Opera Philadelphia is about to bring to stage one of the more ambitious undertakings anybody has ever seen.

“Complications in Sue” will feature one librettist, one actor, four singers and 10 different composers to make opera in a brand-new way.

This new opera is shown in 10 vignettes by Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning playwright Michael R. Jackson in his operatic debut. Each scene takes place in a different decade in the life of the main character, named Sue, performed by MacArthur Genius and cabaret icon Justin Vivian Bond.

Sue’s life, from the mundane to the extraordinary, unfolds before the audience in 10 scenes, each up to eight minutes in length, scored by a different composer.

“It is one of the craziest projects I have ever heard about and I have ever attempted,” said award-winning composer Dan Schlosberg, a Lower Merion native. “That’s kind of why I love it.

“(Opera Philadelphia General Director & President Anthony Roth Costanzo) asked me about it maybe, like a year ago. I was like, ‘Wow, this is exciting. And what a quick turnaround to write an opera.’ But, it’s been such a blast.”

“Complications in Sue” will be performed Feb. 4, 5, 6 and 8 at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. Tickets are available at https://operaphila.org/whats-on/2526-season/complications-in-sue/.

Part of the excitement is each composer was given their scene without much background on any of the others.

“It was adding to the madness,” Schlosberg said. “We only saw the libretto for our scene and no one else’s. So we were basically flying blind, which is part of the point, I guess.”

Some of the other composers for different parts of the opera include Lansdale native Missy Mazzoli (“Breaking the Waves,” “The Listeners”), Rene Orth (“10 Days in a Madhouse”), Nico Muhly (“Dark Sisters”), and Nathalie Joachim (2025-2026 Composer in Residence), alongside Andy Akiho, Alistair Coleman, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Kamala Sankaram, Dan Schlosberg and Errollyn Wallen.

For Jackson, this story was a next step for the author who’s “A Strange Loop” won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and premiered on Broadway in 2022. The show won Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical at the 75th Tony Awards.

“I feel like I have been trying to innovate in musical theater for several years now, and with ‘Complications in Sue’ I am challenging myself by stretching into this new form that I have long admired as an audience member,” Jackson said. “The scope and scale of opera really speak to me, so when Anthony invited me to dip my toe in the waters of the form, I saw it as an exciting opportunity to leave my comfort zone. Examining a woman’s life from birth to death began as a very collaborative storytelling idea that I am now running with, and I look forward to embracing the next stage of collaboration with this group of amazing composers, who will bring a new scale of sound to the drama.”

Schlosberg knew this would work when he read the text.

“For me ended up being kind of liberating in a way,” said Schlosberg. “You don’t have to get in your head about what someone else might be writing or the arc of the story. You can just really focus on Michael’s beautiful text. I kind of let my imagination run wild in a way.

“It was quite unusual, of course. I’ve never really worked that way before and probably most of my colleagues haven’t either. It was, ‘How do I send this text in the most dramatically effective, honest and committed way possible.’ ”

Growing up in Lower Merion, Schlosberg would travel to the Academy of Music frequently to see the opera or the Philadelphia Orchestra. It started his love of classical music. Now living in Brooklyn, Schlosberg has made a name for himself around the world.

“I haven’t had any piece of mine on the main stage,” Schlosberg said. “So, it’s a real full circle moment. I was walking around and just having been to the Academy of Music and seeing the rehearsal, the orchestra in the pit there, it really was a moment. I went there multiple times a month to see the Philly orchestra and Opera Philadelphia when I was young. It’s quite overwhelming actually. It’s such a beautiful hall and it sounds amazing in there. It’s just really good to kind of come home that way.”