There are big things on the horizon for Opera Philadelphia, including a new Composer in Residence.
Grammy-nominated performer and composer Nathalie Joachim has been brought in for the role and will oversee a few different projects for the organization’s upcoming 2025-26 season. As part of her residency, Joachim will curate two events, including an exclusive concert highlighting her own compositions, as well as a performance that celebrates the works and artists who inspire her.
“I am thrilled to join Opera Philadelphia as Composer-in-Residence, and also to contribute to a season of exciting premieres and performances,” says Joachim. “As a Philadelphia resident, it’s been wonderful to watch how the company has become a pioneer in the city’s cultural scene and has made opera more inclusive and accessible for the community at large. I’m honored to take part in these efforts and to have the opportunity to develop new and ambitious work.”
Joachim is one of ten composers contributing to the company’s February 2026 World Premiere of ‘Complications in Sue’ at the Academy of Music. Spanning 10 vignettes, each scene during this showcase will take place in a different decade in the life of the main character, named Sue, performed by cabaret icon Justin Vivian Bond.
The show will be the first opera libretto by Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning playwright Michael R. Jackson with four opera singers playing different characters in Sue’s life. The music for each scene will be created by a different composer, including Joachim and former Opera Philadelphia resident composers Missy Mazzoli and Rene Orth.
Joachim, the Assistant Professor of Composition at Princeton University, will also be appearing at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society with her new work ‘Solitude + SPACE‘ and with The Crossing choir as part of ArtPhilly’s What Now: 2026 festival for the upcoming season. Her recent repertoire also spans new works for the New York Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, St. Louis Symphony, Spoleto Festival USA, and other creative locales.
Joachim is also a 2024-2025 Scholar-in-Residence at the Museum of Modern Art, a United States Artist Fellow, a co-founder of the acclaimed duo, Flutronix, and an alumnus of The Juilliard School and The New School—just to name a few other accolades.
“We are delighted to welcome Nathalie Joachim as resident composer at Opera Philadelphia,” adds Sarah Williams, Opera Philadelphia’s Director of New Works and Creative Producer. “Her music is deeply personal, fearless, and rooted in community, exactly the kind of voice that expands what opera can be. Nathalie’s artistry and vision will inspire new ways of storytelling and connection, and I can’t wait to see how her residency sparks bold, resonant work for our audiences.”
For over a decade, Opera Philadelphia’s Composer in Residence program has provided composers with opportunities for exploration and creative development in the field of opera. The first program of its kind in the country, it provides composers with highly individualized creative development such as connecting with experts, detailed work with singers, and working with the company to further their study of creation and exploration in opera, a release notes. Many have debuted song cycles, digital shorts, and full operas with the company through the program.
This weekend holds a little taste of what’s in store for Opera Philadelphia. The organization and the Rodin Museum have joined forces for three concerts at the Rodin Garden Bar this sunny season. The first show is set for this Friday, July 25, at 6:30 p.m. Under the baton of Choral Director Elizabeth Braden, eight singers will perform various opera choruses including “Happy, Happy Shall We Be” from Handel’s ‘Semele’, “Habanera” from Bizet’s ‘Carmen’, and “Libiamo” from Verdi’s ‘La traviata.’
The program will also feature selections by American composer Morten Lauridsen, who sets Rainer Maria Rilke’s French “Rose” poems to music in ‘Les Chanson des Roses.’ Rilke briefly served as Rodin’s secretary, and their relationship had a profound impact on the young writer’s work.
To find out more information on Opera Philadelphia, visit operaphila.org
