'Candide' with Reichard, Kind, Blazer Opens at NYC Opera April 8

New York City Opera's 64th season comes to a close with its final performing weeks, beginning with the revival of Bernstein's Candide opening on Tuesday, April 8 at 7:30PM with Lauren Worsham singing Cunegonde, Judith Blazer sings the Old Lady, Jessica Wright debuts as Paquette; Daniel Reichard debuts in the title role of Candide, Richard Kind sings Pangloss and Kyle Pfortmiller returns as Maximilian.  City Opera's Music Director George Manahan conducts, Arthur Masella directs the Harold Prince production, choreographed by Patricia Birch, sets are by Clarke Dunham, Judith Dolan is the costume designer, and lighting is by Ken Billington.

Mark Lamos' production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly continues with Yunah Lee as Cio-Cio San on Wednesday, March 26 at 7:30PM.  Rebecca Ringle sings Suzuki; Christopher Jackson sings Pinkerton, Aaron Pegram debuts as Goro, and Weston Hurt sings Sharpless.  Joseph Mechavich conducts the production in his City Opera debut with sets by Michael Yeargan, costumes by Constance Hoffman and lighting by Robert Wierzel.

Performances of Verdi's Falstaff and Puccini's Tosca continue with previously announced casts.

New York City Opera performances take place at the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center (63rd St & Columbus).  Unless otherwise noted, Tuesday and Wednesday performances begin at 7:30 pm, performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings begin at 8:00 pm, and matinees begin at 1:30 pm.  Ticket prices range from $16 to $130.

Additional details of New York City Opera's 2007-2008 season, including a synopsis of each opera, audio samples, a video trailer featuring production images and design renderings, are available on City Opera's website at www.nycopera.com.  For more information or tickets, call CenterCharge at (212) 721-6500.

Daniel Reichard (photo by Walter McBride / Retna Ltd)