Boston Lyric Opera Announces 2024-2025 Season!
Boston Lyric Opera
Announces
2024-2025 Season!
BOSTON LYRIC OPERA's 2024/25 SEASON moves from MOZART to “CAROUSEL”
Anne Bogart reimagines Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “CAROUSEL” on its 80th anniversary.
World Premiere "THE SEASONS" wraps Vivaldi in a new libretto by Sarah Ruhl.
Marquee singers include Lawrence Brownlee, Jamie Barton, Anthony Roth Costanzo, John Holiday, Michelle Johnson, Edward Nelson, Brandie Sutton and more.
Four mainstage productions, two additional collaborations compose a robust season.
Unprecedented number of community/artistic partnerships include BSO, Boston Children’s Chorus, Boston String Academy, New England Conservatory Preparatory School, and more.
SUBSCRIPTIONS/TICKETS:
Multi-part opera subscriptions are on sale now at BLO.org or by contacting Audience Services at boxoffice@blo.org or 617-542-6772.
Individual tickets are on sale for members May 27 and the general public June 3, 2024 at 10:00AM.
COVID 19 PROTOCOLS
Contact Venues for Most Updated COVID-19 Safety Protocols and Information.
Press Release:
BOSTON LYRIC OPERA's (BLO) 2024/25 Season mixes classic (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s "MITRIDATE," Verdi’s "AIDA") and contemporary opera (the world premiere of "THE SEASONS," blending Vivaldi’s music and a new libretto by playwright Sarah Ruhl) with a major revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “CAROUSEL” on its 80th anniversary, presented at Boston’s Emerson Colonial Theatre, which hosted its 1945 pre-Broadway run.
Two additional productions – collaborations with Boston Symphony Orchestra and other partners – round out an ambitious season.
BLO's season opens September 13-15, 2024 with Mozart's thrilling and demanding 18th-century opera, "MITRIDATE," featuring performances by acclaimed tenor Lawrence Brownlee who returns to BLO for the first time since an acclaimed performance in the 2002 production of “The Barber of Seville.”
A one-night performance of Verdi's "AIDA" with soprano Michelle Johnson in the title role precedes the company’s gala November 10.
"THE SEASONS," which turns Vivaldi’s ubiquitous Baroque concerti into a sung-through drama about artists dealing with climate change, plays March 12-16, 2025.
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “CAROUSEL” closes the mainstage season April 4-13, 2025, directed by veteran artist and BLO Artistic Associate Anne Bogart.
“The full range of opera and its possibilities are thrillingly on display next season,” says Artistic Director Nina Yoshida Nelsen, who joined BLO earlier this year and was actively involved in planning the season. “The music, the artists, and the stories are equally spectacular. I know audiences will find plenty to love in these productions; there’s something for everyone at the opera.”
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ABOUT THE SHOWS
Performances:
September 13, 2024 and September 15, 2024
(Contact Box Office for Exact Times)
Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre, Boston, MA.
Told against the backdrop of a 1st century B.C. war between Rome and the Hellenic city of Pontus, "MITRIDATE" (which premiered in 1770 and was written by a 14-year-old Mozart) is the story of the eponymous "King of Pontus," his conniving sons "Sifare" and "Farnace" and his fiancée "Aspasia."
Lawrence Brownlee plays the title. Company debuts in the cast include soprano Brenda Rae who sings "Aspasia," John Holiday as "Farnace" and Vanessa Goikoetxea as "Sifare."
The production is directed by James Darrah (BLO's “desert in” and “The Fall of the House of Usher”) and conducted by BLO Music Director David Angus, who marks his 15th season with the company.
Cast includes: Angela Yam as "Ismene," Alexis Peart as "Arbate" and Charles Sy as "Marzio."
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Performance:
November 10, 2024
(Contact Box Office for Exact Time)
Emerson Colonial Theatre, Boston, MA.
Verdi’s tragic love story of an Ethiopian princess captured and enslaved by the Egyptian military – and the Egyptian commander who loves her but must remain loyal to his country – has a one-night-only concert performance.
Michelle Johnson returns to BOSTON LYRIC OPERA to star in the title role (she was seen most recently as "Santuzza" in 2021’s "Cavalleria Rusticana.”
Tenor Diego Torre ("Cavaradossi" in BLO's 2010 “Tosca”) is the soldier "Radamès."
Alice Chung ("Suzuki" in BLO's 2023 “Madama Butterfly”) is "Amneris," the Egyptian king’s daughter who professes unrequited love for Radamès.
David Angus conducts.
