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"What Loy and his co-founder Brian Garman have
pulled off in the Berkshires is some true wizardry."
— Parterre Box
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BERKSHIRE OPERA FESTIVAL
Brian Garman & Jonathon Loy, Co-Founders • Abigail Rollins, Executive Director
announces 2023 season
The ambitious company, which has restored world-class,
fully-staged opera to the Berkshires with savvy productions and superlative casts,
mounts one of the most beloved operas of all time on its Mainstage:
August 26 & 29 and September 1
The Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield, MA
Conductor Brian Garman and director Jonathon Loy create an
exciting, new adaptation of Giacomo Puccini's timeless love story from 1896
Jump to full cast and team
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BOF also presents two wide-ranging concerts this spring and summer:
Breaking the Mold:
Baroque, Bel Canto, and Beyond
Saturday, July 22, 2PM
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington, MA
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This fall, BOF is thrilled to present the
workshop performance of a brand new opera:
THE REEF
November 16, 2023 in New York City (full details and on-sale date TBA)
A new opera by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Anthony Davis
Libretto by Joan Ross Sorkin
Adapted from the novel by Edith Wharton
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TICKETS GO ON SALE FEBRUARY 15, 2023 at 12PM
berkshireoperafestival.org
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“This August I discovered another reason to return to Western Massachusetts:
the Berkshire Opera Festival, which has struck me with awe."
— Joel Rozen, The New York Times
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Pittsfield, MA — The "innovative, clever and thoroughly professional" ( Bachtrack) BERKSHIRE OPERA FESTIVAL (BOF) announces its 2023 season in Great Barrington and Pittsfield, MA, and for the first time in New York City. The only company of its kind in the Berkshire region, BOF produces opera at the highest level under the vision of esteemed co-founders Brian Garman (Artistic Director) and Jonathon Loy (Director of Production). Both Opera News and Classics Today have declared "destination" status on the Festival, and Berkshire On Stage wrote "No longer need we confine our opera-going to HD films—now we have the highest quality productions and performers in our own backyard."
For its 2023 season, BOF mounts a mainstage production of Giacomo Puccini's beloved opera LA BOHÈME, which comes to the Colonial Theater—Pittsfield's Gilded Age jewel of a venue—on August 26 and 29 and September 1. The season also features two concerts that survey the vast operatic repertoire on April 16 at Great Barrington's Saint James Place and on July 22 at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center. On November 16, the company travels to New York City to give a workshop performance of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Anthony Davis's THE REEF, a new opera written in collaboration with librettist Joan Ross Sorkin.
In a recent interview with The Berkshire Eagle, Brian Garman and Jonathon Loy talk about their vision for BOF. Garman says, “If we intend to keep this art form alive and draw new audiences into opera, we can't treat these operas like museum pieces. Our first goal is always to try and find the best possible artists to perform these roles, but we also try and have a fresh take on all the operas that we produce.”
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Music by Giacomo Puccini
Libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa
Saturday, August 26, 1pm
Tuesday, August 29, 7:30pm
Friday, September 1, 7:30pm
The Colonial Theatre, 111 South Street, Pittsfield, MA
Approximate running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes including one intermission
Sung in Italian with projected English translations
On the BOF mainstage this year is a new adaptation of Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème, one of the most beloved operatic love stories of all time. Based on Henri Murger's 1851 novel, Scènes de la vie de Bohème, which follows the lives of young people living in the Latin Quarter of Paris, the piece tells the story of Rodolfo and Mimì, two lovers who meet by chance and change each other's lives forever. Puccini’s soaring, aching melodies perfectly capture the emotion of every moment, from the exhilaration of young love at first sight to the story’s heartbreaking conclusion.
Of BOF's new production, Stage Director and BOF Co-Founder Jonathon Loy says: “This will be a production with a fresh take that will center on the epic love and loss of innocence that these characters face in one of the greatest and most widely-known operas in the canon." BOF Artistic Director and Co-Founder Brian Garman adds: “I am so proud to present La Bohème to our Berkshire audiences, featuring an absolutely top-notch cast that has received praise for their performances around the world. An ideal opera for first-time operagoers and seasoned opera veterans alike, this production is sure to capture your heart.”
