2012 Season
Make it an opera summer.
Romance and passion, exhilaration and magic, delight and longing. World-class singers in the extraordinary acoustics of Music Hall. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, led by renowned conductors. Lavish costumes, breathtaking sets, and evocative lighting.
This is Cincinnati Opera. You’re invited.
Pagliacci | Gianni Schicchi
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Saturday, June 16, 2012
The 92nd season opens with a double bill of two very different works, the verismo tragedy Pagliacci and the masterful comedy Gianni Schicchi, presented in an ingenious production from the Opéra de Montréal.
American tenor Frank Porretta leads the cast of Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, bringing his “thrilling high notes” (Los Angeles Times) to the role of the cuckolded clown Canio. Soprano Kelly Kaduce, who “sings with bell-like purity and silvery sweetness” (Opera News), makes her Cincinnati Opera debut as the duplicitous Nedda. Hailed as an “impressive young baritone” (Cincinnati Enquirer) for his work in Don Carlo (2009), Croatian baritone Ljubomir Puskaric returns to Cincinnati Opera as Silvio, and internationally renowned baritone Roberto de Candia rounds out the cast as the fool, Tonio.
The young lovers of Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi will be portrayed by a handsome pair of rising young European singers. Italian soprano Maria Luigia Borsi, who won Cincinnati audiences with her heartbreaking turn as Desdemona in Otello (2010), returns to the Music Hall stage as Lauretta. Her swain, Rinuccio, will be sung by Lithuanian tenor Edgaras Montvidas, who makes his company debut with a “sumptuously lyric tenor” (Le Figaro, Paris). Baritone Roberto de Candia sings the title role, and mezzo-soprano Catherine Keen will be featured as the scheming aunt, Zita. Bass-baritone Thomas Hammons returns to the stage as Simone, and mezzo-soprano Stacey Rishoi brings her “lustrous voice” (The Washington Post) to the role of La Ciesca. Alain Gauthier, hailed for his skillful work in recent Cincinnati Opera comedies Così Fan Tutte (2007) and L’Étoile (2006), will direct the production. The orchestra will be led by Richard Buckley, who last appeared with Cincinnati Opera for Don Carlo (2009).
The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Friday, July 6, 2012
Sunday, July 8, 2012
For the first time, Cincinnati Opera will present Gershwin’s great American opera Porgy and Bess on the Music Hall stage. Filled with recognizable tunes, a touching story of perseverance in adversity, and the triumph of love over all obstacles, the company will recreate Catfish Row with a realistic production from Houston Grand Opera. Bass-baritone Jonathan Lemalu, who made his Cincinnati Opera debut in The Marriage of Figaro (2009), brings his “dark, deep, almost other-worldly voice” (The Washington Post) to the title role. Canadian soprano Measha Brueggergosman, recognized for “a superb voice capable of just about everything” (Miami Herald), will portray the conflicted Bess. With “a rich, room-filling baritone” (The Washington Times), Gordon Hawkins, who last impressed Cincinnati audiences as Amonasro in Aida (2007), will be featured as the menacing Crown. Character tenor Steven Cole, a Cincinnati Opera favorite, will portray the smooth-talking Sportin’ Life. Soprano Adrienne Danrich, who recently partnered with Cincinnati Opera to present “This Little Light of Mine” (2011), brings her “fresh liquid-silver” voice (Opera News) to the role of Serena, and rising young soprano Jacqueline Echols is Clara. Lemuel Wade will direct, and David Charles Abell, who in 2009 conducted a critically-acclaimed tour of Porgy and Bess throughout the UK for Cape Town Opera, will wield the baton. The production features set design by Kenneth Foy, with costumes by Judy Dearing.
La Traviata
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Saturday, July 28, 2012
The season closes with Verdi’s grand opera La Traviata in a sumptuous production last seen in 2008. As the fated lovers Alfredo and Violetta, Cincinnati Opera is pleased to bring back the hugely talented American husband-and-wife team of Stephen Costello and Ailyn Pérez. The Associated Press enthuses that Pérez’s “lyric soprano is pure and honeyed in tone, and she deploys it with elegance and tenderness,” and her last-minute debut as Violetta in the Royal Opera House’s Japan tour in September 2010 was hailed as “a triumph…an unalloyed triumph” (Instant Encore). Costello will again charm the audience with his “fresh, Italianate tenor” that is “consistently a joy to hear” (Cincinnati Enquirer). The duo last appeared to great acclaim on the Music Hall stage as Mimì and Rodolfo in La Bohème (2010). Called “one of the great young baritones of our time” (Cincinnati Enquirer), Marco Caria last thrilled audiences as Rodrigo in Don Carlo (2009) and as Marcello in La Bohème (2010); he returns as Alfredo’s concerned father, Germont. Mezzo-soprano Stacey Rishoi portrays the spirited Flora.
All performances take place at 7:30 p.m., with the exception of the matinee on July 8 which begins at 3:00 p.m.
Click here to read about our 2011 Season.
