Four Seasons into other arias and choral pieces. You can clearly hear a melody from the “Winter” movement in Tito Manlio’s “Se il cor guerriero”; you can hear the “Spring” melodies in the choral piece "Dell’aura al sussurrar." I also found, to my delight, that his operatic characters often sang about the weather — less about the weather outside of them, and more about the weather inside of them, as in the aria “Sento in seno,” in which the singer “rains tears.” I started to think about how artists often feel their own internal emotional weather deeply, and less deeply about the weather outside of them.
A note on love in this piece: these characters fall in love quickly,
almost in the Greek vernacular of Cupid’s arrow piercing the heart suddenly and immediately — just as the weather changes quickly around them. I thought, too, of Shakespeare’s romances and the Ovidian speed of love and transformation. We often feel we cannot control love, just as we cannot control the weather. And even as larger political and existential questions loom, human beings still find a way to love, and to obsess about the romance that is right in front of them. Just as the weather is fluid, so too is sexuality somewhat fluid in this piece; one countertenor role (The Choreographer) is played by a mezzo-soprano in this version, without any change to the story. In opera, “pants roles” (women playing men’s roles) were common — often a contralto playing the role of an adolescent man. In this piece, the gender of any character can all be changed without a problem, as long as each voice suits the vocal demands of its role. I am passionate about putting love stories onstage that don’t make a big deal of which gender loves which gender — in other words, stories in which gender is not the focal point of love.
There is plenty I don’t know about opera, having been trained as a playwright and poet who can read music (but plays piano not very well at all). As such, I learned a great deal every day I worked on this piece — and I recommend learning something new the older you get. I learned beautiful and useful words like "melisma," and I learned about the surprising relationship between improvisational jazz and the freedom with which Baroque singers can ornament their da capo sections.
When the brilliant director Zack Winokur came aboard, we started to create a world where dance, poetry, and song could come together to create stories in innovative ways. I was interested in how the text for the arias could swing back and forth between English and Italian, between pure passion (the original Italian) and a sort of close-up on the da capo sections (new English translations). My hope was to create room in these juxtapositions, towards which the audience could lean forward to hearing in new ways. And I started to hope for an adjustment, for people who make art and people who appreciate art, to start to feel something — really feel something — about the weather outside them, which urgently demands their attention.
I began this piece before I actually saw a weatherman, while he reported on the most recent devastating 2024 hurricane in Florida, crying on the news. I started writing it before seeing one weatherman in Iowa quit because he got death threats for mentioning climate change on the air. My inspiration for the character of The Cosmic Weatherman was my feeling that we long for godlike omniscience from our weather reporters, when all they can do these days is helplessly report on extreme weather.
It seemed important in a piece about climate change to create a set with the smallest possible carbon footprint, and our brilliant scenic designer Mimi Lien has done just that. Lien and Jack Forman (from the MIT Media Lab) have synthesized unprecedented technology for us to use as theatrical weather — snow that flies upward, mountains of snow that can disappear — using nothing more
than soap! One of the singers from the Boston world premiere, Alexis Peart, remarked that making ancient songs new, and bringing Vivaldi into the present moment, is in itself a kind of recycling.
As our team collaborated, we sought the advice of climate justice activists, who emphasized two points: 1) the important role of storytelling in melting our numbness and 2) the fact that so many of the solutions to climate change are already here, and have been here for a long time; the world just needs the political will to change the course of history and move away from its dependence on fossil fuels.
When I was in fourth grade, we studied land masses. I took it upon myself to write a play, my first fulllength: a courtroom drama about an isthmus. All the land masses spoke — islands, archipelagos, mountains. The dispute between land masses got heated. And the sun had to come down and settle things in a deus ex machina.
I still have the land mass play, handwritten in a flowered binder. It began like this:
SKY: I watch the earth from above.
WATER: I watch the earth while traveling.
LAND: I watch the earth on a level.
SKY: As I watch there has been a shortage in the water system.
LAND: That is very true. The tributary has stopped functioning and there has been confusion ever since.
