Metro Philadelphia

Experiencing the opera in Philadelphia has never been easier — and more affordable. 

The company is making its 2026-27 season more accessible with Pick Your Price tickets starting at $11, giving Philadelphia audiences the chance to experience professional opera without the high ticket price.

And this fall, that ticket comes with plenty of drama. 

Opera Philadelphia will bring ‘Suddenly Last Summer,’ a new opera based on Tennessee Williams’ Southern Gothic drama, to the Forrest Theatre stage on Oct. 22, 23 and 25. The production explores family secrets, power and a young woman’s fight to make sure the truth is heard.

Composed by Courtney Bryan, a former Opera Philadelphia Composer in Residence and 2023 MacArthur Fellow, ‘Suddenly Last Summer’ marks her first opera. The work was developed during her residency with Opera Philadelphia from 2022 to 2024 and comes to the city following its world premiere at Bard SummerScape.

Set in New Orleans, the story follows the wealthy Venable family after the mysterious death of Sebastian Venable in Spain. His cousin, Catharine, was with him when he died and returns home determined to tell people what happened.

Now, Sebastian’s mother attempts to have Catharine lobotomized, hoping to erase her memories and silence her account of her son’s death. What follows is a tense confrontation over truth, power, memory and who gets to decide which version of a story survives.

The opera brings together Bryan with Gideon Lester and Tony Award-winning director Daniel Fish, who also directs the production. Nathan Koci, who served as music director for Fish’s acclaimed ‘Oklahoma!’ revival and the first national tour of ‘Hadestown,’ makes his Opera Philadelphia debut as conductor and music supervisor.

Mikaela Bennett stars as Catharine Holly, the opera’s lone singing role.

For Bryan, the connection to Williams’ work is personal as well as artistic. Like the playwright, she is from New Orleans, and she says she was drawn to the story’s exploration of wealth and power and the blurry line between reality and fiction.

“I am drawn to the complex worlds that Williams creates,” Bryan said. “The setting of the play in my city of New Orleans and the various themes of wealth and power, of sexuality and vulnerability, and the blurring of reality and fiction and of sanity and insanity are compelling to me.”

If you go

‘Suddenly Last Summer’ runs approximately 90 minutes with no intermission and is performed in English with English supertitles.

Tickets for ‘Suddenly Last Summer’ are now on sale and can be purchased online at operaphila.org or by calling 215-732-8400.  Pick Your Price tickets start at $11.

Pick Your Price tickets for the company’s 2027 productions — ‘Let ’Em Eat Cake,’ ‘Aida’ and ‘Sitcom’ — go on sale Nov. 23 at 10 a.m. Opera Pass holders can purchase Pick Your Price tickets for the entire season now. Standard-price tickets are also available.

For more information, visit operaphila.org

MORE:  Temple University, Opera Philadelphia partner to record new operas, expand student roles

 

Keywords

Tennessee Williams,

Suddenly Last Summer,

Opera Philadelphia,

Pick Your Price