American Baritone Jonathan Scott to Star in GIANNI SCHICCHI at 2017 Narnia Festival in Italy

JoNathan Scott takes center stage in the title role of the 2017 Narnia Festival's compelling new production of Giacomo Puccini's comic masterwork "Gianni Schicchi."

The opera, now frequently performed alone, will appear in repertory with Puccini's "Suor Angelica" as the composer intended. Celebrated Italian actress and writer Maria Rosaria Omaggi directs both operas and is paired with noted American conductor Jason Tramm in the 2017 Narnia Festival's realization of two of Puccini's three ground breaking, one act operas.

Conceived as a musical triptych Puccini premiered "IL TRITICO" at the Metropolitan Opera House in NYC over a century ago and with "Gianni Schicchi" immediately merited audience and critical acclaim for his literary opera buffa.

Inspired by an actual Florentine in the 13th century, and an incident captured in Canto 30 of the Inferno of Dante's Divine Comedy, the role of Gianni Schicchi is pivotal to the success of the brilliant one act opera. For Puccini's only operatic comedy, he and his librettist Giovacchino Forzano, infused "Gianni Schicchi" with musical innovation and social satire. The role of Schicchi represents tremendous challenges to a singer who must be technically proficient to sing Puccini's music and a skillful actor to carry off the demanding comedic role.

In a marvelous bit of casting the leadership of the 2017 Narnia Festival selected American baritone JoNathan Scott to play the legendary Italian character. Scott, whose abilities had been presented to the Festival's artistic leadership by esteemed NYC vocal coach Andrea DelGiudice, had received praise by opera's foremost monthly publication OPERA NEWS for his comic role in a recent NYC production of Von Winter's Das Labyrinth (an operatic sequel to Mozart's Die Zauberflöte). OPERA NEWS wrote "JoNathan Scott was an ideal Papageno, with excellent diction, an easy stage presence and flawless legato that poured forth through a well-projected tone." Parterre Box, NYC's preeminent online opera publication also underscored the merit of Scott's performance: "The star, in Schikaneder's feathers, was JoNathan Scott, a baritone of lithe and masculine tone and a master of the dim double-take, suavely dressed in tatterdemalion."

In addition to his appearance in "Gianni Schicchi" which brings the Narnia Festival to its 2017 conclusion, Scott has performed in several festival concert offerings, including a feature presentation by Italian television (Rai - Radiotelevisione) of Mozart's Spatzenmesse performed at the Cathedral at Narni, as well as an evening concert of opera arias, where he sang Verdi's exquisite baritone aria from LA TRAVIATIA "Di provenza il mar il suol."

While a rising star, Jonathan has already sung in many of New York City's most celebrated concert venues, including Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall and The Riverside Church in Manhattan. A graduate of Westminster College of the Arts, JoNathan Scott's sings opera, oratorio and art song in the NYC- Tri-state region. He is currently a member of the Metropolitan Opera Extra Men's Chorus, with whom he won a 2013 Grammy for Best Opera Recording in the Metropolitan Opera's production of Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen.

Photo of JoNathan Scott performing at the 2017 Narnia Festival Concert by Carl Alexander