A sorta fairy tale: Sleepers Awake premieres at Opera Philadelphia

Jonghyun Park (The Stranger) and Susanne Burgess (Thorn Rose)

Susanne Burgess (Thorn Rose)

Annalise Dzwonczyk, Maren Montalbano, Robin Bier and Sophia Santiago (Godmothers)

Brian Major (Court Poet)

By Cameron Kelsall, 23 April 2026

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“a distancing effect in an opera that already holds its viewers at arm’s length”

Reviewed at Academy of Music, Philadelphia on 22 April 2026

Spears, Sleepers Awake

Opera Philadelphia

Corrado Rovaris, Conductor

Jenny Koons, Director

Jason Ardizzone West, Set Designer

Maiko Matsushima, Costume Designer

Yuki Nakase Link, Lighting Designer

Opera Philadelphia Orchestra

Opera Philadelphia Chorus

Susanne Burgess, Thorn Rose

Jonghyun Park, The Stranger

Sophia Santiago, Godmother 1

Annalise Dzwonczyk, Godmother 2

Maren Montalbano, Godmother 3

Robin Bier, Godmother 4

Brian K Major, The Court Poet

Opera by committee: Opera Philadelphia premieres Complications in Sue

Cameron Kelsall, 4th February

Opera Philadelphia commissions ten composers to tell the story of an ordinary woman's idiosyncratic march from cradle to tomb.

****1

A didactic Decameron: The Seasons at Opera Philadelphia

Cameron Kelsall, 20th December

Conceived by Anthony Roth Costanzo and Sarah Ruhl, this high-handed pasticcio sets the climate crisis to a soundtrack of Vivaldi.

***11

A long, strange trip: Opera Philadelphia’s Il viaggio a Reims

Cameron Kelsall, 19th September

The intrepid company brings Damiano Michieletto’s well-traveled production of a Rossini rarity to the US for the first time.

***11

The Listeners: daring psychological thriller at Opera Philadelphia

Cameron Kelsall, 25th September

The new opera by Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek draws on cult mindsets and conspiracy theories but smartly avoids sensationalism.

****1

Opera Philadelphia's Unholy Wars creates a dialogue with Monteverdi

Cameron Kelsall, 23rd September

Arab-American tenor Karim Sulayman devises a thoughtful pastiche that centers the perspective omitted from Early Modern depictions of the Middle East in music.

****1

Quinn Kelsey triumphs in Opera Philadelphia's Simon Boccanegra

Cameron Kelsall, 22nd September

In his role debut as the Genoan Doge, the American baritone continues to burnish his bona fides as the premier Verdi baritone of his generation.

****1

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Cameron Kelsall

Cameron Kelsall is a classical music critic and cultural reporter. He has written for Bachtrack since 2019, and his byline has appeared in many national and international classical music publications. Based in Philadelphia, he regularly travels around the United States for musical events. In addition to his career in journalism, Cameron also teaches in the Theatre Arts program at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a certified sommelier and avid home cook. His favorite composer is Mahler. Twitter: @CameronPKelsall.