OPERA BOSTON Announces 
2005/2006 Season
Launches Tuesday evening performance series

Opera Boston also announces an additional performance series for the upcoming season.  In addition to Friday evening and Sunday matinee, a third performance will now also be given on Tuesday evenings.  Of the upcoming season, Opera Boston General Director Carole Charnow says, “we think 2005-06 will be a milestone season for Opera Boston.  We have enjoyed both critical and popular success in 2004-05 and the company is quickly growing and gaining momentum.  The new Tuesday series will give more people a chance to experience Opera Boston’s talented artists and unique repertoire.”

The season will begin in October 2005 with a new production of The Consul, Gian Carlo Menotti’s intense tragedy of love, false hope, and the elusiveness of freedom. Boston-based soprano Joanna Porackova will star as Magda Sorel, a desperate woman who frantically seeks a visa in order to join her husband John in exile.  Ms. Porackova previously portrayed Magda in the acclaimed Washington National Opera production of The Consul directed by Gian Carlo Menotti himself.  Boston-based contralto Marion Dry will appear as John Sorel’s mother; Ms. Dry has appeared around the country as a soloist with opera companies, symphony orchestras, and chamber ensembles and received critical acclaim for her 2000 portrayal of the Old Woman in Vanessa with Opera Boston.  Bass Daniel Cole, the villainous Wurm in 2004’s Luisa Miller, returns to Opera Boston as the Secret Police Agent.  Tenor Frank Kelley will sing the role of the Magician; Mr. Kelley most recently appeared with Opera Boston as Raoul de Gardefeu in October 2004’s La vie parisienne.  Baritone David Kravitz, currently appearing as Thomas Putnam in Opera Boston’s production of The Crucible, will sing the role of Mr. Kofner.  The Consul will be sung in English with surtitles. Opera Boston Music Director Gil Rose will conduct.

On March 3rd, 5th, and 7th, the season continues on a comically surreal note with the Boston premiere of Emmanuel Chabrier’s buoyant and outlandish operetta L’Étoile. 
This new production will feature soprano Heather Buck as Princess Laoula.  Ms. Buck recently appeared with Opera Boston as the Maid in Powder Her Face as part of 2003’s Opera Unlimited Festival.  As the capricious King Ouf I, tenor Torrance Blaisdell, a graduate of New England Conservatory, will reprise his role from the wildly popular 2001 Glimmerglass Opera production of L’Étoile.  Baritone Drew Poling, who appeared as Henry Kissinger in Opera Boston’s 2004 Nixon in China, will play Herisson de Porc-Epic.  Acclaimed Boston-based director Scott Edmiston will direct.  Mr. Edmiston’s directorial debut with Opera Boston was with 2004’s Nixon in China.  L’Étoile will be sung in English, using the new translation by Jeremy Sams that played to acclaim at Glimmerglass and at the New York City Opera.  Opera Boston Music Director Gil Rose will conduct.

The season comes to a grand and electrifying conclusion with a new production of Donizetti’s bel canto masterpiece Lucrezia Borgia, on April 28th & 30th and May 2nd.  Soprano Barbara Quintiliani, a Quincy native and rising star who dazzled Opera Boston audiences in the title role of 2004’s Luisa Miller, sings the complex and challenging role of Lucrezia. Lucrezia Borgia will be Ms. Quintiliani’s only Boston appearance of the 2005/2006 season.  At once villainous and sympathetic, Lucrezia is overtaken by her destiny and her venomous past when she encounters her estranged illegitimate son Gennaro, played by tenor Justin Vickers.  Mr. Vickers previously sang in Lucrezia Borgia with the Opera Orchestra of New York at Carnegie Hall.  Mezzo-soprano Kathryn Friest will sing the role of Maffio Orsini, a young friend of Gennaro.  Ms. Friest has made several appearances with the New York City Opera in recent seasons, singing in Carmen, Madama Butterfly, and La Traviata.  Bass Bert Johnson, who has spent much of the past two seasons with the New York City Opera, appearing in Tosca, Mourning Becomes Electra, and The Magic Flute, will play Lucrezia’s jealous husband Duke Alfonso d’Este.  Opera Boston Music Director Gil Rose will conduct.

Opera Boston will announce additional casting and production information in late spring. Subscription brochures are available by calling Opera Boston (617) 451-3388, or by e-mailing: nfo@operaboston.org. Single tickets will be available after Labor Day by calling Telecharge: (800) 233-3123.

Founded in 1980, Opera Boston is a professional opera company dedicated to presenting innovative repertoire and rarely-heard works. Over twenty-five seasons, Opera Boston has presented more than 70 concerts and staged 34 regional premieres.