This would have been 1985, before discussions about climate change had entered elementary schools. I’m not sure what possessed me. I gave my teacher, Mr. Spangenberger, the play, hopeful that he would produce it in the auditorium. He said no, and it remains my very first unproduced play. Yet, here I am now, writing an opera not with talking land masses but where people dance the weather.
Photo: Nile Scott Studio
Working with iconic choreographer Pam Tanowitz has been a revelation: she finds ways for her dancers to dance the weather and also the feeling of weather; to express the Baroque inside our strange contemporary moment. John Cage once said of collaboration in an interview with Merce Cunningham: “It’s less like an object and more like the weather. Because in an object, you can tell where the boundaries are. But in the weather, it’s impossible to say when something begins or ends. We hope that the weather will continue. And we trust that our way of relating dance and music will also continue.”
I echo Cage in this fervent hope — that the weather will continue — and that “our way of relating dance and music will also continue.” There is almost no limit to what we can do with our bodies and our voices without imperiling our ecosystem. We can sing and dance our way forward into joy. I have learned from activist friends in the environmental space that hope is a precondition for action. Let this be a ritual of hope that binds the performers and the audience together. To quote Vivaldi’s choral work Gloria:
Et in terra pax hominibus
And on earth, Let peace be unto us
LIBRETTIST
Sarah Ruhl is a playwright, poet, and essayist. Her plays have been done on and off Broadway and around the country, as well as internationally. A two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and Tony award nominee, her plays have been translated into 15 languages. Her opera Eurydice, composed by Matthew Aucoin, premiered at the Metropolitan Opera. Her books include Smile, a memoir; 100 Essays I Don’t Have Time to Write (a New York Times notable book); and, most recently, Lessons from my Teachers. She is the recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” Grant, Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, Whiting Writers’ Award, Lily Award, Susan Smith Blackburn, and PEN Center Award for a mid-career playwright. She studied playwriting with Paula Vogel at Brown University, where she received an honorary doctorate. She is professor of playwriting at the Geffen School for Drama at Yale, and she lives in Brooklyn with her family.
ARTISTS The Seasons
Victoria Bek (she/her)
Co-Costume Designer
New York, New York
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*
Maggie Cloud (she/her) Dancer
Sarasota, Florida
Opera Philadelphia debut
Recent: Dancer with Pam Tanowitz, Moriah Evans, Beth Gill, and the Metropolitan Opera. Acupuncturist.
Marc Crousillat (he/him)
Dancer and Rehearsal Director
New York, New York
Opera Philadelphia debut
Recent: Dancer, The Seasons, Boston Lyric Opera; Dancer, Pastoral, Fisher Center at Bard College; Dancer, Trisha Brown Dance Company, Danspace Project
Next: Dancer, Pastoral, Lincoln Center
Jack Forman (he/him)
Co-Set Designer; Bubble Design Technologist
Wyckoff, New Jersey
Opera Philadelphia debut
Recent: Award-winning designer in shape-changing fabric, 3D printed textiles, and electromechanical structures; 2025 Morningside Academy for Design Fellow; Ph.D. Student at the MIT Media Lab & Center for Bits and Atoms
Next: Ph.D. defense and graduation
Emi Ferguson (she/her)
Flute Soloist
Millerton, New York
Opera Philadelphia debut
Recent: Music Director, By George!, Arezzo Music; Author, Iconic Composers, Trope Publishing; Host & Creator, This Composer is SICK!, WQXR
Next: Music Director, Le Fils Des Étoiles, Exquisite Corpse
Kangmin Justin Kim
The Painter
Paris, France
Opera Philadelphia debut
Recent: Song Liling, M. Butterfly, Santa Fe Opera; Sesto, Giulio Cesare in Egitto, Vienna State Opera; Despina, Così fan tutte, Hamburg State Opera
Next: Sesto, Giulio Cesare in Egitto, Zurich Opera House
Taylor Labruzzo (she/her) Dancer
Las Vegas, Nevada
Opera Philadelphia debut
Recent: Dance understudy, Pastoral, Fisher Center at Bard College; Dancer, A a | a B : B E N D, Northrop at University of Minneapolis; Faculty, School of American Ballet, New York City
Next: An Evening of Aszure Barton, Aszure Barton & Artists, 92NY
Brian Lawson (he/him) Dancer
Saratoga Springs, New York
Opera Philadelphia debut
Recent: Principal Dancer, The Seasons, Boston Lyric Opera; Dancer, Day for Night, Little Island; Dancer, Song of Songs, Barbican Theatre
Next: Stager, Grand Duo, Mark Morris Dance Group, Skidmore College
Mimi Lien (she/her)
Co-Set Designer; Design Dramaturg
Cheshire, Connecticut
Opera Philadelphia debut
Recent: Scenic Designer, Grounded, Washington National Opera and Metropolitan Opera; Scenic Designer, Antony and Cleopatra, San Francisco Opera and Metropolitan Opera; Scenic Designer, The Righteous, Santa Fe Opera.
