2016/17 Season

CARMEN

Music by Georges Bizet
Libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy

A co-production with Boston Lyric Opera and San Francisco Opera
Sung in French with English surtitles, provided by San Francisco Opera

BLO’s 40th Anniversary Season launches with the East Coast premiere of Calixto Bieito’s Carmen in a co-production with San Francisco Opera – marking the director’s long-awaited U.S. opera debut. Set in the arid earthiness of 1970’s post-Franco Spanish North Africa, this raw and cinematic vision is a powerful account of the defiantly free-spirited woman and her obsessive lover, set to Bizet’s intoxicating score.

Creative Team

Conductor David Angus
Stage Director Rosetta Cucchi*
Set Designer John Conklin
Costume Designer Nancy Leary
Lighting Designer D.M. Wood*
Projection And Sound Designer Seághan Mckay
Wig And Makeup Designer Jason Allen
Supertitle Adaptation John Conklin & Allison Voth

Boston Lyric Opera Orchestra and Chorus

“…powerful…”
– The Boston Globe

“Jennifer Johnson Cano was in total control dramatically and vocally… a convincing and passionate heroine…and a wonderful Carmen.”
– EDGE Media

“It’s difficult to remain cool about something so hot.”
– South Shore Critic

“Challenging, intriguing, dramatically effective…exciting.”
– Boston Music Intelligencer

CAST in order of appearance

Yusef Lambert* as Lillas Pastia
Vincent Turregano† as Moralès
Chelsea Basler‡ as Micaëla
Liam Moran as Zuniga
Gina DeFreitas as Manuelita
Jennifer Johnson Cano as Carmen
Roger Honeywell as Don José
Lily Waters* as Girl
Kathryn Skemp Moran as Frasquita
Heather Gallagher‡ as Mercédès
Michael Mayes as Escamillo
Andrew Garland as El Dancairo
Samuel Levine as El Remendado
Junichi Fukuda* as Torero
Soldiers, children, cigarette girls, gypsies, smugglers

* Boston Lyric Opera Debut
† Boston Lyric Opera Jane and Steven Akin Emerging Artist
‡ Boston Lyric Opera Jane and Steven Akin Emerging Artist Alumnus

Carmen (Jennifer Johnson Cano) gets some bad news after her shift at the cigarette factory while being surrounded and ogled by soldiers in Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” directed by Calixto Bieito. “Carmen” opens BLO’s 40th Season, at the Boston Opera House through October 2.

Carmen (Jennifer Johnson Cano) scrawls “love” on the chest of solider Joseph Yonaitis in Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” directed by Calixto Bieito. “Carmen” opens BLO’s 40th Season, at the Boston Opera House through October 2.

Micaela (Chelsea Basler) and Don Jose (Roger Honeywell) share a brief moment of happiness and playfulness in Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” directed by Calixto Bieito. “Carmen” opens BLO’s 40th Season, at the Boston Opera House through October 2.

Lieutenant Zuniga (Liam Moran) is tormented by a group of female factory workers who implore him to do something about a brawl between two of their co-workers in Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” directed by Calixto Bieito. “Carmen” opens BLO’s 40th Season, at the Boston Opera House through October 2.

A town woman is hoisted up a flagpole by a group of unruly soldiers in Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” directed by Calixto Bieito. “Carmen” opens BLO’s 40th Season, at the Boston Opera House through October 2.

Carmen (Jennifer Johnson Cano) leads a boisterous drunken party in which her gypsy friends mingle and play bullfighter with local soldiers in Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” directed by Calixto Bieito. “Carmen” opens BLO’s 40th Season, at the Boston Opera House through October 2.

The dashing matador Escamillo (Michae Mayes) delights the men of the town with boastful stories about his exploits in the bullring -- and outside it -- in Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” directed by Calixto Bieito. “Carmen” opens BLO’s 40th Season, at the Boston Opera House through October 2.

After being seduced by the flamboyant gypsy he was supposed to arrest, Don Jose (Roger Honeywell) shares a passionate moment with Carmen (Jennifer Johnson Cano) in Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” directed by Calixto Bieito. “Carmen” opens BLO’s 40th Season, at the Boston Opera House through October 2.

Escamillo (Michael Mayes) and Don Jose (Roger Honeywell) compare notes on their rival love for Carmen in Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” directed by Calixto Bieito. “Carmen” opens BLO’s 40th Season, at the Boston Opera House through October 2.