Three performances take place at The Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield. Playing Rodolfo is tenor Yongzhao Yu, who makes his BOF debut. An expert La Bohème interpreter, he has sung the role of Rodolfo at opera houses across the country, including Houston Grand Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Arizona Opera, and he covered the role for The Metropolitan Opera. Opposite Yu is soprano Whitney Morrison, who also makes her BOF debut in the role of Mimì. The rising star from Chicago has been praised for her “vocally sumptuous” performances (Chicago Tribune). Of her performance in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s virtual concert, “Lawrence Brownlee and Friends: The Next Chapter,” Opera News said, “Whitney Morrison was simply astonishing in everything she sang…This is a voice we need to hear live.”
In the role of Marcello, a painter and roommate of Rodolfo, is baritone Benjamin Taylor, whose "beautiful baritone seethe(s) with emotion" (Seen and Heard International). Véronique Filloux plays Musetta, the neighbor of Rodolfo and Marcello. The French-American soprano has been praised for her “expressive, lovingly shaded soprano” and "dazzling coloratura and lithe stage presence [used] to piquant comedic effect" (Opera News).
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Top: Amanda Batista, Ryan Capozzo
Bottom: Yazid Gray, Francesco Barfoed
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Paris has inspired more artists to loftier heights of creativity than perhaps any other city. From Puccini to Massenet to Strauss, several of the world’s greatest composers set their most memorable operas in the City of Light. Audiences are invited to join BOF Artistic Director and Co-Founder Brian Garman on a tour through this wonderful repertoire with some of opera’s up-and-coming stars.
The evening features soprano Amanda Batista, who Opera News said "is destined for big theaters"; tenor Ryan Capozzo, who Opera News says is “generating genuine drama” on the stage; baritone Yazid Gray, who Seen and Heard International described as "a vocal chameleon"; and pianist Francesco Barfoed, a rising Danish star who frequently collaborates with singers.
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Top: Jacqueline Piccolino, Megan Moore, Alex McKissick
Bottom: Ethan Vincent, Travis Bloom
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Tickets from $20-$120 will be made available for purchase
through the Mahaiwe Box Office starting Feb 15.
CAST
Berkshire Opera Festival presents an afternoon of arias and ensembles that span over 200 years of operatic composition. In keeping with BOF’s vision to explore the entire operatic repertoire, these selections represent a wide range of musical styles, and are sung by strong characters who each “broke the mold” in their own way. The afternoon features music by composers from Handel to the present day. BOF is proud to present a world-class slate of artists to perform this powerful music.
This concert features a cast of some of BOF's favorite artists. Soprano Jacqueline Piccolino, who has been described as having "impeccable technique and stage presence" (San Francisco Chronicle), sang in BOF's 2022 fundraiser, Supper in Seville; mezzo-soprano Megan Moore, whose voice has been described as "genuinely beautiful" (The Observer), sang the role of Donna Elvira in last year's BOF production of Don Giovanni; tenor Alex McKissick, whose voice has "melting tone and poignant phrasing” (Opera News), sang in BOF's Mid-Winter Mozart concert in spring 2022; baritone Ethan Vincent, whom the Philadelphia Inquirer deemed a "rising star," sings the role of Schaunard in the company's 2023 mainstage production of La Bohème; and pianist Travis Bloom, who aided with music preparation in last year's BOF production of Don Giovanni and currently serves on the artistic staff as a coach and accompanist at the Manhattan School of Music.
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Anthony Davis and Joan Ross Sorkin
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THE REEF
workshop performance of a brand new opera
Thursday, November 16, 2023
Location TBA
Music by Anthony Davis
Libretto by Joan Ross Sorkin
Adapted from the novel by Edith Wharton
As BOF's summer season winds down, attention will shift to an exciting public workshop performance happening in the fall in NYC. The Reef, composed by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Anthony Davis (The Central Park Five; X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X) and renowned librettist Joan Ross Sorkin (Strange Fruit) is a new opera that adapts Edith Wharton's 1912 novel telling the story of a widow and her former lover. Opera News called Davis "a national treasure" for his strides in composing operatic, choral, and chamber works, which build from his work in improvised music and jazz to form distinctive, unique visions. This special performance is supported in part by a National Endowment for the Arts ArtWorks grant.
