Boheme Opera NJ (“Boheme”), one of the oldest opera companies in New Jersey, brings Giacomo Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” to the stage on March 24, 2023, at 8:00 pm and March 26, 2023, at 3:00 pm at Kendall Hall Theater on the campus of The College of New Jersey. The address is: Park Drive, Ewing Township, NJ 08638
An outstanding cast will make the opera’s passion and pain resonate in every heart. The
dynamic ensemble of emerging and veteran artists is headlined by soprano Ashley Bell as Cio-Cio-San (Butterfly). An international sensation, Ms. Bell has performed in operas and recitals in the U.S., Italy, Spain, France and Russia, recently making her debut with Seville’s Teatro de la Maestranza as Violetta in “La Traviata.” Joining Ms. Bell as her character’s romantic counterpart, Pinkerton, is tenor Jeremy Brauner. Mr. Brauner, a finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition-Northeast Region for 2019, will be familiar to Boheme audiences as the Duke of Mantua in the company’s 2022 production of “Rigoletto.”
Praised for her “charismatic presence” by the Chicago Classical Review and “velvety voice” by the Chicago Tribune, mezzo-soprano Ashley Kay Armstrong portrays Butterfly’s faithful servant Suzuki. Boheme is proud to have its stage graced once again by world-renowned baritone Daniel Sutin as Pinkerton’s noble foil Sharpless, whose career has seen him in lead roles with the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera and many others around the globe. Boheme is equally thrilled to have international star and four-time Grammy Award recipient tenor John Easterlin in the cast as the sly marriage broker, Goro.
“Madama Butterfly” will be sung in Italian with projected English supertitles. Free pre-curtain talks will take place in the theater one hour before performances. Visit https://www.bohemeopera.org/madama-butterfly for more information and to purchase tickets. Call the Boheme office at (609) 581-9551 with questions and to learn about sponsorships and group tickets.
About Boheme Opera NJ
Since its founding in 1989, Boheme Opera’s mission continues to be making world-class musical performance accessible and available to artists and audiences through fully staged opera, concerts and outreach. The Company promotes community involvement, business partnerships and collaborations with other arts organizations, and has been recognized by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts with three Citations of Excellence. Funding for Boheme Opera NJ programs is made possible in part by a grant from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; Princeton Friends of Opera; Boheme Opera NJ Guild; Dorothea Van Dyke McLane Association; Investors Foundation; Citizen’s Philanthropic Foundation, Northfield Bank, NJM Insurance Group; Northwest Criterion Asset Management LLC; corporations, businesses, individuals; and collaborative/corporate matching gift contributions.