Escamillo (Michael Mayes) and Don Jose (Roger Honeywell) rivalry over Carmen escalates into violence when Jose realizes he has lost her in Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” directed by Calixto Bieito. “Carmen” opens BLO’s 40th Season, at the Boston Opera House through October 2.

As Escamillo (Michael Mayes) prepares for the bullfight, Carmen (Jennifer Johnson Cano) reiterates her love for him in Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” directed by Calixto Bieito. “Carmen” opens BLO’s 40th Season, at the Boston Opera House through October 2.

As he prepares to fight a bull in the center of town tonight, Escamillo (Michael Mayes) searches for Carmen in her gypsy camp and charms the assembled group in Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” directed by Calixto Bieito. “Carmen” opens BLO’s 40th Season, at the Boston Opera House through October 2.

The townspeople gather outside the bullfight ring to celebrate and ogle the dashing picadors and toreadors who parade by in Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” directed by Calixto Bieito. “Carmen” opens BLO’s 40th Season, at the Boston Opera House through October 2.

The townspeople wave excitedly at the dashing picadors and toreadors who parade by on their way to the bullfight in Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” directed by Calixto Bieito. “Carmen” opens BLO’s 40th Season, at the Boston Opera House through October 2.

Escamillo (Michael Mayes) pauses for a quiet moment before he steps into the bullfighting ring in Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” directed by Calixto Bieito. “Carmen” opens BLO’s 40th Season, at the Boston Opera House through October 2.

As the townspeople pack the bullfighting ring to watch the latest man and beast matchup, Carmen (Jennifer Johnson Cano) fights for her life against a raging Don Jose (Roger Honeywell) in Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” directed by Calixto Bieito. “Carmen” opens BLO’s 40th Season, at the Boston Opera House through October 2.

GREEK

Music by Mark-Anthony Turnage
Based on Steven Berkoff’s stage play of the same title
Libretto adapted by Mark-Anthony Turnage and Jonathan Moore

Sung in English with English surtitles

Hailed as a cult classic, Greek is a political and indelible retelling of Sophocles’ tragedy, Oedipus the King. Transporting audiences to London’s East End during the tumultuous 1980s with music influences that range from jazz to daring percussion to sounds of the streets, Greek is an aggressive, defiant and profane detonation of a story millennia old.

CREATIVE TEAM

Conductor Andrew Bisantz
Stage Director Sam Helfrich
Set Designer John Conklin
Costume Designer Nancy Leary
Lighting Designer Chris Hudacs*
Fight Director Andrew Kenneth Moss
Wig and Makeup Designer Jason Allen
Dramaturg John Conklin
Surtitle Designer Allison Voth

“Disturbingly current in its depiction of a desensitized, turbulent time.”
“The eye-popping end…demanded full attention.”
– BOSTON GLOBE

“Outstanding, engaging and rewarding… deserves to be seen by any serious opera buff.”
“GREEK resonates profoundly in light of our recent national election.”
“Alternates from short and brutal … to poetic, even lyrical.”
“The orchestra [is] deftly led by Andrew Bisantz.”
“[Costumes] perfectly capture the look of the era.”
– SOUTH SHORE CRITIC

“Edgy and cinematic…effective [and] powerful. This is operatic agitprop…a meditation on the force of words and on power as held by bit actors and national figures.”
“Farnsworth’s singing is good with clean diction and great projection.”
“Worra runs the gamut from “Coronation Street” to suburban sexy. The switch-flipping suddenness of her transformation into Sphinx is part of the shock of that scene.”
“Burchett exudes despair and seething rage; like Farnsworth, he lost himself in his roles, granting the characters a vivid presence in performance.”
– BOSTON MUSICAL INTELLIGENCER

CAST

* Boston Lyric Opera Debut
† Boston Lyric Opera Jane and Steven Akin Emerging Artist
‡ Boston Lyric Opera Jane and Steven Akin Emerging Artist Alumnus

Playing out his apparent Oedipal fate, Eddy (Marcus Farnsworth, on table) reacts to disturbing news by attempting to gouge his own eyes as his parents (Christopher Burchett and Caroline Worra) and his wife (Amanda Crider) look on in horror, in the Boston Lyric Opera production of Mark Anthony Turnage’s GREEK, running Nov 16-20 at the Emerson/Paramount Center.