Next: Scenic Designer, Silent Night, Houston Grand Opera
John Mburu (he/him)
The Cosmic Weatherman
Warwick, Rhode Island
Opera Philadelphia debut
Recent: Don Alfonso, Così fan tutte, Minnesota Opera; Fiorello, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Minnesota Opera; Daddy, The Snowy Day, Minnesota Opera
Next: Sarastro, Die Zauberflöte, Opera Tampa
Megan Moore (she/her)
The Choreographer
Cincinnati, Ohio
Opera Philadelphia debut
Recent: Soloist, Music for New Bodies, AMOC* (Lincoln Center and Tanglewood Festival); Ariodante, Ariodante, Boston Baroque; Soloist, Stabat Mater, Teatro Municipal de Santiago
Next: Dido/Sorceress, Dido and Aeneas, Spoleto Festival USA
ARTISTS The Seasons
Whitney Morrison (she/her)
The Performance Artist
Chicago, Illinois
Opera Philadelphia debut
Recent: Ottavia, The Comet/Poppea, AMOC*; The Performance Artist, The Seasons, Boston Lyric Opera; Emelda Grifith, Champion, Lyric Opera of Chicago
Abigail Raiford (she/her)
The Farmer
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Opera Philadelphia debut
Recent: Lisa, La sonnambula, Teatro Nuovo; Lilia, The Mothers of Kherson (workshop), Metropolitan Opera; Julie Jordan, Carousel, Will Rogers Stage Foundation
Next: Soprano Soloist, Requiem Reimagined: Mozart & Spears, New York Choral Society
Anthony Roth Costanzo (he/him)
The Poet
Durham, North Carolina
Written on Skin 2018 Glass Handel 2018
Recent: Akhnaten, Akhnaten, Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona; Nero, The Comet/Poppea, Lincoln Center; Orfeo, Orfeo ed Euridice, Metropolitan Opera
Next: Satyagraha, Opera National de Paris
Corrado Rovaris (he/him)
Conductor
Bergamo, Italy
Underwritten by Judy and Peter Leone
Il viaggio a Reims 2025 Don Giovanni 2025
Recent: Conductor, Il viaggio a Reims, Opera Philadelphia; Conductor, Il barbiere di Siviglia, New National Theatre, Tokyo; Conductor, I puritani, Opéra National de Paris
Next: Conductor, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Teatro de la Maestranza
Carlos Soto (he/him)
Costume Designer
New York, New York
Only An Octave Apart 2022
Recent: Set and Costume Designer, Robin Hood, Zurich Schauspielhaus; Exhibition Designer, Unruly Subjects, Cooper-Hewitt Design Triennial; Set Designer, Luna Luna, The Shed
Next: Costume Designer, Messiah, Houston Grand Opera
Pam Tanowitz (she/her)
Choreographer
New York, New York
Opera Philadelphia debut
Recent: Choreographer, The Seasons, Boston Lyric Opera; Choreographer, Pastoral, Fisher Center at Bard College; Choreographer, Neither Drums nor Trumpets, Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels/The Royal Ballet
Next: Choreographer, Pastoral, Lincoln Center
Stephanie Terasaki (she/her) Dancer
Upland, California
Opera Philadelphia debut
Recent: Dancer, Pastoral, Fisher Center at Bard College; Dancer, Hisako’s House, Robyn Mineko Williams Project; Dancer, Signals (excerpts), Vail Dance Festival
Next: Dancer, Pastoral, Lincoln Center
John Torres (he/him)
Lighting Designer
New York, New York
La bohème 2023
Recent: Lighting Designer, Flaming September, St Ann's Warehouse; Lighting Designer, Hadrian, Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi; Lighting Designer, Luna Luna, The Shed
Next: Lighting Designer, Satyagraha, Opera National de Paris
Zack Winokur (he/him) Director
Boston, Massachusetts
Opera Philadelphia debut
