Published20 Oct 2025
Opera Philadelphia fuses art and science and reimagines Vivaldi with three December performances of The Seasons
Opera Philadelphia returns to the Perelman Theater at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts for the first time since 2019 with three performances of The Seasons, December 19, 20, and 21, 2025.
This bold reimagining of Antonio Vivaldi’s string masterpiece The Four Seasons received its world premiere performances in March 2025 with Boston Lyric Opera. With additional arias and ensembles by the composer, woven into a new libretto by Tony-winning playwright Sarah Ruhl (Eurydice), The Seasons features a cast of six singers and six dancers, with Grammy-winning countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo in his first Opera Philadelphia starring role since being named General Director & President.
The opera is an exploration of the connection between weather and emotion with a new story by Ruhl that weaves together some of Vivaldi’s most stirring arias with excerpts from his masterpiece The Four Seasons. Ruhl co-conceived the work with Costanzo, in collaboration with celebrated choreographer Pam Tanowitz and visionary director Zack Winokur. Tony-winning set designer Mimi Lien braves the elements with a set formed largely from bubbles, created from dish soap in collaboration with MIT and Materials Technologist Jack Forman.
The Seasons imagines a world whose weather is turned upside down. In this innovative production, a group of contemporary artists embark on a rural retreat to reconnect with nature and hone their crafts. But the harmony they seek is disrupted by extreme weather events that reshape their lives and their work. The narrative serves as a meditation on the interplay between current climate realities, Vivaldi’s celebration of the natural world through music and, as Ruhl says, “the emotional weather we experience inside ourselves.”
Costanzo says he was creatively inspired by the “incredible arias from rarely performed Vivaldi operas and thinking about how to weave the narrative and emotions they depict into a new story.” He and Ruhl hit upon the idea of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons as connective tissue for the piece. “Those concerti create a sort of synesthesia,” Costanzo says, “in which Vivaldi was thinking about what it sounds like to feel cold or hot – to see a bird or feel a breeze.”
Ruhl’s libretto blends new English and existing Italian texts for those arias, creating a dynamic interplay of languages that enriches the storytelling. Her verbal embroidery of Vivaldi’s music with narrative text was a challenge made somewhat easier by her early writing. “I started as a poet, so meter is important to me,” Ruhl explains. “And I love creating bespoke text for the singers.”
Winokur directs operas around the world, is co-founder of AMOC* (American Modern Opera Company), and Producing Artistic Director of Little Island. The Seasons is the first of three operas he will direct this season at Opera Philadelphia, alongside February’s world premiere of Complications in Sue(co-directed by Raja Feather Kelly) and May’s Philadelphia premiere of The Black Clown.
Tanowitz, who made her choreographic opera debut with The Seasons, has an award-winning career that includes her acclaimed company Pam Tanowitz Dance, as well as commissions from The Paris Opera, The Royal Ballet, Bard, Martha Graham Dance Company, Paul Taylor Dance Company and New York City Ballet.
Set design is by Mimi Lien, in collaboration with MIT Media Lab Design & Materials Technologist Jack Forman. Their set is formed largely from bubbles — creating ephemeral weather effects using a sustainable alternative to traditional wood and steel construction. Crafted from water and soap mixtures, and treated with a variety of processes, the materials take on various forms to evoke rain, smoke and snowy mountains. Forman has developed specialized soap formulas and built new machinery to animate and manipulate his unique substances. Costume Design is by Carlos Soto, with Lighting Design by John Torres. Jack Mulroney Music Director Corrado Rovarisconducts the Opera Philadelphia Orchestra.
Of the creative team bringing the work together, Winokur says he appreciates the non-traditional approach. “If you take Vivaldi too squarely or classically, it’s going to feel wrong,” he says. “Collaborations like this one brings you to places you wouldn’t get to alone. In the rehearsal room, we seek to get into each other’s business but also get out of each other’s way.”
Tanowitz, known for her abstract treatment of classical and contemporary movement ideas, reflects on the challenge of interpreting Vivaldi’s iconic music: “How can I honor this familiar music, but also downplay the familiarity so that dancers and audiences can hear it differently?”
The Seasons is co-produced with Boston Lyric Opera, AMOC* (American Modern Opera Company) and SCENE.
SCENE gratefully acknowledges Carol Stein for her generous support as their Lead Sponsor of The Seasons.
The Seasons
Philadelphia Premiere
Music by Antonio Vivaldi
Libretto by Sarah Ruhl
Co-conceived with Anthony Roth Costanzo
Directed by Zack Winokur
December 19, 20, and 21, 2025
Perelman Theater
Performed in English, Italian, and Latin with English supertitles
Approximately 2 hours and 5 minutes with one intermission
A co-production with SCENE, AMOC*, and Boston Lyric Opera
About Opera Philadelphia
Opera Philadelphia is known as “the very model of a modern opera company” (Washington Post). Committed to developing opera for the 21st century, the company is recognized as “a hotbed of operatic innovation” (New York Times). For more information, visit operaphila.org.