(l.-r.) Amanda Crider, Caroline Worra, Christopher Burchett and Marcus Farnsworth as a “normal” 1980s family in East End London in the Boston Lyric Opera production of Mark Anthony Turnage’s GREEK, running Nov 16-20 at the Emerson/Paramount Center.

Caroline Worra plays a woman who fears rampant violence in her London neighborhood in the Boston Lyric Opera production of Mark Anthony Turnage’s GREEK, running Nov 16-20 at the Emerson/Paramount Center.

Marcus Farnsworth (r.) as “Eddy” battles with the diner owner (Christopher Burchett) in the Boston Lyric Opera production of Mark Anthony Turnage’s GREEK, running Nov 16-20 at the Emerson/Paramount Center.

Marcus Farnsworth (l.) as “Eddy” seduces the diner owner’s wife (Amanda Crider) as Margaret Thatcher looks on in the Boston Lyric Opera production of Mark Anthony Turnage’s GREEK, running Nov 16-20 at the Emerson/Paramount Center.

(l.-r.) Eddy’s mother and father (Caroline Worra and Christopher Burchett) lament the decline of their hometown in the Boston Lyric Opera production of Mark Anthony Turnage’s GREEK, running Nov 16-20 at the Emerson/Paramount Center.

Christopher Burchett as Eddy’s father, makes himself comfortable while visiting his son and daughter-in-law in the Boston Lyric Opera production of Mark Anthony Turnage’s GREEK, running Nov 16-20 at the Emerson/Paramount Center.

Caroline Worra (l.) and Amanda Crider (r.) comprise a two-headed Sphinx that torments Eddy (Marcus Farnsworth) who has set out to defeat them and stop their plague on his city in the Boston Lyric Opera production of Mark Anthony Turnage’s GREEK, running Nov 16-20 at the Emerson/Paramount Center.

Amanda Crider (l.) and Marcus Farnsworth celebrate their success -- and their erotic compatibility -- in the Boston Lyric Opera production of Mark Anthony Turnage’s GREEK, running Nov 16-20 at the Emerson/Paramount Center.

In the shadow of Queen Elizabeth, Eddy (Marcus Farnsworth) and his wife (Amanda Crider), revel in their newfound wealth in the Boston Lyric Opera production of Mark Anthony Turnage’s GREEK, running Nov 16-20 at the Emerson/Paramount Center.

THE RAKE’S PROGRESS

Music by Igor Stravinsky
Libretto by W.H. Auden and Chester Kallman
Sung in English with English surtitles

With its beautiful arias contrasted with episodes of high drama and low comedy, The Rake’s Progress reveals Stravinsky’s very personal take on the neo-classical style during a turning point in the composer’s career. Now, in this theatrically vivid staging by A.R.T. Resident Director Allegra Libonati, the story of Tom Rakewell is seen through the eyes of Stravinsky himself – and dramatically unfolds as an interpretation of the fantastical inner landscape of the artist in the 20th century.

CREATIVE TEAM

Conductor David Angus
Stage Director Allegra Libonati
Set Designer Julia Noulin-Mérat
Co-Costume Designers John Conklin & Neil Fortin*
Lighting Designer Mark Stanley
Magic Designer Christopher Rose*
Movement Director Yury Yanowsky
Wig-Makeup Designer Jason Allen
Dramaturg John Conklin
Surtitle Designer Allison Voth
Boston Lyric Opera Orchestra Sandra Kott, Concertmaster
Boston Lyric Opera Chorus Michelle Alexander, Chorusmaster
Rehersal Coach/Accompanist Maja Tremiszewska†*
Assistant Director Anderson Nunnelley†
Stage Manager Hester Warren-Steijn*

* Boston Lyric Opera Debut
† Boston Lyric Opera Jane and Steven Akin Emerging Artist
‡ Boston Lyric Opera Jane and Steven Akin Emerging Artist Alumni

“BLO’s production is a
stunning experience visually and vocally”
– The Boston Globe

“Enough good things cannot be said about the cast.”
– The Boston Globe

“The performance stands as a
highlight of the current music season.”
– Boston Classical Review

“BLO’s showy production is a winner…so much to love…”
– WBUR ARTery

“Terrific cast
…Anya Matanovic, Ben Bliss, Kevin Burdette, Heather Johnson are all
first-rate, with palettes perfectly suited to their roles.”
– WBUR ARTery

“Thoroughly transporting … delightfully bawdy…
an ingeniously clever night at the opera”
– South Shore Critic

