MADAME BUTTERFLY Leads Off Nashville Opera's 2019-20 Season

Puccini's Madame Butterfly will launch Nashville Opera's 2019-20 season, which is described as "a compelling mix of beloved favorites and important 20th century works."

The season opens with Puccini's Madame Butterfly, the story of Japanese geisha Cio-Cio-San, who abandons her faith and her family for the dashing American sailor, Lieutenant Pinkerton. For more than a century, audiences have been enthralled by Giacomo Puccini's haunting, poignant score and libretto and mkoved by the lovely Butterfly, who sacrifices everything for love. Cuban-American soprano Elizabeth Caballero, who appeared as Mimi in the Metropolitan Opera's 2018 production of La Bohème, returns to Nashville Opera to sing the role of Cio-Cio-San.

The season continues with a December production of the Christmas opera Amahl and the Night Visitors, written by Gian Carlo Menotti. Filled with humor and wonder, Amahl is a show for the entire family and two of the three scheduled performances will be designed as family-friendly events, complete with children's activities and a holiday singalong.

In January Nashville Opera presents Turn of the Screw - one of opera's greatest ghost stories - composed by Benjamin Britten and based on the novella by Henry James. Appearing in the role of the Governess is Lara Secord-Haid, who has been hailed as "possessing a rich and expressive overall quality" (Attencion San Miguel) and praised for her "flinty acuity" (New York Times). Hired by a mysterious gentleman to care for two orphaned children, the Governess slowly begins to feel that things may not be what they appear. Britten's score carries the audience on a journey filled with mystery and suspense.

Nashville Opera will close the season with Verdi's Rigoletto, a classic story of love and vengeance which has electrified audiences for well over a century. Appearing in the title role is baritone Michael Mayes, well known for his critically acclaimed portrayal of Joseph De Rocher in Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking with multiple US theaters including Washington National Opera. Soprano Kathryn Lewek returns to the Nashville Opera stage as Rigoletto's daughter Gilda. Lewek has established herself as one of this generation's strongest coloratura sopranos, performing some of the most vocally challenging roles in the repertoire. She recently completed her sixth season as The Met's Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute.

Madame Butterfly will be performed in Andrew Jackson Hall at Nashville's Tennessee Performing Arts Center on Thursday, October 10, and Saturday, October 12. Rigoletto returns to TPAC for performances on Thursday, April 9, and Saturday, April 11.

Amahl and the Night Visitors plays Nashville Opera's Noah Liff Opera Center, Friday-Sunday, December 13-15. Turn of the Screw will be presented at the Liff Center Friday-Sunday, January 24-26.

About Nashville Opera Nashville Opera, Tennessee's largest professional opera company, creates artistic experiences that elevate our world. Among the most successful regional companies in the country, Nashville Opera has presented three different world premiere operas since its inception in 1981. Mainstage performances are presented at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center and the Noah Liff Opera Center, playing to over 13,000 people annually. Each year, Nashville Opera's extensive education and outreach touring program reaches approximately 25,000 students throughout Middle Tennessee.

To post a comment, you must register and login.