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, Complications in Sue and The Black Clown, Opera Philadelphia; Director, An Evening with Yo-Yo Ma, U.S Tour
Anson Zwingelberg (All pronouns accepted) Dancer
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Opera Philadelphia debut
Recent: Dancer, Pastoral, Pam Tanowitz Dance; Dancer, Night of 100 Solos, Merce Cunningham Trust
In our 50th anniversary year, Opera Philadelphia proves that opera belongs to everyone.
Pick Your Price has opened our doors wide, and PIPE UP! has awakened the Wanamaker with a surge of creative energy. Through partnerships with artists and organizations, we’ve harnessed the collaborative power of opera to bring it to even more people.
As we look back on five decades of innovation and look ahead to the next, your support is essential, and right now, your generosity has extraordinary power.
During this season of giving and gratitude, every gift made before December 31 will be matched thanks to the visionary support of E.A. Michelson Philanthropy, through the Opera Now Match. That means your contribution goes even further to sustain world-class performances, groundbreaking new works, community initiatives, and the bold programming you love. Please give today.
Thank you for your support!
Il viaggio a Reims
.
Photo by Steven Pisano.
ORCHESTRA
VIOLIN I
Max Tan, solo violin
Meichen Liao-Barnes
Karen Banos
Emily Barkakati
VIOLIN II
Maya Shiraishi
Paul Reiser
Heather Zimmerman Messé
Sarah DuBois
VIOLA
Jonathan Kim
Jay Julio
Ellen Trainer
COMMONWEALTH YOUTH CHOIR
Dominique DeSilva
Program Director, Conductor
Hannah Binkley
Lucie Castello
Penelope Espinoza
Cooper Evans
Seren Fay
Lucas Franzen
Cecily Gellhorn
Mikayla Hsu
Amelia Krivda
Julian McWilliams
Evan Mohr
Calleigh Newton
George Pao
Delia Torday
Aaron Zlotolow
Alisa Zlotolow
CELLO
Jennifer Jie Jin
David Moulton
Brooke Beazley, continuo
BASS
Dimitrios Mattas
FLUTE
Emi Ferguson, solo flute
Kimberly Trolier
HORN
John David Smith
HARPSICHORD
John Walthausen
THEORBO
Daniel Zanuttini-Frank
A BREATH of FRESH AIR
At Dunwoody Village, nature is more than a backdrop — it’s a way of life. Contact us today to nd out more.
Pet Friendly
ARTISTIC & PRODUCTION STAFF
Associate Director ................................................................................... Nina Goodheart*
Associate Lighting Designer ........................................................... Christopher Gilmore
Assistant Stage Managers ................................................... Karly Amato*, Lillian Welsh
Principal Pianist ............................................................................................. Grant Loehnig
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
English Diction Coach ....................................................................................... Lynn Baker
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
SUPPORTER SPOTLIGHTS
Judith Insell
Executive Director, Bronx Arts Ensemble
Judith Insell travels to Opera Philadelphia performances from Upper Manhattan. As executive director of the Bronx Arts Ensemble, Judith is well-versed in ticketing and philanthropy for the performing arts. We were interested to know what brought her to Opera Philadelphia and what keeps her coming back, both as a Pick Your Price ticketholder and donor.
