Opera North Announces TOSCA Cast, Creative Team

Opera North has announced the principal roles for Tosca, one of its three 2016 mainstage productions. Soprano Sandra Lopez will play the title role of Tosca, while baritones Jeff Gwaltney and Aleksey Bogdanov will play Cavaradossi and Scarpia, respectively. All three are Opera North alumni and have extensive international experience.

Ms. Lopez has performed recently as Elisabetta in Don Carlo with Finnish National Opera, in the title role of Tosca with Opera de Oviedo and Opera på Skäret in Sweden, and as Mimi in La Boheme with Florida Grand Opera and Fort Worth Opera.

Mr. Gwaltney made his London debut at the Royal Albert Hall as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and at Opera Holland Park as Dick Johnson in La Fanciulla del West and as Luigi in Il Tabarro. He also appeared as Erik (George) in The Flying Dutchman at the Scottish Opera and as the Prince in Rusalka for Opera Ireland.

Mr. Bogdanov has appeared with Washington National Opera as Escamillo in Carmen, Peter in Hansel and Gretel, and Governor George Wallace in Appomattox, in the 2015-2016 season. Other recent highlights include Eugene Onegin with Edmonton Opera, Handel's Messiah at Carnegie Hall, and a return to The Glimmerglass Festival for Madama Butterfly.

In addition, the key members of the creative team for Tosca have been selected. The production will directed by Russell Treyz and conducted by Filippo Ciabatti. The Scenic Designer will be Paul Tate dePoo III and John Bartenstein returns as Lighting Designer.

Mr. Treyz began his opera career in the chorus of the Chautauqua Opera Company. Since then, he has worked extensively in theater as director and playwright. His directing credits include: American Place, La Mama ETC, The Pearl, and Playwright's Horizons in New York City as well as The Cape Playhouse, Dallas Theater Center, Goodspeed Opera Company, North Shore Music Theater, Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, and numerous Shakespeare Festivals. As both director and playwright, he collaborated with the late Harry Chapin on the musical Cotton Patch Gospel. Last season, he directed Abduction from the Seraglio for Opera North.

Mr. Ciabatti is currently guest conductor of the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra. In 2016, he made his debut for the Lyric Theatre at Illinois, conducting Britten's Midsummer Night's Dream. In 2015, he made his South American debut conducting the Universidad Central Symphony Orchestra in Bogota, Colombia, where he also taught masterclasses in orchestra and Italian opera. Ciabatti has been a pianist and coach at the Cherubini Conservatory, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, and Florence Opera Academy in Italy, and has played for masterclasses of Renée Fleming, Nathan Gunn, William Matteuzzi, Donald George, and Isabel Leonard.

Mr. dePoo is a production designer for opera, musicals, plays, and concerts. Most recently, he created the sets for Guys and Dolls (Goodspeed Opera House), The Wiz and LES MISERABLES (Maltz Jupiter Theatre) The Rocky Horror Show (Yale University Theatre), One Man, Two Guvnors (Pioneer Theatre Company), Other Desert Cities (Capital Repertory Theatre), Alcina and Orlando (WhiteBox NYC), and Hello Dolly (Cape Playhouse). In 2015, he was named Live Design magazine's "Young Designer to Watch."

Mr. Bartenstein's design experience includes Les Miserables with Lauren Kennedy, Oliver! and Miss Saigon with Kevin Gray, Steel Magnolias with Tony Award-winner Beth Leavel, Cabaret with Deborah Gibson, The King and I with Golden Globe-winner and Tony-nominated Lou Diamond Phillips, Fiddler on the Roof with Tony-nominated Paul Sorvino, Driving Miss Daisy with Sandy Duncan, The Full Monty with Emmy-winner Sally Struthers, Jekyll and Hyde with Sebastian Bach, Sweeny Todd with Tony Award-winner Norm Lewis, Cats with Larry Gatlin, Man of La Mancha with Ira David Wood, and Jesus Christ Superstar with Ray Walker.

Summerfest 2016 will be Opera North's 34th season. It will feature a total of 15 performances of three mainstage productions - Puccini's Tosca, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita, and Donizetti's Daughter of the Regiment - at Lebanon Opera House. Tickets start at $15, with the best seats going for $88.

In addition to the mainstage shows, there will be a concert series at landmark locations around the Upper Valley, including A Celebration of the National Parks Service's Centennial at Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park (Woodstock, VT), Jazz Night at Enfield Shaker Museum (Enfield, NH), An Evening with Peter Fox Smith at Woodstock Historical Society (Woodstock, VT), and A Concert on the Veranda Celebrating the Romance of Alice and Clarence Hay at The Fells Historic Estate & Gardens (Newbury, NH).