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THE NEW YORK TIMES
"One of those productions that change the way you think about things."
THE BOSTON GLOBE
“A fresh approach to opera in the Berkshires.”
OPERA NEWS
"The strong, vivid effort drew a justified ovation from the crowd.”
WQXR
"Since its creation by conductor Brian Garman and stage director Jonathon Loy,
Berkshire Opera Festival has established itself as an important opera company."
PARTERRE BOX
“Tanglewood may bring the classical music crowd to Lenox, but for opera, it’s all about neighboring Pittsfield, Mass. That’s where Berkshire Opera Festival has been slowly making a name for itself at the Colonial Theatre, crafting sleeper hit productions for an ebullient crowd of local buffs, while drawing increasingly big-name artists to the Berkshires.”
BROADWAY WORLD
"It was gratifying to find such a highly professional performance
far from the madding crowd."
OPERAWIRE
"Great opera performed at the highest level."
BERKSHIRE EAGLE
"Loy and Garman have demonstrated they have the commitment, skill and now proven experience to lead Berkshire Opera Festival on a long and satisfying journey."
BOSTON MUSICAL INTELLIGENCER
"It would be hard to imagine a better cast of singers,
both for their vocal abilities and their acting."
SEEN & HEARD INTERNATIOJNAL
"Powerfully daring... a must-see for opera fans."
BERKSHIRE ON STAGE
"Who would have believed that here in the Berkshires we would have our own opera festival showcasing talent from all over the world, including the MET and Italy’s La Scala?"
BERKSHIRE REVIEW FOR THE ARTS
"An object lesson in how to perform opera.
The Berkshire Opera Festival has made itself indispensable."
BERKSHIRE RECORD
“The sold out house would not let them go.
I have never seen or heard such a reception for an opera performance.”
PIONEER VALLEY RADIO
“Live opera, classical or contemporary, is a rarity around these parts, but Berkshire Opera Festival is changing that. They’re doing interesting work in the Berkshires, and attention must be paid."
LA SCENA MUSICALE
"The Berkshire Opera Festival has again mounted an important and challenging operatic masterpiece with gorgeous resourcefulness, canny stage sense, impeccable musicality
and a world-class performing ensemble."
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L to R: Berkshire Opera Festival's Artistic Director/Co-Founder Brian Garman,
Executive Director Abigail Rollins, Director of Production/Co-Founder Jonathon Loy
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Berkshire Opera Festival (BOF) is a fully-producing summer festival founded by Jonathon Loy and Brian Garman which presented its first season in 2016. The mission of Berkshire Opera Festival is to entertain and enrich the lives of people of all ages and backgrounds throughout the Berkshire region by providing accessible and affordable performances of a broad range of operas with the highest artistic standards. Each summer, BOF presents musically and dramatically compelling operatic productions, in addition to recitals and other related musical events. Recent productions include Mozart's Don Giovanni, Jake Heggie's Three Decembers, Verdi's Falstaff, Tom Cipullo's Glory Denied, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, Verdi’s Rigoletto, and Donizetti’s Don Pasquale.
Garman and Loy have been friends for over 20 years since their early career days at Pittsburgh Opera, with combined experience at the Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, and New York City Opera. Loy has deep family ties in the Berkshires, and the Iowa-born Garman credits Loy for convincing him to take root in the bucolic Berkshires, finding the area revelatory in its beauty and depth of culture. In September 2019, Abigail Rollins joined the leadership of BOF in the role of Executive Director, helping Loy and Garman realize their dream and build on it year by year, carefully and with purpose.
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For further information, press tickets, photos, and to arrange interviews,
please contact Aleba & Co. at 212/206-1450 or aleba@alebaco.com. |
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