April 06, 2026
Provided image/Steven Pisano
Justin Vivian Bond performs in 'Complications in Sue.' Temple students will release a recording of the new opera, which had its world premiere in Philadelphia in February.
Temple University and Opera Philadelphia are teaming up to provide students with hands-on creative opportunities, including the chance to produce records and serve as understudies.
The collaboration, announced Monday, already has a live album in production. Opera Philadelphia had a team of Temple students on hand to record "Complications in Sue," a new opera featuring the work of 10 composers and a libretto by Tony- and Pulitzer-winning playwright Michael R. Jackson that debuted in February. They'll return this month to record the premiere of "Sleepers Awake," an operatic riff on the classic fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty." Both albums will be released through BCM&D Records, the label of Temple's Boyer College of Music and Dance.
Projects like these will lend Opera Philadelphia a "much larger audience" for their world premiere productions, the organizations said, while students across multiple programs will gain unique access to the opera company's artists and administrators. Vocal arts majors will be invited to attend rehearsals for "Sleepers Awake" and "master classes" led by the cast and other creatives. They may even land parts in upcoming productions as understudies or bit players. Role study, wherein a performer learns a part vocally by watching rehearsals, is another option.
Students from the School of Theater, Film and Media Arts also will help create marketing content for the opera company.
"As our reach, venues, and performance opportunities continue to grow, I am excited to find opportunities to bring to bear the incredible talent Temple students have to offer and help show it to the city and the world," Anthony Roth Costanzo, president and general director of Opera Philadelphia, said in a news release. "Any Owls fan would surely agree that it will be a hoot."
As Costanzo noted, his company and Temple soon will be neighbors. The college acquired Terra Hall, the former University of the Arts building on Broad Street, last year for $18 million. It's a block away from the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the chief venue for Opera Philadelphia.
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