By: Katy Lindhart
We are just days away from opening night!
We can’t wait for you to experience Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s haunting and romantic masterpiece, Die tote Stadt. Presented in collaboration with our colleagues at the Boston Symphony Orchestra and conducted by BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons, these special concert performances are your chance to hear this rarely-heard opera, sung by an all-star cast.
Let’s meet the incredible artists who will bring this story of love, loss, and memory to life.
Christine Goerke as Marietta
Soprano (and our newest BLO board member) Christine Goerke leads the cast as the mysterious and engaging Marietta. Ms. Goerke has performed on the world’s greatest stages, including The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh Opera, New York City Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Paris Opera, Théâtre du Châtelet, Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse, Deutsche Oper Berlin, La Scala, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro Real in Madrid, Teatro Municipal de Santiago, and the Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto. In the 2024/25 season, she performs with the Washington National Opera, BLO and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and New World Symphony, among others.
David Butt Philip as Paul
Tenor David Butt Philip is quickly becoming a firm favorite on the major international stages. An alumnus of the Jette Parker Young Artist Programme, his recent role debuts at the Wiener Staatsoper, the Royal Ballet and Opera, the Edinburgh International Festival, Bayerische Staatsoper, and Deutsche Oper Berlin have earned him major critical and public acclaim. This 2024/25 season, Butt Philip returns to The Metropolitan Opera as Florestan in Fidelio, a role he also sings at Semperoper Dresden, in his company debut. He also reprises the Title Role of Lohengrin at the Wiener Staatsoper under the baton of Christian Thielemann and the title role in Der Zwerg at Deutsche Oper Berlin, where he also stars as Der Kaiser in a new production of Die Frau ohne Schatten. On the concert platform he performs the Glagolitic Mass and Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the Czech Philharmonic; the title role of Candide in concert performances at Semperoper Dresden; and The Dream of Gerontius for Huddersfield Choral Society and the Opera North Orchestra under conductor Martyn Brabbins.
Elisa Sunshine as Juliette
American soprano Elisa Sunshine brings the immediacy of the human experience to life through her vocal acrobatics and theatrical dynamism. A graduate of San Francisco Opera’s Adler Fellowship, Ms. Sunshine joined The Santa Fe Opera as an Apprentice Artist in 2024, making her company debut as Annina in La traviata and covering Sheila in the world premiere of Gregory Spears and Tracy K. Smith’s The Righteous. Recently, she covered the title character in Laurent Pelly’s sparkling production of La fille du régiment with Lyric Opera of Chicago, won third prize in The Dallas Opera’s 2024 National Vocal Competition, and represented the United States as a participant in the 2023 Queen Sonja Singing Competition in Norway. She looks excitedly ahead to a debut with The Atlanta Opera as Iris in Semele, as well as a return to Lyric Opera of Chicago to cover Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro and Gilda in Rigoletto in the 2024/25 season.
Karen Cargill as Brigitte
Following her critically-acclaimed Brangaene in Tristan und Isolde at the Glyndebourne Festival, Scottish mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill’s 2024/25 season sees her return to the role with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra, and with Sir Simon Rattle and the Bayerischer Rundfunk Orchestra. Ms. Cargill will return to the Montreal Symphony Orchestra for Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder with Rafael Payare; the San Francisco Symphony for Verdi’s Requiem with Esa-Pekka Salonen; the Toronto Symphony for Mozart’s Requiem with Jukka-Pekka Saraste; and the San Diego Symphony for Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with Rafael Payare. She is Patron of the National Girls’ Choir of Scotland and in 2018 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Amber Monroe as Lucienne
Amber R. Monroe’s 2024/25 season sees her return to Washington National Opera in the role of Serena in Francesca Zambello’s production of Porgy and Bess at the Kennedy Center. She also makes her debut with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra as the High Priestess and covers the title role in Aida, conducted by Jonathon Heyward. Additional appearances include Verdi’s Messa da Requiem with the National Philharmonic conducted by music director Victoria Gau, a concert of Gershwin with Paquito D’Rivera and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and a reprise of Nedda in Pagliacci with Pensacola Opera. On the concert stage, she has been a featured soloist at the U.S. Naval Academy and the University of Maryland for Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 and in Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the Capital City Symphony. Monroe was recently named a 2023 winner of the Sullivan Foundation Award and the George and Nora London Foundation Competition.
