The Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey presents 2017 Summer Music Festival

The Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey opens its 2017 Summer Music Festival with an unforgettable concert performance of Giacomo Puccini's La Boheme on Sunday, August 6, 3:00 PM at Dolan Hall, The College of Saint Elizabeth, 2 Convent Road, Morristown, NJ.

Featuring some of opera's most beautiful music, the expressive love story captures the essence of young love with all the joys and the pains.

"La Boheme was the work that first made me fall in love with opera," Maestro Butts commented. "I am excited to be able to bring this music and these characters to life with a wonderful lyric cast who fully grasp the flow of Puccini's music as well as the emotions of the characters."

Admission: Adults $40, Seniors $30

Tenor Kevin Peters, singing Rodolfo, is thrilled to be exploring his first full Puccini role. Peters has been seen recently in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, Verdi's La Traviata and Rigoletto, and Monteverdi's La Incoronazione di Poppea. Peters sang in Princeton Opera Festival's production of Wagner's The Flying Dutchman.

Soprano Timothy Maureen Cole, singing Mimi, is equally excited to explore Puccini's vibrant if tragic heroine. Cole has recently sung in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro and Handel's Acis and Galatea. She has premiered opera arias by Vatican composer Marco Frisina at The National Opera Center in New York. Cole is equally at home in contemporary opera, having performed the role of The Lady in The Tell-Tale Heart and Julia Grant in Mark Twain and the General.

Baritone Jason Adamo, singing Marcello, has brought roles to life in opera, operetta, and musical theater performing locally with BONJ and Eastern Opera. He last appeared with the orchestra at the 2016 Summer Music Festival as Figaro in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro. Other recent works have included Don Giovanni, Die Fledermaus, and I Pagliacci.

Baritone Alan Smulen, singing Schuarnard, has long been a major performer in the New York/New Jersey opera world. He first sung with Maestro Butts in the Little Opera Company production of Puccini's Tosca. He is a frequent soloist with Opera Theatre of Montclair, most recently as Papageno in their acclaimed productions of Mozart's The Magic Flute.

Baritone George Spitzer, singing Colline, is a versatile singer in the fields of opera, oratorio, musical theater, and art song literature and performs on a regular basis across the Northeast. He is also a member of the New York Singing Teachers Association (NYSTA), and is on the Board of Directors of the New York City National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS - NYC).

Soprano Allison Mion, singing Musetta, has appeared in outreach productions with Opera Montclair, and just finished a production of Don Giovanni (Zerlina) with Opera MODO in Detroit, Michigan. Miss Mion holds private studios in Millburn and Summit, and is also on staff at The Wharton Institute for Performing Arts, where she teaches elementary music through their outreach programs in Paterson, NJ

Baritone Don Kalbach, singing Alcindoro, is one of New Jersey's leading character singers and brings humor and vitality to his interpretations. In addition to his excellent musicianship, Kalbach is also a leading educator and conductor in New Jersey.

Maestro Robert Butts is one of New Jersey's leading opera conductors. He has conducted operas from the 17th through the 21st centuries - including the modern-day premiere of the 1693 masterpiece La Giuditta by Alessandro Scarlatti. He is the only conductor in New Jersey to have conducted three Handel and three Wagner operas. His work has been recognized by The American Prize, Morris Arts, Morris Tourism Bureau, Comcast, and New York Classical Music Society.