NYCO Season Begins with 'Pirates of Penzance,' 3/3

The spring portion of New York City Opera's sixty-third season will begin on Saturday, March 3 with a preview of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance. Opening night is Wednesday, March 7 at 7:30PM at the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center. The season also includes Rossini's La donna del lago and Puccini's Madama Butterfly.

The Pirates of Penzance stars Sarah Jane McMahon singing Mabel, Myrna Paris as Ruth; Matt Morgan as Frederic, Marc Kudisch (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, See What I Wanna See) as the Pirate King, Mark Jacoby (Sweeney Todd, Ragtime) as Major-General Stanley, Kevin Burdette as Sergeant of Police, Erin ElizaBeth Smith debuts as Edith, Heather Johnson sings Kate and Scott Guinn sings Samuel.

The production, co-produced with Glimmerglass Opera, is directed by Lillian Groag and conducted by Gerald Steichen. Sets are by John Conklin, costumes by Jess Goldstein, lighting by Pat Collins, and choreography by Lynne Hockney. Pirates was last presented by City Opera in 1977. The operetta will be sung in English with supertitles. Generous leadership support has been provided by the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation. 
 
On Thursday, March 22, Rossini's La donna del lago receives its first staged performance in New York since 1833, in a new production directed by Chas Rader-Shieber. Alexandrina Pendatchanska and Barry Banks, the stars of City Opera's Ermione in 2004, are reunited as Elena and Uberto. Laura Vlasak Nolen is Malcolm Graeme; Daniel Mobbs is Douglas D'Angus, and Robert McPherson debuts as Roderigo di Dhu. City Opera Music Director, George Manahan conducts. Sets and costumes for the production are by David Zinn and lighting by Lenore Doxsee. La donna del lago is a co-production with The Minnesota Opera. Production support has been provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The opera will be sung in Italian with supertitles. 

Mark Lamos' production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly returns to the repertory on Friday, March 9. Angela Maria Blasi sings the title role and Misoon Ghim sings Suzuki, both in their debuts; Raul Melo sings Pinkerton and Grant Youngblood sings Sharpless. City Opera Music Director George Manahan conducts. Sets are by Michael Yeargan, costumes by Constance Hoffman , and lighting by Robert Wierzel. A co-production with Glimmerglass Opera, Madama Butterfly will be sung in Italian with supertitles. 
 
 New York City Opera performances take place at the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center (63rd St & Columbus). Unless otherwise noted, Wednesday and Thursday performances begin at 7:30 pm, performances on Friday and Saturday evenings begin at 8:00 pm, and matinees begin at 1:30 pm . Ticket prices range from $16 to $125. Additional details of New York City Opera's 2006-2007 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. 

Photo of Marc Kudisch by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.