Tickets on Sale for Berkshire Opera Festival's MADAMA BUTTERFLY, Playing This Summer

Berkshire Opera Festival (BOF) has announced that tickets are on sale beginning today for its inaugural production of Giacomo Puccini's MADAMA BUTTERFLY.

Tickets are priced from $20 to $98, and can be ordered through BOF's website, www.berkshireoperafestival.org, or by calling the Berkshire Theatre Group box office at (413) 997-4444.

MADAMA BUTTERFLY receives three performances this summer at the historic Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, premiering Saturday, August 27, with subsequent performances Tuesday, August 30, and Friday, September 2. All performances begin at 7:30pm.

BOF General Director Jonathon Loy, who also serves as stage director, commented, "We're very excited to open Berkshire Opera Festival for business at last, and to share all our company has to offer with the community and beyond. I am thrilled to be directing the first fully-produced opera to be presented in the Berkshires in years." The production is conducted by Artistic Director Brian Garman. "Butterfly is a perennial favorite, and for good reason," Garman remarked. "A timeless love story, and heartbreakingly beautiful music sung by a world-class cast - I can't think of a better way to launch Berkshire Opera Festival."

The opera features Moldovan soprano Inna Los in the title role. From the Metropolitan Opera to Deutsche Oper Berlin to the Wiener Staatsoper, she has sung around the globe to great acclaim, and her performances of Puccini's doomed geisha have enjoyed success worldwide. Tenor Jason Slayden, recognized for his stirring portrayals of many Verdi and Puccini roles, sings Pinkerton. Reprising a favorite role that has earned him raves, the American baritone Weston Hurt stars as Sharpless, the U.S. consul. Fast-rising mezzo- soprano Sarah Larsen takes on the role of Suzuki, while Metropolitan Opera tenor Eduardo Valdes sings Goro. Legendary bass and Berkshire resident John Cheek fills out the cast in the role of Butterfly's uncle, the Bonze. The performances feature the Berkshire Opera Festival Orchestra and Chorus.

MADAMA BUTTERFLY will be sung in Italian with projected English supertitles. For more information, visit www.berkshireoperafestival.org.

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Berkshire Opera Festival's Summer 2016 Inaugural Production:

MADAMA BUTTERFLY

Music by Giacomo Puccini
Libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on the play by David Belasco and the story by John Luther Long
Sung in Italian with projected English translations

The Colonial Theatre, 111 South Street, Pittsfield, Mass. Performances: August 27, 30, and September 2, 2016
All performances begin at 7:30pm

Approximate running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes with one intermission

Premiere: February 17, 1904 at Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Italy

Cast:

Cio-Cio-San (Madame Butterfly): Inna Los
B.F. Pinkerton: Jason Slayden
Suzuki: Sarah Larsen
Sharpless: Weston Hurt
Goro: Eduardo Valdes
The Bonze: John Cheek

Conductor: Brian Garman
Stage Director: Jonathon Loy
Scenic Designer: Stephen Dobay
Costume Designer: Charles Caine
Hair and Make-Up Designer: Beckie Kravetz
Choreographer: Sara Erde

Featuring the Berkshire Opera Festival Orchestra and the Berkshire Opera Festival Chorus

The mission of Berkshire Opera Festival, opening in the summer of 2016, is to entertain and enrich the lives of people of all ages and backgrounds throughout the Berkshire region by providing accessible and affordable performances of a broad range of operas with the highest artistic standards. An innovative and intensive education program and a strong public presence will also establish BOF as a valuable member of the Berkshire arts community.

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