Opera Philadelphia Will Premiere COMPLICATIONS IN SUE With Music By Ten Composers In February 2026

Opera Philadelphia will present the World Premiere of COMPLICATIONS IN SUE at the Academy of Music for four performances, February 4, 5, 6, and 8, 2026. This new opera unfolds in ten self-contained vignettes by Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning playwright Michael R. Jackson (A Strange Loop), marking his operatic debut as a librettist. Each scene takes place in a different decade of the life of Sue, the central character created from an idea by MacArthur “Genius” Fellow and cabaret icon Justin Vivian Bond, who will star in the title role.

Sue’s life, from the mundane to the extraordinary, will be revealed in ten scenes of up to eight minutes each, each one scored by a different composer. The roster includes Opera Philadelphia veterans Missy Mazzoli, Rene Orth, Nico Muhly, and Nathalie Joachim (the company’s 2025–2026 Composer in Residence), as well as Andy Akiho, Alistair Coleman, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Kamala Sankaram, Dan Schlosberg, and Errollyn Wallen. Co-directed by Zack Winokur and Raja Feather Kelly, the production will be conducted by Caren Levine in her Opera Philadelphia debut.

“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.”

Jackson’s musical A Strange Loop originated as a personal monologue shortly after his graduation from NYU, premiered in 2019, and went on to win the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. When it reached Broadway in 2022, the production earned Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical.

Mx Justin Vivian Bond (Viv), who conceived the original idea for COMPLICATIONS IN SUE and will portray Sue, is an artist and performer known for weaving history, cultural critique, and an ethic of care into cabaret and performance works. Bond uses cabaret to explore the political and cultural ethos of the moment and connect it to history, particularly in relation to queer communities and ongoing conversations around gender identity and LGBTQ+ rights. Their career spans Broadway and Off-Broadway, London’s West End, film, television, long-running nightclub residencies including Joe’s Pub, and major concert halls such as Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Opera House. Bond’s memoir, Tango: My Childhood Backwards and in High Heels, received the Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction.

“I’m beyond thrilled to be playing the titular role in this brilliant new opera, COMPLICATIONS IN SUE,” Bond said. “With a dream team of creative collaborators focused on thinking, singing, dressing, lighting, and designing sets around ME, ME, ME—uh, Sue that is—and Michael R. Jackson’s libretto delivering a lifetime supply of delirious complications, I am simply in heaven.”

Bond’s costumes will be designed by their longtime collaborator Jonathan Anderson, working under his JW Anderson label. Anderson has previously featured Bond as a muse, model, and spokesperson, and is widely regarded as one of the most original British designers working today. In addition to helming JW Anderson, he serves as creative director of women’s, men’s, and haute couture collections at Dior.

Four opera singers will portray an array of people who move through Sue’s life over the decades. Soprano Kiera Duffy, known to Opera Philadelphia audiences from the world premieres of Breaking the Waves and 10 Days in a Madhouse, will return as Mrs. Claus, Co-Ed 1, Algorithm 1, Child Self, and Death. Mezzo-soprano Rehanna Thelwell, who debuted with the company in the American premiere of The Listeners, will perform as Newscaster, Algorithm 2, Octogenarian, and Death. Scottish tenor Nicky Spence, winner of BBC Music Magazine’s Personality of the Year in 2022, will make his company debut as Co-Ed 2, Algorithm 3, Neighbor, and Death. Bass-baritone Nicholas Newton, who first appeared with Opera Philadelphia as Leporello in the 2025 production of Don Giovanni, will take on the roles of Santa Claus, Roger, Octogenarian, and Death.