Opera Lyra Ottawa presents La Bohème at the NAC

After some setbacks last year, Opera Lyra Ottawa is back in action this weekend with a new General Director and a world class opera with a world class cast/crew. Puccini’s La Bohème, a story of love and loss in 19th Century Paris, has been the inspiration of many contemporary movie and musicals, most notably Jonathon Larson’s award-winning RENT. La Bohème opens at the NAC on September 8th for a four night run.

Performers Joyce El-Khoury and Michael Fabiano and director Joe Bascetta talks about La Bohème in our video preview:

Trouble with the video embed? Watch directly on YouTube instead.

Opera Lyra presents Puccini's La Bohème at the NAC in SeptemberLa Bohème tells a bittersweet tale of young love and loss set among the vibrant artists of the Latin Quarter of Paris.  The passionate music and powerful drama of Giacomo Puccini’s masterpiece focus on the tender, yet ill-fated attraction between Rodolfo, a poet, who resides in a cold-water garret with his rambunctious friends, and Mimì, a seamstress who lives down the hall.  Surrounded by the cheery hustle of the artists’ quarter, their passion burns brightly for all too short a time.

Presented by Opera Lyra Ottawa, La Bohème opens at the NAC on September 8th with additional shows on September 10th, 12th, and 15th. Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased from Ticketmaster or the NAC Box Office. La Bohème stars Joyce El-Khoury as Mimi, Michael Fabiano as Rodolfo, Laura Whalen as Musetta, and Joshua Hopkins as Marcello. (Fabiano and Hopkins were recently named as two of the top singers to watch by Opera News) This production has been directed by Joe Bascetta and will be conducted by internationally acclaimed conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony, Alexander Shelly .

The opera will be sung in Italian with surtitles available in both English and French.

There will also be pre-performance Opera chats before each show, starting at 7pm, which are free for ticket holders. These will take place in English with OLO’s Artistic Director, Tyrone Patterson on the 8th, 12th, and 15th and in French with Musician Fabian Tousignant on the 10th.

Other Media:

The Production Ottawa review of La Bohème. (plus audience rating)
Helping Destiny Along (The Visitorium)
Review-La Bohème (Apt 613)
Latest Opera Lyra Production (La Bohème) is Musically Exquisite and Theatrically Exciting (Capital Critics Circle)
OLO La Bohème Review (COMMANDOpera)
Review: Opera Lyra rises again with a well-crafted Bohème (Ottawa Citizen)
La Boheme: At last the return of Opera Lyra. Bravo! Bravo! (Capital Critics Circle)
Opera Lyra’s La Boheme: A fun and Unique Night Out (Ottawa Sneezers)

(If you come across any press not listed here, please submit it to us.)

Photos:

The following photos were taken at the media call for La Bohème. You can find a larger gallery on our Facebook page.

More Photos! Here’s a set of photos from the final dress rehearsal for La Boheme at the NAC. Like above, you can find a larger gallery on our Facebook page.

What do you think? Have you seen or will you see the show? Are you an opera fan? Tell us in the comments below.

Preview article prepared by Allan Mackey.
Video preview produced by Valley Wind Productions.
Producer: Allan Mackey
Photographer: David Pasho 

Links to this article.

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