“Opera composition of the highest order…
Conductor David Angus worked wonders with the gorgeous score.”
– WBUR ARTery

“ A powerhouse cast lifts BLO’s ‘Rake’s Progress’”
– The Boston Globe

“A fantastic new Boston Lyric Opera production.”
– Boston Musical Intelligencer

CAST, in order of vocal appearance

Anya Matanovic as Anne Trulove
Ben Bliss* as Tom Rakewell
David Cushing‡ as Trulove
Kevin Burdette as Nick Shadow
Jane Eaglen as Mother Goose
Heather Johnson as Baba the Turk
Jon Jurgens† as Sellem
Simon Dyer† as Keeper of the Madhouse

And:
Yury Yanowsky as Stravinsky

Tom Rakewell (Ben Bliss) ponders life beyond his suburban existence, as the spectre of Igor Stravinsky (Yury Yanowsky) looks on in Boston Lyric Opera’s new production of Stravinsky’s THE RAKES PROGRESS, running through March 19 at the Emerson Majestic Theater

Anne Trulove (Anya Matanovic) and her father Trulove (David Cushing) say goodbye to Tom Rakewell (Ben Bliss) while Nick Shadow (Kevin Burdette) looks on in Boston Lyric Opera’s new production of Stravinsky’s THE RAKES PROGRESS, running through March 19 at the Emerson Majestic Theater

Tom Rakewell (Ben Bliss, center left) meets a band of London hooligans who take him on the first steps of his downfall in Boston Lyric Opera’s new production of Stravinsky’s THE RAKES PROGRESS, running through March 19 at the Emerson Majestic Theater

Mother Goose (Jane Eaglen), the madam of a London brothel, stakes a claim on newcomer Tom Rakewell (Ben Bliss) in Boston Lyric Opera’s new production of Stravinsky’s THE RAKES PROGRESS, running through March 19 at the Emerson Majestic Theater

Tom Rakewell (Ben Bliss) falls captive to Mother Goose’s ladies in Boston Lyric Opera’s new production of Stravinsky’s THE RAKES PROGRESS, running through March 19 at the Emerson Majestic Theater

After becoming a London sensation for his carousing and celebrity marriage to Baba the Turk, Tom Rakewell (Ben Bliss) finds himself a paparazzi sensation in Boston Lyric Opera’s new production of Stravinsky’s THE RAKES PROGRESS, running through March 19 at the Emerson Majestic Theater

Sideshow sensation Baba the Turk (Heather Johnson) awaits her big press moment in Boston Lyric Opera’s new production of Stravinsky’s THE RAKES PROGRESS, running through March 19 at the Emerson Majestic Theater

or Stravinsky (Yury Yanowsky) feels the weight of criticism in Boston Lyric Opera’s new production of Stravinsky’s THE RAKES PROGRESS, running through March 19 at the Emerson Majestic Theater

Sellem the auctioneer (Jon Jurgens) takes glee in the sale of Rakewell’s worldly possessions in Boston Lyric Opera’s new production of Stravinsky’s THE RAKES PROGRESS, running through March 19 at the Emerson Majestic Theater

Baba the Turk (Heather Johnson) takes exception to the sale of hers and Rakewell’s possessions in Boston Lyric Opera’s new production of Stravinsky’s THE RAKES PROGRESS, running through March 19 at the Emerson Majestic Theater

Nick Shadow (Kevin Burdette) forces Tom Rakewell (Ben Bliss) into a life or death card game in Boston Lyric Opera’s new production of Stravinsky’s THE RAKES PROGRESS, running through March 19 at the Emerson Majestic Theater

Tom Rakewell (Ben Bliss), recuperating in a sanitorium, takes comfort from Anne Trulove (Anya Matanovic) in Boston Lyric Opera’s new production of Stravinsky’s THE RAKES PROGRESS, running through March 19 at the Emerson Majestic Theater

THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO

Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte
Sung in Italian with English surtitles.

The passions and perils of love and marriage collide in one uproarious day as Figaro struggles to get his bride, Susanna, to the altar unscathed. Identities are concealed, manners upended, plots foiled … all to the glorious music of Mozart’s masterpiece.

Creative Team

Conductor David Angus
Stage Director Rosetta Cucchi
Set Designer John Conklin
Costume Designer Gail Astrid Buckley
Lighting Designer D M Wood
Wig-Makeup Designer Jason Allen
Dramaturg John Conklin
Surtitle Designer Allison Voth