La Sonnambula debuts at the Michigan Opera Theatre

DETROIT: Michigan Opera Theatre opens its 2008 Spring Opera Season with the company’s first-ever production of Vincenzo Bellini’s La Sonnambula, a haunting tale of love, betrayal and redemption, with five performances, March 29-April 6, 2008. 

This premiere marks the first time La Sonnambula has been presented in Detroit in the 37-year history of Michigan Opera Theatre. 

“We are excited to bring a Bellini masterpiece to Detroit audiences for the first time. It’s such a thrill to be able to present this beautiful production with such an illustrious production team that includes such well-known names in the opera world as Renata Scotto and Richard Bonynge,” said Michigan Opera Theatre General Director David DiChiera.

La Sonnambula takes place during a time when innocence, feudal lords, and superstition reign over the hearts and minds of townspeople at an 1830s inn, located in Switzerland. Amina, a sleepwalker mistaken for a ghost in her nocturnal wanderings, unwittingly enters the room of mysterious stranger, Count Rodolfo. When her fiancé Elvino finds his bride-to-be sleeping in the Count’s room, he immediately claims infidelity and calls off the marriage.  All ends well, however, when the Count’s hidden identity is exposed, the truth is awakened within Elvino, and the two lovers are safely reunited.

The cast of includes two sopranos alternating in the role of Amina, including Russian soprano Ekaterina Siurina, making her Michigan Opera Theatre debut, and Cuban-American soprano Eglise Gutiérrez, who made her MOT debut as Liu in Turandot in the spring 2007 season.

Charles Castronovo, who made his company debut as Rodolfo in La Bohéme in 2005, alternates the role of Elvino with Andrea Cesare Coronella, an Italian tenor. Andrew Gangestad, a Korean-American bass, will alternate in the role of the mysterious Rodolfo with returning Polish bass Daniel Borowski.

Tickets range from $28-$120, and are available at the Detroit Opera House ticket office (1526 Broadway, Detroit, 48226), by phone at (313) 237-SING (7464) and online at www.MichiganOpera.org. Tickets are also available at all TicketMaster outlets, by phone at (248) 645-6666 or online at www.TicketMaster.com. 

Bellini’s La Sonnambula

Saturday, March 29, 2008                       7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008                       7:30 p.m.

Friday, April 4, 2008                   7:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 5, 2008               7:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 6, 2008                 2:30 p.m.