Palm Beach Opera Reveals Star-Studded Cast for 2024 Season

Palm Beach Opera has announced the world-class cast for its 2024 Season, which features Puccini’s “Tosca,” Offenbach’s “The Tales of Hoffman,” and for the first time in 15 years, Bellini’s “Norma,” all beginning in January next year.

Following up on the company’s successful 2023 Season, Palm Beach Opera’s 2024 opera titles are among the most celebrated in the world. Palm Beach Opera will open the highly anticipated season with Giacomo Puccini’s legendary “Tosca” on Jan. 26-28, followed by Jacques Offenbach’s fantastical “The Tales of Hoffmann” on March 1-3 and Vincenzo Bellini’s cherished “Norma” on April 5-7. All performances will take place at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.

"We are proud to present another season of mesmerizing live opera to South Florida," said PBO's General and Artistic Director David Walker. "All three operas feature gripping drama, top-tier artists from around the world, and daring productions that will thrill audiences." 

On Jan. 26-28, Palm Beach Opera will open the mainstage season with the classic thriller “Tosca.” PBO’s Chief Conductor David Stern will lead the orchestra and Israeli stage director Omer Ben Seadia, known for her creative staging, will lead the cast. Starring as Tosca will be world-famous soprano Maria José Siri, who has performed the role in over 20 productions across the globe, including at Vienna State Opera and Deutsche Oper Berlin—two of the most notable opera houses in the world. Siri will make both her company and USA debut in this performance. New York native Caitlin Gotimer, who recently debuted at Arizona Opera as Tosca earlier this year, will perform the title role on Jan. 27. Returning to PBO as Cavaradossi are tenors Mario Chang and Jonathan Burton (Jan. 27). Chang was last seen at the company as Nemorino in last year’s critically acclaimed “The Elixir of Love” and Burton will mark his seventh performance with the company, last seen as Pinkerton in PBO’s “Madama Butterfly” earlier this year. American bass-baritone Greer Grimsley, who appears at the Metropolitan Opera this fall, and Ukrainian-born baritone Aleksey Bogdanov (Jan. 27), recognized for his “star quality” by Opera News, will share the role of Scarpia. Performing at PBO for the first time since 1999, Grammy Award-winning baritone Adelmo Guidarelli returns as Sacristan. Seadia, Gotimer, Grimsley, and Bogdanov will all mark company debuts in this production.

On March 1-3, PBO will present “The Tales of Hoffmann,” hailed by NPR as “one of the grandest and most expressive of all 19th-century French operas.” PBO's Chief Conductor David Stern will lead the orchestra, and David Gately, who directed PBO's “The Marriage of Figaro” in 1995 to critical acclaim, returns to lead the cast. Sharing the role of Hoffmann are tenors Kang Wang, recognized for his “herculean voice” by The Australian, and recent PBO artist Dominick Chenes (March 2), who will perform the role for the very first time. Starring as the four heroines are Brandie Sutton, this summer’s star of “Treemonisha” at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Erika Baikoff (March 2), a recent graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s esteemed Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. Starring as the four villains are Zachary Nelson, who will mark a role debut in his fifth PBO performance, and Mark Delavan (March 2), who sang the same role in PBO’s “The Tales of Hoffmann” in 2014. In a PBO debut, Emily Fons will star as Niklausse/Muse, a role she has previously performed at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Julius Ahn, who returns to PBO after a 2011 appearance in “Madama Butterfly,” will mark a role debut as Valet Tenor. Wang, Sutton, and Baikoff will mark both house and role debuts in this performance. 

On April 5-7, Palm Beach Opera Will Close its mainstage season with the rarely-heard and epic drama “Norma.” Last seen in PBO’s acclaimed “Madama Butterfly” earlier this year, renowned conductor Carlo Montanaro returns to lead the orchestra. Former artistic director of both Tulsa Opera and Cincinnati Opera, Nic Muni boasts a decades-long career in the industry and will direct the bel-canto opera in his PBO debut. Celebrated by the New York Times for her “gleaming sound,” Jessica Pratt will star as Norma, marking both a house and role debut. Praised for her “commanding stage presence” by OperaWire, Croatia native Marigona Qerkezi will also star in the title role, appearing in the USA for the first time as Norma for the April 6 performance. Sharing the role of Adalgisa will be Ashley Dixon and Anne Marie Stanley (April 6), both recent Grand Finals Winners of the Met’s famed Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition. Sharing the role of Pollione is Paolo Fanale, who sang the same role in Barcelona last year, and Moisés Salazar, a PBO Benenson Young Artist alumnus from both 2021 and 2022 seasons, marking a role debut. French bass Nicolas Testé will sing the role of Oroveso. Dixon, Fanale, Testé will also mark house debuts, and Stanley and Qerkezi will mark both house and role debuts. 

“Tosca” and “Norma” will be sung in Italian, and “The Tales of Hoffmann” will be sung in French, all with English supertitles projected above the stage. Season subscriptions start at $60, and single tickets start at $25. Tickets are available for purchase on pbopera.org or by calling the box office at 561.833.7888. For more information, visit pbopera.org.