San Francisco Opera to Present Puccini's LA BOHEME, 11/14-12/7

San Francisco Opera presents Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème in 13 performances, November 14-December 7, 2014. Puccini's timeless tale of tragic young love comes to life in a new production featuring two impressive alternating casts. One cast features the San Francisco Opera debut of soprano Alexia Voulgaridou as Mimì opposite Michael Fabiano as Rodolfo, joined by Nadine Sierra as Musetta and Alexey Markov in his Company debut as Marcello. The other cast is headlined by Leah Crocetto as Mimì and Giorgio Berrugi in his San Francisco Opera debut as Rodolfo, with Ellie Dehn as Musetta and Brian Mulligan as Marcello. Christian Van Horn is Colline and Hadleigh Adams is Schaunard in all performances.

Continuing San Francisco Opera's longtime commitment to engaging performances and interactive activities for children and families, two early matinee performances of La Bohème for Families are presented on November 22 and 29 in conjunction with Exploration Workshops to further unpack the themes and music of the opera for young audiences. Showcasing a talented cast featuring many current and former participants in the Company's young artist training programs, this condensed version of Puccini's most popular opera is a perfect introduction to opera for a new generation.

Two-time Tony-Award winner John Caird makes his San Francisco Opera debut directing a new production designed by Olivier Award-winning scenic designer David Farley. Farley's setting is conceived as a collage of canvases by the painter Marcello and is inspired by the artistic brilliance and romance of France's Belle Époque. Resident Conductor Giuseppe Finzi leads the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus in all performances.

Greek soprano Alexia Voulgaridou makes her San Francisco Opera debut as Mimì, a role she has performed throughout Europe at prestigious venues such as Milan's La Scala; the Royal Opera, Covent Garden; Munich's Bavarian State Opera; and the Bregenz Festival. Her "warm luminous tone" (The Classical Review) and her intimate portrayal of the ailing beauty "leave a big impression, portraying Mimì as both vulnerable and attractive as she charts her fatal demise with dignity" (The Opera Critic). "A tenor that operatic dreams are made of" (Musical Toronto), Michael Fabiano, who also sang Rodolfo in this production at Toronto's Canadian Opera Company earlier this year, returns to San Francisco Opera as the young bohemian poet. Recipient of the 2014 Richard Tucker Award and the 2014 Beverly Sills Artist Award, Fabiano is the first person to ever win both awards in the same year.

American soprano Nadine Sierra makes her role debut as the coy beauty Musetta. A "fluid" and "beautiful" soprano who sings with "earnest expression and depth of character" (The Washington Post), the San Francisco Opera Center alumna (2011-2013) holds the distinction of being the youngest winner to date of both the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Marilyn Horne Foundation Vocal Competition. Building on a successful 2014 run of performances as a "hearty, vocally virile and memorable Marcello" (The New York Times), Russian baritone Alexey Markov makes his San Francisco Opera debut as the young painter.

"A major operatic star" (San Francisco Chronicle), American soprano Leah Crocetto headlines the other superb cast of singers as the ill-fated Mimì. Since her training as a San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow (2009-2011), Crocetto has embarked on an international operatic career with a full schedule of appearances spanning from England and France to Tokyo and Tel Aviv. Italian tenor Giorgio Berrugi makes his San Francisco Opera debut as Rodolfo. A former clarinetist, Berrugi launched his international vocal career in 2007 when he was selected by Venice's Teatro La Fenice to sing Rodolfo; Berrugi continues to be in high demand for his Rodolfo throughout Europe and the United States. "A mesmerizing combination of vocal and theatrical know-how" (The Philadelphia Enquirer), American soprano Ellie Dehn portrays Musetta and American tenor Brian Mulligan is the painter Marcello. Count Anckarström Count Anckarström

San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow Hadleigh Adams makes his role debut as Schaunard and American bass-baritone Christian Van Horn sings Colline in all performances of La Bohème.

Sung in Italian with English supertitles, the 13 performances of La Bohème are scheduled for November 14 (7:30 p.m.), November 15 (7:30 p.m.), November 19 (7:30 p.m.), November 20

(7:30 p.m.), November 22 (7:30 p.m.), November 23 (2 p.m.), November 25 (7:30 p.m.), November 29 (7:30 p.m.), November 30 (2 p.m.), December 2 (7:30 p.m.), December 3 (7:30 p.m.), December 5 (7:30 p.m.) and December 7 (2 p.m.), 2014.

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