The cast also includes: Brian Major ("Emile" in 2022’s “Champion: An Opera in Jazz”) as "Amonasro," Stefan Egerstrom as "Il Re," Morris Robinson ("Sparafucile" in 2014’s “Rigoletto”) as "Ramfis," Chelsea Basler as the "High Priestess" and Fred C. VanNess, Jr. as the "Messenger."
The Boston Lyric Opera Chorus will be joined by members of Boston’s choral community, including the Back Bay Chorale, for the opera’s monumental Triumphal March in Act Two.
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Performances:
March 12, 2025 through March 16, 2025
(Contact Box Office for Exact Times)
BLO hosts the world premiere of a bold reimagining of Antonio Vivaldi’s string masterpiece "THE FOUR SEASONS" with additional arias and ensembles by the composer, woven into a new libretto by Tony-winning playwright Sarah Ruhl (“Eurydice”) and featuring Grammy-winning countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo in his BLO debut.
Co-conceived by Ruhl and Costanzo, "THE SEASONS" is directed by Zack Winokur with choreography by Pam Tanowitz.
Described by Ruhl as “a contemporary Baroque opera about the weather, inside and out,” it tells the story of five artists who retreat to a remote farm to make art inspired by the beauty of nature.
However, increasingly extreme and erratic weather complicates the plan.
Hope arrives in an unexpected form, delivering a bright future.
Produced by BOSTON LYRIC OPERA, AMOC* (American Modern Opera Company) and SCENE, "THE SEASONS" is co-presented by ArtsEmerson.
Further casting to be announced.
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Rodgers & Hammerstein’s "CAROUSEL"
Performances:
April 4, 2025 through April 13, 2025
(Contact Box Office for Exact Time)
Emerson Colonial Theatre, Boston, MA
Following her seismic production of composer Poul Ruders’ “The Handmaid’s Tale” in 2019 at Harvard, and the critically acclaimed installation of “Bluebeard’s Castle/Four Songs” that melded Bela Bartók’s one-act opera and songs by Alma Mahler, the award-winning director and BLO Artistic Associate Anne Bogart returns to create a striking new vision for the classic American musical Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein’s "CAROUSEL."
David Angus conducts.
Baritone Edward Nelson (seen most recently as "Ion" in BLO's “desert in”) plays "Billy Bigelow," the charming carnival barker who falls for millworker "Julie Jordan" (Brandie Sutton, in her BLO debut).
Billy finds himself desperate for money to support his young family and makes a tragic decision that changes everyone’s life.
A paean to the power of love and redemption, "CAROUSEL" had a pre-Broadway run at the Colonial Theatre in the spring of 1945.
BLO's production will be staged in the same location nearly 80 years to the date of the original’s three-week run.
Cast includes: Jamie Barton in her BLO debut as "Nettie," Anya Matanovič as "Carrie" ("Anne Truelove" in 2016’s “The Rake’s Progress”; "Violetta" in 2014’s “La Traviata”), Omar Najmi as "Enoch" ("Valcour" in BLO's 2024 “The Anonymous Lover”), and Markel Reed ("Young Emile Griffith" in BLO's 2022 “Champion”) as "Jigger."
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SUBSCRIPTIONS/TICKETS
Multi-part opera subscriptions are on sale now at BLO.org or by contacting Audience Services at boxoffice@blo.org or 617-542-6772.
Individual tickets are on sale for members May 27 and the general public June 3, 2024 at 10:00AM.
Kevin T. Baldwin is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA)
@MetrmagReviews
@Theatre_Critics
ABOUT BOSTON LYRIC OPERA (BLO)
BOSTON LYRIC OPERA (BLO) inspires, entertains, and connects communities through compelling opera performances, programs, and gatherings.
MISSION
VISION
To create operatic moments that enrich everyday life.
VALUES
Boldness - We tell evocative stories through music and drama on a large scale and in unexpected settings. We celebrate the rich history of opera and promote adventurousness, which advances the art form, accesses our imaginations, and inspires new thinking.
Collaboration - Opera is deeply interconnected storytelling, music, and design on an ambitious level that requires many people’s artistry, technical skill, passion, participation, and support. We nurture creative people and partnerships that are diverse in thinking and experiences, and we provide structure and support for everyone to thrive.
Connection - We nurture a vital ecosystem of relationships and exchanges that elevate the human experience and impact people. These connections are the force that strengthens us and our communities.
Learning - We seek opportunities to learn new ideas and expand our minds, which drives progress. We create time and space to listen, engage and grow together.
Belonging - We are committed to storytelling that reflects a wide variety of perspectives and identities and invites everyone to participate. We create welcoming and accessible spaces that celebrate the uniqueness of our communities.
Administrative Office
Midway Artist Studios
15 Channel Center St. # 106
Boston, MA 02210
WEBSITE: www.blo.org