Joshua Sanders as Victorin
Tenor Joshua Sanders joins the Ensemble at Staatstheater Wiesbaden for the 2024/25 season, singing Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Steuermann in Der fliegende Holländer, Spoletta in Tosca, First Priest/Armored Guard in Die Zauberflöte, and Facio in Offenbach’s rarely heard operetta Fantasio. Mr. Sanders began the 2023/24 season with a debut as Roméo in Roméo et Juliette with Opera San José, where he also starred as Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia. He joined the roster of the Lyric Opera of Chicago to cover Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola, covered Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni at Los Angeles Opera, and debuted at Nashville Opera as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte. He returned to the Metropolitan Opera to workshop the title character of Sam Clay in Mason Bates’ The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, and performed the roles of Major Baker, Pvt. Carter, and Spc. Rodriguez in Huang Ruo’s An American Soldier at Perelman Performing Arts Center in New York City.
Neal Ferreira as Gaston
Neal Ferreira is a nationally recognized lyric tenor known for his dynamic stage presence and cultivated vocalism. He recently appeared with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project at Jordan Hall as the French Ambassador/Kruger in their Gershwin double bill Of Thee I Sing/Let ‘Em Eat Cake, and with Boston Lyric Opera as Auctioneer/Taylor in the New England premiere of Rhiannon Giddens’ and Michael Abels’ Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Omar. He regularly appears with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and returns in 2025 as Gaston in Die tote Stadt. Mr. Ferreira’s engagements in the current season have featured Fezziwig in A Christmas Carol with Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Il Conte di Lerma in Don Carlo with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, and Alpheus/Ares in Mark Adamo’s Lysistrata with Odyssey Opera. This spring, he will sing the tenor solos in Elijah with the Assabet Valley Mastersingers, Carmina Burana with Portsmouth Pro Musica and Claflin Hill Symphony Orchestra, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Boston Civic Symphony. In summer 2025, he will perform the role of Aubrey in Ulysses Kay’s Frederick Douglass with Odyssey Opera/BMOP, as well as Spoletta in Tosca with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood.
Terrence Chin-Loy as Graf Albert
American tenor Terrence Chin-Loy pairs passionate performance with a full, sweet sound. In the 2024/25 season, Mr. Chin-Loy make his European debut singing Gualtiero in Vivaldi’s Griselda with the Danish National Opera, returns to the Lyric Opera of Chicago for Cop 1 in Blue, and sings Ferrando in Così fan tutte with Virginia Opera and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with Opera Omaha. In the 2023/24 season, Chin-Loy returned to Arizona Opera to sing Roméo in Roméo et Juliette and Victor Frankenstein in the world premiere of Frankenstein. With LA Opera, Terrence sang Pang in Turandot and with Virginia Opera, the tenor solos in Paul Moravec’s Sanctuary Road. Other notable engagements include his solo debut at The Metropolitan Opera in Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up In My Bones and his debut with Boston Lyric Opera as Benny Paret, Jr. in Champion.
Elliot Madore as Frank/Fritz
Canadian Grammy Award-winning baritone Elliot Madore returns to BLO after his performance as Orpheus in last season’s production of Matt Aucoin’s Eurydice. In the 2024/25 season, he makes his role debut in the title role in Ambroise Thomas’s Hamlet and sings his signature Carmina Burana with Colorado Symphony, conducted by Brett Mitchell. His 2023/24 season included his return to Opernhaus Zürich as Oreste in Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride with George Petrou leading the Orchestra La Scintilla, as well as Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd opposite Bryn Terfel. His concert appearances included Carmina Burana with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Fauré’s Requiem with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, and Duruflé’s Requiem with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. This season, Mr. Madore continues his position as a performing Associate Professor of Voice with the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music faculty.
You won’t want to miss this incredible cast singing Korngold’s wonderfully lush and cinematic music. Join us on Friday, January 30 and Saturday, February 1 for Die tote Stadt!