Opera Philadelphia: What first drew you to make the trip from New York to see performances at Opera Philadelphia (OP), and what keeps you coming back?
Judith Insell: My initial visit to Opera Philadelphia was spurred by my great admiration of its new General Director & President, Anthony Roth Costanzo. I know Anthony professionally, as he and his creative team collaborated with my nonprofit arts organization, the Bronx Arts Ensemble, to present two large-scale opera projects to audiences and school-age children in multiple boroughs of New York City. He is a visionary leader who understands that opera is for ALL people, not just those who can afford a high-ticket item.
I have been attending opera performances since I was in high school, and it has become increasingly difficult to keep up with the high ticket prices for operas in New York City. I support Anthony's innovative thinking, leading Opera Philadelphia in a direction that enables new audiences to attend the opera without worrying about the cost!
OP: Since you mentioned ticket prices, and as someone who works as an arts administrator, what stands out to you about Opera Philadelphia’s approach, or the Pick Your Price program?
JI: I fully respect Opera Philadelphia’s dedication to providing general audiences with accessibility to high-quality arts performances. This is the approach my organization also takes. Opera, or any art form, should be fully accessible to anyone
who has the desire to experience it.
I believe that Pick Your Price creates a welcoming opportunity for people of all backgrounds to experience art without the barrier of excessive cost. OP has decided to throw the doors of the opera house open to support everyday people with the beauty of art! They have also met audiences where they are by collaborating with other Philadelphia arts and culture institutions, such as the Friends of the Wanamaker Organ, to present performances in unconventional venues, including the Wanamaker Building in Center City.
Besides the innovative feature of Pick Your Price, I keep coming back to Opera Philadelphia from New York because the programming is also innovative. I really appreciate experiencing Opera Philadelphia's programming of new operas by living composers and its new approaches to older works like The Four Seasons by Vivaldi.
OP: You have contributed to Opera Philadelphia for two consecutive years. Could you share what inspires your continued support, and describe what being a member of the Opera Philadelphia community signifies to you?
JI: I have chosen to support Opera Philadelphia for the past two years because I believe in Anthony Roth Costanzo's and Opera Philadelphia’s vision: to eliminate barriers to opera. I truly believe that Philadelphians (and many other people) will come out to participate in an amazing art form for the first time because of Pick Your Price. I want to be a part of sustaining an organization like Opera Philadelphia, as it endeavors to sustain opera as an important art form, made accessible to ALL.
Kelly Zhou
VIVACE and Board Member
We sat down with VIVACE (our social group and giving circle for professionals under the age of 45) and Board Member Kelly Zhou, who’s been a part of the Opera Philadelphia family for more than a decade. We were interested to know what brought her to OP and what has kept her coming back and deepening her engagement over the years.
OP: What first drew you to performances at Opera Philadelphia, and what keeps you coming back?
Kelly Zhou: I discovered Opera Philadelphia by sheer luck: looking for a good “date night” activity, I stumbled upon Opera on the Mall, a screening at Independence Mall. Spread out on picnic blankets, hundreds of us enjoyed The Barber of Seville, basking in the glow of the big screen as beautiful melodies wafted down the lawn.
My interest piqued, I followed that up with tickets to OP’s production of Rossini’s Tancredi at the Academy of Music. I was stunned by the level of artistry that I then saw both shows that season —Tancredi and The Marriage of Figaro — twice each. At first, I kept coming back because I knew that no matter what I was seeing, it would be executed to the highest standard. But now, I come back because OP has become home to me.
OP: What inspired you to get involved with VIVACE, and what keeps you involved?
KZ: As soon as I decided that I did, in fact, like opera, the first thing I wanted to do was gush to someone — anyone — about “HOW AMAZING was Stephanie Blythe in Tancredi?!”
Luckily, there was a group for just that; I quickly discovered VIVACE and attended my first afterparty at The Marriage of Figaro, where I met some of the most wonderful, thoughtful, and downright hilarious opera lovers.
These days, I believe our young friends' program is more relevant than ever, and I look forward to being there for the next cohort of young opera lovers to gush with after they’ve experienced their “aha” moment.
