**Lead cast bios, submitted in an earlier release, are attached at end of release
For Immediate Release
July 16, 2013
Contact:
Gillian Britt (207) 775-2126
gBritt PR
PORTLAND, Maine – PORTopera’s 2013 production of La Bohème is scheduled for three performances at Merrill Auditorium: Wednesday, July 24; Friday, July 26, and Sunday, July 28(matinee).
La Bohème draws audiences in to the every-day lives of a group of struggling young artists living in the Latin Quarter of Paris. The passionate story tells of romance and heartbreak as viewers are swept along by the emotional notes of Puccini’s score and the vocal expertise of the cast.
The lead roles will be played by Michelle Johnson (soprano) as Mimi, Jeffrey Gwaltney (tenor) as Rodolfo, Alyson Cambridge (soprano) as Musetta, and Edward Parks (baritone) as Marcello.
Other cast includes:
• José Adán Pérez (baritone) as Schaunard, the musician of the group. He has previously performed as Marcello in the LA Opera’s production of La Bohème as well as working with the New York City Opera and The Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia.
• Ben Wager (bass) will appear as Colline, the philosopher. Praised for his steady vocals and ability to portray a perfectly balanced character, Wager has worked recently with the Dallas Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Washington Concert Opera and Kentucky Opera.
• Jan Opalach (bass-baritone) fills the roles of Benoit the landlord and Alcindoro, a state councilor. Opalach has previously appeared with PORTopera in performances of The Daughter of the Regiment, Don Giovanni, and Barber of Seville. He has also received international recognition and worked regularly with the New York City Opera.
Maestro Israel Gursky will conduct La Bohème while Dona D. Vaughn acts as the Artistic Director for PORTopera. The team includes:
• Judy Gailen, the Scenic Designer, graduated from the Yale School of Drama and has worked professionally designing scenery and costumes in addition to educating students at Bowdoin College on design principles.
• Millie Hiibel is the Costume Designer and has designed fashion for a number of theater and film productions. She was a finalist for the F. Otto Haas Award as well as a Barrymore nominee for Outstanding Costume Design.
• Christopher Akerlind will act as Lighting Designer for the production. He has won the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design among other accolades.
• Sondra Nottingham is the Hair and Make-up Designer and is an experienced artist who has worked with several operas, toured with Paul McCartney, and acted as Head of Makeup for the television show “One Tree Hill.”
Robert Russell is the Chorus Master. He is also a professor of music at the University of Southern Maine and the conductor and artistic director of The Choral Art Society. Sarah Bailey is the Children’s Chorus Master. She was PORTopera’s Children’s Chorus Master for Hansel and Gretel and is a member of the Choral Art Society.
In addition, La Bohème features a live, full orchestra.
Tickets for the much-loved opera range from $41 to $105 and are available online throughwww.porttix.com or in person at the PortTIX box office, 20 Myrtle St., Portland, noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information about PORTopera and La Bohème, visitwww.portopera.org.
About PORTopera:
PORTopera is Maine’s only opera company performing fully staged operas with nationally and internationally acclaimed artists. Founded in 1994, it continues to present Maine audiences with artistic excellence, creative productions, and inspiring opera performances.
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Additional bios:
Michelle Johnson (soprano), praised for her “extraordinary breath control and flawless articulation,” appears as La Bohème’s Mimi. The Grand Prize winner of the 2011 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Johnson has played the title role in a number of performances including Aida at the Glimmerglass Music Festival, Manon Lescaut with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, and Suor Angelica at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia.
Though making his debut with PORTopera, Jeffrey Gwaltney (tenor) is no stranger to the character of Rodolfo. A previous member of the Opera North Young Artist Program, Gwaltney took over as Rodolfo in a performance of La Bohème during the final dress rehearsal and was met with standing ovations on opening night. A mainstay at Washington National Opera with experience at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Glimmerglass Music Festival, Gwaltney’s expertise is sure to shine through in this roll.
Alyson Cambridge (soprano), making her return to PORTopera in the role of Musetta, has been called by The Washington Post, “radiant, vocally assured, dramatically subtle and compelling, and artistically imaginative.” Past roles include Donna Elvira in PORTopera’s Don Giovanni in addition to appearances with the Metropolitan Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, and countless others. This season, she will return to the Washington National Opera in addition to debuting with the San Diego Opera, Royal Albert Hall London, and Florentine Opera.
La Bohème’s Marcello will be played by Edward Parks (baritone) who is becoming a familiar voice at PORTopera. Sharpless in last year’s production of Madama Butterfly, he has also appeared with the Metropolitan Opera, the Michigan Opera Theater, and the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Maestro Israel Gursky (known for previous PORTopera performances Roméo et Juliette andHansel und Gretel) returns to Portland to lead this season’s cast in the production of La Bohème. Gursky, a rising young conductor, is known for working with the Washington National Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, and Opera Birmingham among others. He made his Lincoln Center debut last fall with a concert performance of Montemezzi’s La Nave.
PORTopera’s Artistic Director, Dona D. Vaughn is Artistic Director of Opera Programs at Manhattan School of Music. From 1998 to 2009 she was Stage Director/Acting Coach for The Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. She is a graduate of Brevard College (voice) where she currently serves on the board of trustees, she received her BA in music (vocal performance) from Wesleyan (Outstanding Alumni Award), the MA in theater (directing) from Hunter College, and an Honorary Doctorate of Music from the University of Southern Maine. She studied acting with Lee Strasberg and Uta Hagen, and dance with Martha Graham.