Apotheosis Opera to Present English Production of Puccini's LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST 

APOTHEOSIS OPERA has announced their second production will be a fully-staged English-language production of GIACOMO PUCCINI'S masterpiece LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST (The Girl of the Golden West) on Friday July 22 at 7:30pm and Sunday July 24 at 3pm at the theatre of El Museo del Barrio (1230 5th Avenue).

The cast of 26 will be led by STACEY STOFFERAHN (Carmen, La Bohème, Don Giovanni) as Minnie, NICHOLAS SIMPSON (Tannhäuser, Die Tote Stadt,Silent Night) as Dick Johnson, and JOHN DOMINICK III (Tannhäuser, Rigoletto, Street Scene) as Jack Rance; and will be directed by LUCCA DAMILANO (Good Mourning, this is not a play, Intermission). The production will also feature MELANIE ASHKAR as Wowkle, ETHAN FRAN as Nick, JOE PALARCA as Trin, MAX ZANDER as Harry, WALKER J. JACKSON as Joe, ROBERT GARNER as Sonora, MATTHEW CIUFFITELLI as Sid, JAY CHACON as Handsome, NICHOLAS CONNOLY as Happy, JOSEPH BECKWITH as Ashby, SCOTT KIPNIS as Jim Larkens, KOFI HAYFORD as Jose Castro, and BRYAN TYLER PARKER as Billy Jackrabbit; and will feature IGGY CARDOZO, JUANJO DELGADO, TIM DIFIORE, DAVID GLADSTEIN, JACOB PRESSLEY, MARK SEIDENSTEIN and MATTHEW TOLLEFSRUD in the chorus.

The production will feature a full 55-piece orchestra led by MATTHEW JENKINS JAROSZEWICZ (Tannhäuser, The Pilgrim's Progress, Riders to the Sea), who will serve as musical director and conductor. Jaroszewicz is also the Artistic Director of Apotheosis Opera. Scenic design is by MIKE ZARAGOZA from DDG PARTNERS, costume design is by ALLYSON STEELE, and the English translation is by KELLEY ROURKE.

LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST (The Girl of the Golden West) is a vibrant masterpiece in three acts with music by Giacomo Puccini and libretto by Guelfo Civinini and Carlo Zangarini, based on the play The Girl of the Golden West by David Belasco. Set during the California Gold Rush, crimes and passions collide when bandit Ramerrez and his gang intrude upon the colorful mining camp at the foot of the Cloudy Mountains, and Sheriff Jack is on the hunt. The loves and fortunes of a lifetime are at stake, and only one can ride off into the sunset with it all in this quintessential Wild West story of gold-diggers, gamblers, and gunslingers.

Tickets are now available at apotheosisopera.org, and can be purchased for $20, $35, and $50.

APOTHEOSIS OPERA seeks to bring fresh energy into the New York opera scene by connecting new performers with new audiences. They create affordable, fully-staged, English-language productions of large-scale works to make opera more accessible to a wider audience. Opera is hot when its stars shine brightly and Apotheosis productions give some of New York's most talented young performers the game-changing opportunity to sing big roles for the first time. The upcoming production of La Fanciulla Del West will largely feature college students, recent graduates, and other emerging artists in its cast and creative team. Last year, their inaugural production of Richard Wagner's Tannhäuser brought a fully-staged English-language production of the grand opera to more than 1,000 audience members, many of whom were experiencing opera for the first time.