Opera San José presents Puccini’s heartbreaking Madama Butterfly

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 11, 2013 - PRLog -- Set in 1890s Japan, this tragic story of devotion, sacrifice and betrayal is among the most beloved operas of all time. Madama Butterfly will be sung in Italian with English supertitles. Eight performances are scheduled from February 15 through March 2 at the California Theatre, 345 South First Street in downtown San José. Tickets are on sale at the Opera San José Box Office, online at operasj.org (http://www.operasj.org) or by phone at (408) 437-4450. The production of Madama Butterfly is made possible, in part by a Cultural Affairs Grant from the City of San José and the Applied Materials Foundation.

Madama Butterfly, with libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, is a haunting love story about an American naval officer who marries a young Japanese girl for convenience, only to leave her while she faithfully awaits his return. Based partly on a short story by John Luther Long, this heart-wrenching opera is best known for its exquisite arias, including the famous “Un bel di.”

David Rohrbaugh, Opera San José’s founding music director and principal conductor, will conduct Madama Butterfly. Dr. Rohrbaugh has conducted more than 60 productions and 600 performances with Opera San José, including company premieres of La rondine, The Flying Dutchman, Falstaff, Un ballo in maschera, and Werther. He is a professor emeritus of voice and opera from San José State University, where he taught for 30 years and co-directed the Opera Workshop with Opera San José General Director Irene Dalis.

Joseph Marcheso will conduct the February 23 and 25 performances. Mr. Marcheso returns after conducting Opera San José’s productions of Hansel and Gretel, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, Faust, La traviata, La bohème, Manon, La Cenerentola, The Elixir of Love and Lucia di Lammermoor. Mr. Marcheso is also on the conducting staff of San Francisco Opera where he was assigned the West Coast premiere of John Adams’ Nixon in China, the San Francisco premiere of Jake Heggie’s Moby-Dick, and the world premieres of Mark Adamo’s The Gospel of Mary Magdalene and Tobias Picker’s Dolores Claiborne, as well as a new production of Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman.

International stage director Brad Dalton returns to Opera San José to direct Madama Butterfly. Mr. Dalton’s previous credits with the company include Il trovatore, Faust, Idomeneo, the West Coast premiere of David Carlson’s Anna Karenina, Così fan tutte and Madama Butterfly. He has directed productions for opera companies throughout the United States and abroad, including San Francisco Opera, The Metropolitan Opera, Washington Opera, Opera Boston, San Diego Opera, Barbican in London, and the State Opera of South Australia. In 2004, Dalton received the prestigious Helpmann Award for “Best Director of an Opera” in Australia.

Madama Butterfly features current members of Opera San José’s resident ensemble in the principal roles. Alternating in the role of Cio-Cio San are resident sopranos Jennifer Forni and Cecilia Violetta López. Forni made her debut with OSJ in the role of Alice Ford (Falstaff). Recent engagements for Forni include her Metropolitan Opera debut as the First Esquire (Parsifal) and Micaëla (Carmen) for Santa Fe Opera. López is in her second season in the resident ensembleand recently performed the role of Nannetta in OSJ’s production of Falstaff. She appeared last season in the title role of Opera San José’s production of Suor Angelica, Leonora (Il trovatore), Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus) and Léïla (The Pearl Fishers).

Resident mezzo-sopranos Nicole Birklandand Lisa Chavez alternate in the role of Suzuki. Birkland made her company debut last season and has appeared as Gertrud (Hansel and Gretel), Dame Quickly (Falstaff), Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Azucena (Il trovatore), Principessa (Suor Angelica) and Zita (Gianni Schicchi). Chavez made her debut as Meg Page in Falstaff, and most recently performed the role of Hansel in the company’s production of Hansel and Gretel. Other roles performed by Chavez include Dinah (Trouble in Tahiti), Geraldine (A Hand of Bridge), and Lorca (Ainadamar) with Opera Parallèle of San Francisco.

Sharing the role of B.F. Pinkerton are resident tenors Marc Schreiner and James Callon. They previously shared the role of the Witch (Hansel and Gretel) and Fenton (Falstaff). Recent engagements for Schreiner include Rodolfo (La bohème) with Fargo-Moorhead Opera and Orfée (Orphée et Eurydice) with Opera Memphis. Callon is in his second year in the resident ensemble. Previous credits with OSJ include the roles of Nadir (The Pearl Fishers), Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus), Manrico (Il trovatore), and Rinuccio (Gianni Schicchi).

Resident baritones Evan Brummel and Zachary Altman share the role of Sharpless. Brummel returns for a third year as a member of the resident ensemble after appearing in the roles of Peter (Hansel and Gretel), Ford (Falstaff), Gianni Schicchi (Gianni Schicchi), Count di Luna (Il trovatore), and Zurga (The Pearl Fishers). Altman made his company debut as Zurga in OSJ’s 2012 production of The Pearl Fishers.

Alternating in the role of Goro are tenors Robert Norman and Michael Mendelsohn. Former resident bass Silas Elash plays the role of Commissioner andbass Matthew Anchel appears as The Bonze. Rounding out the cast are former resident baritone Toref Borsting in the role of Prince Yamadori, and mezzo-soprano Laura Quest as Kate Pinkerton.

Opera San José’s production of Madama Butterflyincludes set designs by Kent Dorsey, lighting design by Pamila Gray, and wig and makeup designs by Jeanna Parham.

Madama Butterfly
In Italian with English Supertitles

Cast: February 15, 20, 23, 28
Cio-Cio San - Jennifer Forni•
Suzuki - Nicole Birkland•
B.F. Pinkerton - Marc Schreiner•
Sharpless - Evan Brummel•
Goro - Robert Norman
Commissioner - Silas Elash
The Bonze - Matthew Anchel
Prince Yamadori - Torlef Borsting
Kate Pinkerton - Laura Quest

February 16, 22, 25, March 2
Cio-Cio San - Cecilia Violetta López•
Suzuki - Lisa Chavez•
B.F. Pinkerton - James Callon•
Sharpless - Zachary Altman•
Goro - Michael Mendelsohn
Commissioner - Silas Elash
The Bonze - Matthew Anchel
• Resident Company

Composer: Giacomo Puccini
Librettist: Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa
Conductor: David Rohrbaugh
Assistant Conductor: Joseph Marcheso
Stage Director: Brad Dalton
Set Designer: Kent Dorsey
Costume Coordinator: Alyssa Oania
Lighting Designer: Pamila Gray
Wigs/Makeup: Jeanna Parham

Dates:
February 15, 16m, 20, 22, 23m, 25, 28, March 2m; 2014
“m” indicates matinee at 3pm; all other performances are at 8pm

Location:
California Theatre, 345 South First Street between San Carlos and SanSalvador, San José, CA

Tickets:
$51–$111 Opera San José Box Office, 2149 Paragon Dr., San José, CA 95131; 408-437-4450; operasj.org (http://www.operasj.org); Seniors (65 and older) 10% discount; Students 25 and younger (with current student ID) $11 (cash only)