Nashville Opera to Present Puccini's TURANDOT

After composing La Bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly, what could Giacomo Puccini possibly do for a final statement? The answer: Turandot. Containing some of the greatest operatic music ever written, Turandot is the culmination of Puccini's brilliant career. This grand-scale opera is full of thrilling choruses, thundering orchestrations, and a cast consisting of, well, most of ancient China!

Nashville Opera presents Turandot on Thursday, October 8 at 7 PM and Saturday,October 10 at 8 PM at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Andrew Jackson Hall. The production is directed by John Hoomes, with Maestro Joseph Mechavich, in his Nashville Opera debut, conducting the Nashville Opera Orchestra. Amy Tate Williams, accompanist and chorusmaster, leads the Nashville Opera Ensemble and the Nashville Opera Children's Chorus. Tickets start at $26 and are available by calling Nashville Opera at (615) 832-5242, the Tennessee Performing Arts Center Box Office at (615) 782-4040, or online at www.nashvilleopera.org. Si desea comprar entradas para eventos en el TPAC y necesita ayuda en español, por favor llame al 1-800-664-8941. A limited number of "pay-what-you-can" seats may be purchased directly from Nashville Opera's main offices at the Noah Liff Opera Center in Sylvan Heights for a minimum suggested donation of $5. Nashville Opera's General and Artistic Director John Hoomes will present the popular Opera Insights discussion one-hour prior to curtain on the Orchestra Level and admission is free to all ticket holders. Turandot is sung in Italian with easy-to-read projected English supertitles.

The internationally-acclaimed cast includes soprano Othalie Graham as Princess Turandot, tenor Jonathan Burton as Prince Calàf; soprano Danielle Pastin as Liù, bass Benjamin LeClair as Timur; baritone Wes Mason as Ping, tenor Jonathan Blalock as Pang; tenor Ian McEueun as Pong, tenor Ted D. Wylie as Emperor Altoum; and baritone Jeffrey Williams as The Mandarin.

The 2015-16 Bovender Principal Artist is Canadian-American Soprano Othalie Graham. In addition to the worldwide acclaim Ms. Graham has received for her stunning portrayals of the icy Princess Turandot, she also specializes in Wagnerian roles, including Brünnhilde, Isolde, Senta in Der Fliegender Holländer, and Elisabeth in Tannhäuser. Ms. Graham starred as Minnie in Nashville Opera's 2012 production of Puccini's The Girl of the Golden West. Othalie Graham was first-place winner of the 2010 Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition in the Wagner Division; the first-place winner of the 2005 Joyce Dutka Competition; a recipient of the 2005 Sullivan Foundation Grant; and the first-place winner in the Wagner Division of the 2009 Liederkranz Competition. In Canada, her many awards and honors include the coveted Jean Chalmers prize in the Canadian Music Competition, winner of the Edward Johnson Competition, and first place in the Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques Competition.

"Staging a production of Puccini's Turandot to meet the demands put forth by the composer requires a herculean effort on the part of the more than 200 principal singers, adult and children's chorus members, supernumeraries, orchestra, designers, and stage crew that are involved," says John Hoomes, General & Artistic Director of the Nashville Opera. "Puccini designed this opera to be an emotionally overwhelming experience, from the opening thundering chords all of the way to the final transcendent climax of "Nessun Dorma" that concludes Act 3. Turandot is a grand scale operatic experience that will fill you with a sense of wonder, take your breath away, and, at the same time, touch your heart - don't miss it!"

The Nashville Opera Guild will host a Turandot themed dinner prior to the Saturday, October 10th performance at the Waller Lansden Dortch and Davis offices in the Nashville City Center at 511 Union Street. Reservations are available by calling Nashville Opera at (615) 832-5242. In addition, members of Nashville Opera's Young Professionals group, FORTE, will host a reception on the Balcony Level of the Andrew Jackson Theater lobby with complimentary wine and hors d'oeuvres at 6:30 PM on the same night. To join FORTE, please call Nashville Opera's Community Relations Department at (615) 832-5242.

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