OP: What stands out to you about Opera Philadelphia’s approach?
KZ: Once I started regularly attending performances, I realized opera itself isn’t “stuffy.” The humanity of L’Orfeo and the humor in Figaro are universal, as relatable today as when they first premiered.
What I love about Opera Philadelphia and the Pick Your Price program is that we’re not only producing incredible performances, but we’re also making them accessible — both financially and by showcasing opera as an art form that can and should be enjoyed by everyone. With Pick Your Price, Opera Philadelphia is creating an entirely new model for how opera can be experienced, to the benefit of both operagoers and the art form's evolution.
OP: You’ve been supporting Opera Philadelphia for a long time and deepening your engagement throughout the years — what inspires your giving, and what does being a part of our OP community mean to you?
KZ: To me, being part of the OP community means being part of the Philadelphia community. As a lifelong Philadelphian, nowhere else can you find so much diversity alongside a shared sense of belonging than here. The arts have always had the power to draw communities closer — highlighting shared humanity while physically pulling people into the same space — something that I think we could all use now more than ever. That’s why I support Opera Philadelphia, keep coming back to Vivace, and, now, serve on the Board of Directors.
Kelly Zhou, her husband Brett Frankel, and their daughter with The Listeners composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek.
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
THANK YOU
Opera Philadelphia expresses our deepest gratitude to the individuals and institutions whose support of the Annual Fund allows us to bring you The Seasons. List current as of November 5, 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
Stephen K. Klasko, M.D., M.B.A. and Colleen Wyse
Judy and Peter Leone
The Estate of Bud and Betty Shapiro†
Jean and Gene Stark
Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, Diamonstein-Spielvogel Foundation
Sarah and Brad Marshall
The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage
The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation
The William Penn Foundation
Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation
Anonymous
Bloomberg Philanthropies
The Buck Family Foundation
TF Cornerstone
Judith Durkin Freyer and Charles C. Freyer
Paul L. King
Mrs. John P. Mulroney
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
Mr. Jeffrey P. Cunard and Ms. Mariko Ikehara
Independence Foundation
Donald and Gay Kimelman
The Presser Foundation
Dr. Renée Rollin
Ellen Steiner
The Tang Fund
Mr. John R. Alchin and Mr. Hal Marryatt
Bells Grocery Store
Katherine and Andrew Christiano
Comcast NBCUniversal
Cunningham Piano Company
Eugene Garfield Foundation
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
Platinum Patron
William A. Barone & 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
Bonnie and Lon Greenberg
Feather O. Houston
Marcus Innovation Fund
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
Ms. and Dr. Peggy L. Curchack
Dr. Garret Fitzgerald
Ms. Jane Ginsburg and Mr. George Spera
Alan Levin
Mrs. Jacqueline Badger Mars
The McLean Contributionship
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas B. O'Rourke
Drs. Richard and Rhonda Soricelli
Mrs. Keith Straw
Alice and Walter Strine, Esqs.
Barbara Tober
Dr. and Mrs. Andrew Wechsler
Ms. Ann Ziff
Gold Patron
Stephen A. Block
Robert N. Braun, M.D.
Mr. James P. Macelderry† and Ms. Marilyn S. Fishman
William S. Mulherin & Joseph Baker
Silver Patron Anonymous
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 Eisenstei
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
Howell Lockhart Seiple Trust
Mr. Kenneth Klothen and Ms. Eve Biskind
KPK Development Co.
Camille Dickinson Labarre
Dr. Beverly Lange
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
Susan and Graham McDonald
Ms. Katherine L. Niven
OPERA America
Colleen and Sean O'Riordan
The Dean and Zoe Pappas Family Foundation
Bill Robling and Deborah R. Kravetz
Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rollins
Stuart A. Schwartz and Sheila Jamison-Schwartz
Dr. Barry R. Shatzman
Mr. Jonathan H. Sprogell and Ms. Kathryn Taylor
Mr. Andrew Szabo and Ms. Susan M. Long
The Philadelphia Contributionship Truist
Universal Health Services
Ms. Marta Barbeosch Varela
Barbara Walkowski
Kathleen and Nicholas Weir
Laura A. Williamson Charitable Fund
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
William Lake Leonard, Esq.
