Friday, January 23 – 7:30 pm
Sunday, January 25 – 2:30 pm

 Pedro Menendez Performing Arts Center
600 State Road 206 West, St. Augustine
Tickets: $25 in advance, $30 at door, $20 students w/ID, $20 group rate (10+)

 Box Office & Donation Line - 904-417-5555

FIRST COAST OPERA BRINGS CLASSIC OPERA BACK TO ST. AUGUSTINE WITH PUCCINI’S LA BOHÈME

First Coast Opera is presenting their first fully staged opera in many seasons this January when they present the world’s most beloved of all operas, Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème.  Don Westwood of Jacksonville Lyric Opera and Belleayre Festival Opera will be stage director for this production that will feature guest artists from the prestigious New York City opera scene, along with musicians and a chorus of singers from around the First Coast region. La Bohème will be performed on Friday, January 23^rd at 7:30 pm and Sunday, January 25^th at 2:30 pm at the Pedro Menendez Performing Arts Center at Pedro Menendez High School, 600 State Road 206 West in St. Augustine. A rare opera program tear sheet signed by The Three Tenors will be raffled, with tickets available at both performances. Buy your La Bohème tickets early to ensure your seats by calling FCO’s ticket line at 904-417-5555. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door, $20 for students with valid student IDs, and $20 per person for groups of ten or more. More information is available on FCO’s website at www.firstcoastopera.com .

Puccini’s La Bohème, a tragedy set in Paris circa 1830, remains immensely popular today due to its poignant story and melodic score of true love and friendships. The libretto was based on the book Scènes de la Vie de Bohème by Henry Murger. This opera is currently the second-most performed opera in North America and the most popular world-wide. It has been reinterpreted in many different ways over the years, including being redesigned as a rock opera in the form of the hit Broadway show, Rent. First Coast Opera will be presenting this opera in Italian with supertitles.

First Coast Opera is excited to be working with Donald Westwood on this production. This will be his second show in St. Augustine, after presenting Jacksonville Lyric Opera’s The Merry Widow for EMMA last season. Mr. Westwood has directed many operas, operettas and musicals around the country, including Pagliacci this past summer for Belleayre Festival Opera. While he is stage directing for First Coast Opera for the first time with La Bohème, FCO regular, Samuel Clein, will be returning as Music Director, after his terrific work with The Pirates Of Penzance last season.

Returning to the First Coast Opera stage for the first time in many seasons, Jacqueline Quirk will be playing the role of Mimì, a role she has performed for Jacksonville Lyric Opera, St. Petersburg Opera, and the Puccini Opera Company of Washington, DC. Ms. Quirk has performed all over the country and internationally. Her noted roles have included Violetta in La Traviata, Micaela in Carmen, and the title role in Madama Butterfly. Her most noted role with FCO was Pamina in The Magic Flute.

Rodolfo will be sung by tenor Timothy W. Sparks, a North Carolina native who has performed extensively throughout the Southeast. A partial list of engagements includes the Opera Company of North Carolina, Greensboro Opera, Triangle Opera, National Opera, Capitol Opera Raleigh, and Jacksonville Lyric Opera. International credits include the Hochschule der Kunste in Berlin.  Mr. Sparks currently serves as Instructor of Voice and Diction at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Other singers in the cast include Jacksonville resident Tracy Thorne. She will play Musetta and has performed a variety of leading and supporting roles across the country with Michigan Opera Theatre, Toledo Opera, Opera Northeast and others. Marcello will be played by baritone Steven Jepson. Mr. Jepson has sung this role before for Tampa Bay Opera and Muddy River Opera in Illinois. He has performed operas and concerts throughout the Southeast and Midwest.  Other principals include Nathan Resika (Colline), Eugene D. Heard (Schaunard) and David Seatter (Benoit/Alcindoro). Mr. Heard is a native of Jacksonville, but is now based in New York City. Mr. Seatter is returning to St. Augustine after performing Njegus in The Merry Widow in the city in 2007.

Accompanying these talented guest artists will be many local performers.  A 23-voice chorus is being prepared by chorusmaster Kathy Vande Berg for La Bohème. Mrs. Vande Berg is well known in the community for her work with FCO, the St. Augustine Community Chorus, the St. Augustine Singers and the Flagler College Singers. Music Director Samuel Clein is putting together an orchestra of talented local musicians. Mr. Clein has become a staple of the local music scene, performing and directing for FCO, Limelight Theatre, Players By The Sea and local schools, churches and synagogues.

The First Coast Opera is in its ninth season of providing Northeast Florida with professional performances of opera, operetta, cabarets and more. This season features Cabaret Español, Puccini’s La Bohème and Romanza: Songs Of Love. The company was founded by Barbara Norris and Anthony Fast and is located in the historic city of St. Augustine, Florida.  Past productions have included Madama Butterfly, The Magic Flute, The Pirates Of Penzance, Master Class, Amahl and the Night Visitors, HMS Pinafore, Babes in Toyland, The Mikado and many concerts and cabarets.  First Coast Opera is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation and is partially funded by the St. Johns County Tourist Development Council.