Capitol City Opera Company to Stage LA BOHEME, Now thru 9/8

Capitol City Opera, the only opera company in the Southeast that champions local singers and produces opera accessible to everyone, will present Puccini's beloved and tragic opera, La bohème, today, September 6 - 8, 2013 at the Conant Center for the Performing Arts at Oglethorpe University. Tickets are $30-40, and are available online at ccityopera.org.

One of the most popular operas ever created, La bohème is the story of love in its greatest form. In snowy Paris, six young, penniless artists are full of idealism and beauty, but they soon encounter the harsh realities of life. Puccini's masterpiece never fails to pull at your heartstrings. Audiences will recognize this story from the musical Rent, which is loosely based on this timeless classic, and will also have heard the music in the movie,Moonstruck.

Some of the roles in this production will be double-cast, and will feature all Atlanta-based performers including sopranos Mary Brooke Quarles andAmanda Smolek as Mimì, tenor Brendan Callahan-Fitzgerald as Rodolfo, sopranos Tasha Posey and Elisabeth Slaten as Musetta, baritones Jinho Park and Wade Thomas as Marcello, bass-baritone Ivan Segovia as Colline, baritone Jeffrey David Gibb as Schaunard, bass Brandon Odom as Benoît, bass Jonathan Spuhler as Alcindoro, and tenor Joey Yates as Parpignol.

Michael Giel conducts a string quartet, The Capitol City Opera Chorus and Children's Chorus. Capitol City Opera Artistic Director Michael Nutter will direct. Music Direction is by Catherine Giel. The opera will be sung in Italian with English supertitles. The setting will be traditional, using an Art Nouveau production design.