Opera New Jersey Summer Festival

Opera New Jersey's annual summer festival begins in June with a schedule that includes three classic operas and a host of other performances and master classes, including a popular and silly operetta, a passion-filled Romantic tragedy and a joyful Mozart comedy.

 

The first of the three opera productions will be Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" on July 10, 18 and 26, featuring Lisette Oropesa as Lucia, Jonathan Boyd as her betrothed Edgardo and Eric Dubin as her brother Enrico. In charge of stage direction will be John Hoomes with Ching conducting.

 

Gilbert & Sullivan's farce "The Mikado" will be staged July 12, 15 and 25, featuring Joel Sorenson as the minstrel Nanki-Poo, Anne-Carolyn Bird as his beloved Yum-Yum and Curt Olds as the Lord High Executioner. Michael Scarola will be the stage director, and Steven Mosteller will conduct.

Third in the series will be Mozart's "The Abduction from the Seraglio" on July 11, 16, 19 and 24, featuring Jennifer Rowley as Konstanze and Scott Ramsay as Belmonte. Bernard Uzun will be stage director for this production, and Mark Flint will conduct.

Concerts will be held in McCarter Theatre, 91 University Place in Princeton. Showtimes vary. Opening night for each production will feature a pre-curtain talk one hour prior to the show. Call 609-258-2787 or visit www.mccarter.org for tickets.