Mrs. Louise H. Reed
Dr. R.J. Wallner
Bronze Patron
Sarah Alderfer
Lydia Alvarez, in memory of Isabelle Ferguson
Anonymous (5)
Ms. Susan Asplundh
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
Mr. Stephen Cohen and Mr. John McNett
Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation
Eduardo Glandt and George Ritchie
Ms. Juliet J. Goodfriend and Dr. Marc R. Moreau
Brad M Hoppenfeld M.D.
Jeffrey R. Jowett
Charles B. Landreth
Mr. and Mrs. David Levy
Dwight and Christina McCawley
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
Scott Alexander
Anonymous (3)
Mr. Abraham Axler
Karen Bedrosian-Richardson
Ellen Berelson and Lawrence Franks
Susan Bienkowski
Rita B. Bocher Ph.D.
Dr. Harmar Brereton and Mrs. Leslie W. Brereton
Nicholas Alexander Brown
Bruce Chemel
Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Anthony B. Creamer III
Tobey and Mark Dichter
Robert and Florence Dolceamore
Vivian Barton Dozor
Dr. Andrew F. Drake
Elise Drake
Robert and Monica Driver
William and Fay Dunbar
Mr. and Ms. Robert S. Duplessis
Mary Fallon, in loving memory of Steven Wayne Parr
Mrs. Amy Finkelstein
Lorraine Gallard and Richard H. Levy
Jim and Kay Gately
Andrew R. Gelber, in memory of Sylvia Gelber
Ms. Sandra E. Goodstein
George Graham and Kyle Merker
Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance
David and Ann Harrison, Esqs.
James Haughom
Eileen Kennedy and Robert Heim
Ms. Susan Henry
Drs. Christina L. and Richard J. Herring
Rochelle and Ron Kaiserman
Alan Karr and Jeanne Ruane
Elbrun and Peter Kimmelman
Mr. Jason Kucza
Beste Kuru
Laura LaRosa
Fran Levy and Leon L. Levy
Mr. John Mastrobattista and Ms. Madeline Leone
John McGinley
Drs. Joseph and Jane McGowan
Dr. Judy Catherine Miner
Mr. Benjamin F. Minick
Steven Z. Mitchell
W. Larz Pearson and Rick Trevino
Ms. Jane G. Pepper
Patricia Perfect
Merle Raab
Gina J. Range
Ms. Jane Rath
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
Marion and Richard Taxin
Steven Voudouris
Bond Wann
Bob Washburn & Judy Drasin
Arnold Weiss
Kenneth and Susan Weiss
Reverend Margaret A. Wellert
Barbara Eberlein and Jerry Wind
Dr. Dilys V. Winegrad
Tom Woodward
Stephen Zeller
Sustainer
Janis† and Robert Ackerman
Mr. George J. Ahern
Anonymous (3)
Jean W. Arnold
Marilyn P. Asplundh
Mrs. Sandra K. Baldino
Frances and Michael Baylson
Kenneth R. Hartell and Andrea Biondo
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Blair
Drs. Deidre and Michael Blank
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Broadt
Dr. Howard and Mrs. Tova Brooks
Mr. Leo M. Carey and Ms. Sonya D. Mouzon
Dr. and Mrs. Nicholas P. Cernansky
V. Chapman-Smith and Robert Smith
Ms. Moitreyee Chatterjee-Kishore
Frank Tobin & Ilene Chester
Jonathan Conant
Paula Cook
Ms. Micaela de Lignerolles
Mr. Paul Desanctis
Dr. Jean Dowdall and Mr. George Dowdall
Mr. John Driscoll
Dr. John J. Duffy and Dr. William F. Edmiston
Mr. Scott Dyer
James R. Fairburn
Barry Fisch
Ms. Lois Fried
Linda Dubin Garfield
Michael Gealt Ph.D.
