Nathan Gunn Will Star In L.A. Opera's THE ELIXIR OF LOVE, Performs 9/12 - 9/30

Operatic comedy at its most appealing opens the 2009/10 L.A. Opera season. A magic love potion and destiny decide the fate of a love triangle involving a small-town bumpkin, a dashing sergeant and the bewitching town flirt in one of opera's most popular comedies. Filled with light-hearted charm and bursting with feel-good laughs, Gaetano Donizetti's The Elixir of Love features effervescent Italian melodies and plenty of bel canto vocal fireworks.

Giuseppe Filianoti makes his LA Opera debut as the lovestruck Nemorino, singing the poignant "Una furtiva lagrima" ["A furtive tear"]. The New York Times lauded his "virile, bright voice with Italianate ping in his upper range" and "limber and youthful appearance." Sparks will fly when the gifted young Georgian soprano Nino Machaidze makes her U.S. debut as the ravishing Adina who has ignited our hero's passions. LA Opera favorite Nathan Gunn stars as the handsome soldier Belcore. Ruggero Raimondi takes the part of the itinerant quack, Doctor Dulcamara. And as conductor, James Conlon will prove that the real elixir of love is the intoxicating music of Donizetti. Viva l'amore!

The cast will feature Giuseppe Filianoti (Nemorino), Nino Machaidze (Adina), Nathan Gunn (Belcore), Ruggero Raimondi (Doctor Dulcamara), and Valerie Vinzant (Giannetta).

The creative team includes Conductor James Conlon, Director Stephen Lawless, Designer Johan Engels and Lighting Designer Joan Sullivan-Genthe.

The Elixir of Love will play the following schedule:

Saturday - September 12, 2009 - 6:00 p.m.
Tuesday - September 15, 2009 - 7:30 p.m.
Sunday - September 20, 2009 - 2:00 p.m.
Tuesday - September 22, 2009 - 7:30 p.m.
Friday - September 25, 2009 - 7:30 p.m.
Sunday - September 27, 2009 - 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday - September 30, 2009 - 7:30 p.m.

For more information and to buy tickets, call 213-972-8001 or visit www.laopera.com.

Nathan Gunn has made a reputation as one of the most exciting and in-demand baritones of the day. In 2008, returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette (which was broadcast live in HD in movie theaters around the world), the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Figaro in IL Barbiere di Siviglia, the London Symphony Orchestra as the title role in a concert version of Billy Budd, and the New York Philharmonic is semi-staged performances of Camelot (broadcast live on PBS's Great Performances ). He also made four separate appearances at Carnegie Hall: concerts with both the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Luke's in Stern Auditorium, his recital debut in Zankel Hall, and as Gaylord Ravenal in a concert version of Showboat in Stern. Upcoming engagements include two world premieres - Peter Eötvös' Love and Other Demons at the Glyndebourne Festival and André Previn's Brief Encounter at the Houston Grand Opera- his debut at the Los Angeles Opera as Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, and returns to the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Zurga in Les pêcheurs de perles and the Opera Company of Philadelphia as Tarquinius in The Rape of Lucrecita.

Mr. Gunn has appeared in internationally renowned opera houses such as the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Seattle Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Royal Opera House (Covent Garden), Paris Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, Glyndebourne Festival, and the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels. His many roles include the title roles in Billy Budd and Hamlet, Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte, the Count in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Ottone in L'incoronazione di Poppea. He also created the role of Clyde Griffiths in the world premiere of Tobias Picker's new opera, An American Tragedy at the Metropolitan Opera.

Also a distinguished concert performer, Mr. Gunn has appeared the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Münchner Rundfunkorchster, and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. The many conductors with whom he has worked with include, Sir Andrew Davis, Sir Colin Davis, Christoph von Dohnányi, Christoph Eschenbach, Alan Gilbert, Daniel Harding, James Levine, Kurt Masur, Kent Nagano, Antonio Pappano, Donald Runnicles, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Robert Spano, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Mark Wigglesworth.

A frequent recitalist, Mr. Gunn has also been presented in recital at Alice Tully Hall by both Lincoln Center's Art of the Song Series and the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, and by Cal Performances, the Schubert Club, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, the Vocal Arts Society in Washington, DC, the University of Chicago, the Krannert Center, the Wigmore Hall, and the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie. As a student, he performed in series of recitals with his teacher and mentor John Wustman that celebrated the 200th anniversary of Franz Schubert's birth.

Mr. Gunn's most recent solo album, Just Before Sunrise , was released on the Sony/BMG Masterworks label in August 2007. Other recordings include Peter Grimes with Sir Colin Davis and London Symphony Orchestra (LSO Live!), which was nominated for a 2005 Grammy Award; IL Barbiere di Siviglia (SONY Classics), Kullervo with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (Telarc), and his debut album, a collection of American songs entitled American Anthem (EMI). He also starred as Buzz Aldrin in Man on the Moon , an opera written specifically for television and broadcast on the BBC in the UK in December 2006. The program was recently awarded the Golden Rose Award for Opera at the Montreux Festival in Lucerne.

Mr. Gunn was the recipient of the first annual Beverly Sills Artist Award, and was recently awarded the Pittsburgh Opera Renaissance Award. He is an alumnus of the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artists Program and was the winner of the 1994 Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition. In addition, he is also an alumnus of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, where he still makes his home, and was recently awarded a professorship by the university.

For more information, visit www.nathangunn.com.