Florida Grand Opera presents Giacomo Puccini's MADAMA BUTTERFLY

Florida Grand Opera is proud to open its 74thseason with one of the most beloved operas of all time, Puccini's Madama Butterfly, on November 15 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. This vibrant and exotic production delivers all the beauty and grandeur audiences have come to expect of this timeless love story. Puccini's famous music combined with Maestro Ramón Tebar's "intense and precise conducting" (Buenos Aires Herald) is sure to be a beautiful and dramatic start to another exciting season.

Pinkerton, an American Naval officer takes the former geisha, Cio-Cio-San, as a wife while stationed in Japan. What is a true commitment of love for her is only a temporary dalliance for him. After he sails for America, Cio-Cio-San is left to wait for his return. When Pinkerton returns with his new American wife, a life shattering drama plays out in front of us as Cio-Cio-San resorts to a solution that is as heart-wrenching as it is gruesome.

Despite an ill-received premiere in 1904, Madama Butterfly has since gained extraordinary worldwide popularity. In addition to inspiring many non-operatic productions, including Miss Saigon and the pop/rock band Weezer's Pinkertonalbum, Butterfly has remained among the most frequently performed operas.

This greatly anticipated production features many returning favorite Florida Grand Opera artists, as well as some notable debuts. With incredibly emotional, dramatic arias, Cio-Cio-San is considered to be one of the most challenging roles in opera. American soprano Kelly Kaduce has garnered thunderous praise for her previous portrayals of this demanding role. The Huffington Post called her portrayal "a performance to treasure," and the Santa Fe New Mexican stated, "Soprano Kelly Kaduce, as Cio-Cio-San stood at the head of the cast in every way. Her singing, never less than impressive, assumed mounting intensity as the evening unfurled." Beloved by FGO audiences, Kaduce returns to the FGO stage on November 15, 18, 22, and December 4. Award-winning soprano Vanessa Isiguen will also perform this beloved role as her FGO mainstage debut on November 16, 21, andDecember 6.

The role of Lieutenant Pinkerton will be played by Uruguayan tenor and former FGO Young Artist Martin Nusspaumer. He made his company debut in FGO's 2011 Luisa Fernanda and has been called "a tenor reminiscent of Domingo" with "deeply emotional delivery" by South Florida Classical Review. His voice has taken him all over the world, from the National Opera of Uruguay to the Presidential Symphony Orchestra in Turkey. Nusspaumer performs the role on November 15, 22, December 4, and 6. Tenor John Pickle performs the role in his FGO debut onNovember 16, 18, and 21. He has previously performed Pinkerton to critical acclaim at Opera Southwest.

Baritone Todd Thomas will return to the FGO stage as Sharpless, after his celebrated turn as Scarpia in FGO's 2013-14 production of Puccini's Tosca. Mezzo-soprano Caitlin McKechney will perform the role of Suzuki, Butterfly's loyal companion. Bass Jeffrey Beruan will make his company debut as Butterfly's uncle, the Bonze. Other artists making their FGO mainstage debuts includeDaniel Bates (Goro), Will Hughes (Prince Yamadori), Chance Eakin (the Imperial Commissioner), Hailey Clark (Kate Pinkerton), and Isaac Bray (the Official Registrar).

SCHEDULE

**Sung in Italian with projected titles in English and Spanish**

MIAMI ? Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County Ziff Ballet Opera House
November 15, 16, 18, 21, 22, 2014

FORT LAUDERDALE ? Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Au-Rene Theater
December 4, 6, 2014

CAST

Cio-Cio-San.............................................Kelly Kaduce (Nov 15, 18, 22, Dec 4)

.............................................Vanessa Isiguen * (Nov 16, 21, Dec 6)

Lieutenant Pinkerton.............................................Martin Nusspaumer (Nov 15, 22, Dec 4, 6)

.............................................John Pickle * (Nov 16, 18, 21)

Suzuki............................................. Caitlin McKechney

Sharpless.............................................Todd Thomas

Goro.............................................Daniel Bates *

Prince Yamadori.............................................Will Hughes *

The Bonze.............................................Jeffrey Beruan *

The Imperial Commissioner.............................................Chance Eakin *

Kate Pinkerton............................................. Hailey Clark *

The Official Registrar............................................. Isaac Bray *

Conductor............................................. Ramón Tebar

Director............................................. Marc Astafan *

Production Set............................................. Sarasota Opera

* = FGO Debut

Subscriptions for the 2014-15 Season start at only $40 in Miami and $51 in Fort Lauderdale. FGO's Box Office is located at the Doral Center on 8390 NW 25 St., Miami, FL 33122, and is open to the public from 10:00am to 4:00pm, Monday through Friday during the season. Tickets may also be purchased by phone at 800.741.1010 or online at www.FGO.org.

Sponsorship opportunities for productions and events throughout the season are available. For more information, contact Individual Giving Officer Max Kellogg at 305.854.1643 or mkellogg@fgo.org.

About Florida Grand Opera

Florida Grand Opera (FGO), the oldest performing arts organization in Florida, celebrates its 74th year of continuously producing grand opera during the 2014-15 Season. The mainstage operas of the season include: Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly, November 15 - December 6; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Così fan tutte, January 24 - February 14; Georges Bizet's The Pearl Fishers (Les pêcheurs de perles), February 28 - March 14; and Gian Carlo Menotti's The Consul, May 9 - 16.

Founded in 1941 as Greater Miami Opera and later merging with The Opera Guild Inc. in 1994, FGO presents a mixture of standard repertoire and contemporary works as well as commissions and new productions - all featuring projected translations in English and Spanish. FGO is recognized for funding by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Funding is also provided, in part, by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council and the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, Cultural Affairs Council, the Mayor and the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners and the Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council. Program support is provided by the City of Miami Beach, Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council. Florida Grand Opera is a Resident Company of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County and a member company of OPERA America. Intercontinental Miami is the Official Hotel and Steinway & Sons is the Official Piano of Florida Grand Opera.

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