Marsha Lynn Gordon and Javier Garcia
Mrs. Kate Hall
Mr. and Mrs. Philip Hauser
Mr. Charles Head, Jr. and Mr. John Faggotti in Memory of John Ventura
Dr. Archibald C. Hewes
Clark Hooper Baruch
Lee M. Huber
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Hurtig
Mr. Wallace Hussong
Brian Hylton
Judith Insell
Dr. and Mrs. William Jantsch
Ms. Marianne Kah
Ms. Lisa Kahn
Drs. Jason Karlawish and John Bruza
Richard and Grace Karschner
Mr. Rob King
Jo Ann Klein
Mrs. Anne Kohn
Joanne Kornoelje
Amanda Kunze
Laura A. Lane and David R. DeVoe
Rebecca A. Lee
Drs. Jerry D. & Julie Meranze Levitt
Marica D. Levy
Mr. Jeffrey Lienert
Dr. Thomas S. Lin
Lawrence and Nancy Ludgus
Ms. Maria Maccecchini
Cirel and Howard Magen
Dr. Richard J. Mandel
Joseph M. Manko, Sr.
Paul J. Martin
Ms. Missy Mazzoli
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
Mark and Abigail Nestlehutt
Peter O'Dwyer
Rochelle L Ostroff-Weinberg
Andrew Paciocco
Mr. Stephen Perry
Anne Peterson
Miss Danielle Pinto
Mr. Yves Quintin and Ms. Rosanne Loesch
Cheryl Gunter and Paul Rabe
Dr. Keith M. Robinson
Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Rohde
Dr. Pamela Rootenberg and Dr. David T. Springer
Ms. Elise Michelle Rosen
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel R. Ross
Katherine Sachs
Mr. Walter Schlosser Jr.
Dr. and Mrs. Hass Shafia
Paul and Susan Shaman
Barbara and George Smith
Mr. and Mrs. Corey R. Smith
Mary M. Sproat
Dylan Steinberg & Amey Hutchins
Ms. Judith Tannenbaum
Termini Bros. Bakery
Mr. John J. Trifiletti
Mr. Christopher Trueax
Rosemary and Umit Turunc
Peggy Wachs
Clint Walker
Ms. Geraldine Wang
Dr. Steven and Janet Weinberger
Scott Wilds and Martin Bodtmann
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
Official Piano Service Provider
Official Piano
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.
OPERA, BUT DIFFERENT
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 AIMS TO STRENGTHEN FOUR VITAL PILLARS:
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.
Photo: Steven Pisano
SUPPORTERS OF THE OPERA, BUT DIFFERENT 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
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
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 Cohe
Ms. Deena Gu Laties
Helen Lilttle
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.
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
Photo: Sofia Negron
50+ YEARS OF OPERA IN PHILADELPHIA
For 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 direction for opera while honoring the path that got us to this moment in our history.
The Philadelphia Civic Grand Opera Company, based at the Academy of Music, presents 45 productions in just five seasons (1950-1955) under conductors Fausto Cleva and Giuseppe Bamboschek.
The Philadelphia La Scala Opera Company, active from 1925 to 1954 at the Academy of Music, presents more than 350 performances under General Manager and Artistic Director Francesco Pelosi.
1955: The Philadelphia Civic Grand Opera and Philadelphia La Scala Opera companies merge to form the Philadelphia Grand Opera.
1958: Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company is founded by Aurelio Fabiani, presenting four to six operas annually at the Academy of Music, featuring major artists and focusing on Italian grand and verismo works while also staging notable premieres such as the U.S. debut of Renzo Rossellini’s Uno sguardo dal ponte in 1967.
1975: Two of the city’s great operatic institutions, Philadelphia Grand Opera and the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company, come together in a historic merger that unites their artistic visions and resources. This bold step creates the Opera Company of Philadelphia, ushering in a new era of innovation and excellence in the city’s operatic tradition.
2013: The Opera Company of Philadelphia rebrands as Opera Philadelphia to reflect a renewed artistic vision and deeper engagement with the city’s diverse communities.
