Opera Festival of Chicago to Conclude with PAGLIACCI in June
Performances will take place on June 27 and 29.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz May. 29, 2025
The Opera Festival of Chicago has revealed the cast and creative team for Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo, directed by Sasha Gerritson, conducted by Uff. Emanuele Andrizzi with a cast of more than 50 performers and a 40-piece orchestra. Performances are Friday, June 27 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 29 at 2 p.m. at the George Van Dusen Theatre, North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, 9501 Skokie Blvd. in Skokie. Single tickets are $25 - $50 with subscriptions available now.
The 2025 season concludes with one of the pillars of Italian opera and one of the most passionate dramas of all times, Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo. Sung in Italian, Pagliacci follows the story of a troupe of actors led by Canio and his unfaithful wife Nedda and features the famous aria “Vesti la giubba.” Love triangles, heartbreaks, betrayal and violent verismo vendettas erupt on stage, where art imitates life in this tragic masterpiece
In addition to Pagliacci, the Opera Festival of Chicago continues with its Young Artists program performing a delicious program featuring songs inspired by food in opera, Delicatessen Recital, June 5. The Opera Festival of Chicago's leading artists will then appear in concert for Love is a Triangle, June 14.
“The Chicago Opera Festival began this May with the incredible and rarely performedThe Love of Three Kings (L’Amore dei tre Re) and continues into June with more must see productions,” said General Director Sasha Gerritson. “All of us look forward to welcoming audiences to three different locations for three very special performances as we celebrate opera inspired by food, a concert embracing our 2025 theme of “Love is a Triangle” and concluding with one of the standards of opera - Pagliacci.”
The cast of Pagliacci includes Michelle Allie Drever (Nedda); Jonathan Burton (Canio); Franco Pomponi (Tonio); Jeref Fernandez (Peppe) and Jonathan Wilson (Silvio).
In addition, there will be a chorus including Floriana Bivona; Lizzie Broeker; Benjamin Burney; Melanie Budreck; Winifer Castaneda; Jorie Clark; Brooke Craig; Ryan Daly; Jade Dasha; Katrina Dubbs; Angela DeVenuto; Theresa Egan; David Green; Abigail Greer Arcamona; CeCe Hastreiter; Cameo Humes; Lauren Ingebrigtsen (COVER Nedda); Marina Karimi; Jess Koehn; Alexis Langlois; Ally Lewkowski; Joseph Lodato (COVER Tonio) Cary Lovett; Samantha McGonigal, Margaret Meierhenry; Gisella Milla; Lauryn Nelson, Chiemerie Obianom; Jennifer Parr; Brian Pember; Leo Radosavljevic; Dominic Martin Reyes; Sierra Shoemaker; Pamela Spann; Diana Stoic; Meg Thomas-Cary; Daniel Uglunts; Jose Vargas Ramirez; Carmen Vizin; Vince Wallace; Eric Wassenaar (COVER Pepe) and Kevin Wheatle.
Alan Glassman is the external cover for the role of “Canio.”
Finally, the children’s chorus includes Leah Born; Rachel Born; Ella McCarty; Sarah Winger; Emily Laginess; Rae Hill; Eliza Hinton and Riley Tone.
The creative team for Pagliacci includes Uff. Emanuele Andrizzi (conductor); Sasha Gerritson (director/supertitle design); Richard Robbins (chorus master); Catherine O’Shaunessy (assistant conductor); Darren Brown (production manager); Bill Morey (Costume Designer); Erzebet Schneider (costumes supervisor); Shane Cinal (set designer); Mike Goebel (lighting designer); Mary Mazurek (recording engineer); Melanie Saso (hair and wigs designer); Errin Austin (makeup designer); Gisella Milla (assistant to the director); Sebastian Medina (master electrician); Hannah Wein (assistant lighting designer); Kaitlyn Meine (stage manager); Lorenzo Formosa (house manager); James Juliano (SHOUT!) (publicity director); Jacob Little (production assistant); Luis Viva (orchestra manager) and Leo Radosavljevich (chorus accompanist)
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