Video: Watch the Trailer for UNHOLY WARS at Opera Philadelphia

Opera fans across the globe will want to mark their calendars for September 2023 in Philadelphia, as the fifth iteration of Opera Philadelphia's annual, season-opening Festival O brings a star-studded lineup of live performances to multiple venues in the city from Sept. 21 through Oct. 1.

Faith and representation are at the center of Karim Sulayman's Unholy Wars, which stitches together operatic selections from the Italian Baroque period about the Crusades. Using Claudio Monteverdi's Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda as a keystone, Sulayman refocuses these narratives, addressing issues of Orientalism in the Baroque works to reveal a new story from his Arab American perspective. This Philadelphia premiere from Up Until Now Collective is directed by Kevin Newbury, and includes animation by Syrian artist Kevork Mourad, new interstitial compositions by Mary Kouyoumdjian, and choreography by Ebony Williams. Early music specialist and violinist Julie Andrijeski provides musical direction.