Directed by Emily Pulley
Conducted by Dean Williamson
Featuring the Nashville Opera Orchestra
Sung in English with projected English lyrics
Score by Sir Arthur Sullivan
Libretto by Sir William S. Gilbert
Premiered in London, Opera Comique, May 25, 1878
H.M.S. Pinafore was the show that began it all for G&S. Sullivan’s beautiful music paired with the clever wordplay of Gilbert produced many classics of the music theatre stage, but none more audience pleasing than this early collaboration. Nowadays, the very mention of the names Gilbert and Sullivan evoke the memory of such shows as The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado, and Iolanthe. But it all started here!
With all the topsy-turvy storytelling and wordplay you can handle, this high-seas operetta is all high-jinks and good times for the whole family!
Eric McKeever
SIR JOSEPH PORTER, KCB
Andrew Payne
CAPTAIN CORCORAN
Zachary Taylor *
RALPH RACKSTRAW
Luke Harnish
DICK DEADEYE
Keaton Brown *
BOATSWAIN
Yeonjae Cho *
JOSEPHINE CORCORAN
Katherine Kincaid *
COUSIN HEBE
Emily Pulley
LITTLE BUTTERCUP (MRS. CRIPPS)
Emily Pulley
Director
Dean Williamson
Conductor
* 2025 Mary Ragland Emerging Artist
Score by Georges Bizet
Libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy
(Based on a novel by Propser Merimee)
Premiered in Paris, Opera Comique, March 3, 1875
Directed by John Hoomes
Conducted by Dean Williamson
Featuring the Nashville Opera Orchestra
Sung in French with projected English lyrics
Don Jose, a young soldier, has his life planned out. He’ll have a solid career in the military; he’ll marry his hometown sweetheart...everything in order. But then he meets...CARMEN. Considered by many to be the most popular opera ever written, the sensual tale of Carmen, the free-spirited, passionate girl, is a work teeming with excitement, emotion, and desire. Bizet’s stunning and beautiful music paints the days of desert heat, and the nights of fiery passion with an all-consuming fever that cannot be ignored.
Marina Costa Jackson
CARMEN
Zach Borichevsky
DON JOSE
Kathryn Lewek
MICAËLA
Richard Ollarsaba
ESCAMILLO
Bernardo Medieros
ZUNIGA
Dee Donasco
FRASQUITA
Sara Crigger
MERCEDES
Gregory Sliskovich
REMENDADO
Ryan Bede
MORALES / DANCAÏRE
John Hoomes
Director
Dean Williamson
Conductor
Shawn E. Okpebholo’s THE COOK-OFF (World Premiere)
Libretto by Mark Campbell
Sung in English and Spanish with projected English supertitles
Featuring Lee Hoiby’s BON APPÉTIT! (The Julia Child Opera)
Sung in English with projected English supertitles
THE COOK OFF Directed by John Hoomes
BON APPÉTIT Directed by Emily Pulley
Conducted by Dean Williamson
Featuring the Nashville Opera Orchestra
We’re serving two delicious comedies in a big blue plate special!
As your appetizer, Julia Child teaches the audience how to make a chocolate cake (in a somewhat roundabout, hilarious way).
For the main course, join three contestants of your favorite TV cooking competition, America Loves Food, as they compete to make America’s favorite comfort food: macaroni & cheese!
Shawn E. Okpebholo
COMPOSER
Mark Campbell
LIBRETTIST
Craig Irvin
KENNY KINCAID
Emily Pulley
BERYL BENNETT
Amy Owens
IVY SWEET
Rehanna Thelwell
KENDRA SMITH
Jehu Otero
ALVARO MENDEZ
Emily Pulley
JULIA CHILD
Emily Pulley
Director
BON APPÉTIT!
John Hoomes
Director
THE COOK-OFF
Dean Williamson
Conductor
Directed by John Hoomes
Conducted by Dean Williamson
Featuring the Nashville Opera Orchestra
Sung in Italian with projected English lyrics
Score by Gaetano Donizetti
Libretto by Salvatore Cammarano
(Based on the book The Bride of Lammermoor by Sir Walter Scott)
Premiere: Naples, Teatro San Carlo, September 26, 1835
Deep in the Scottish moors, trouble brews. Lucia is in love with Edgardo, but is forced into a loveless, arranged marriage to another man by her possessive, controlling brother. Driven to the brink of madness and despair, Lucia takes matters into her own hands, with horrific results.
Considered one of the greatest romantic, Italian operas ever written (based on Sir Walter Scott’s famous novel), Lucia is classic bel canto (beautiful singing) opera featuring passionate music, intense drama, the world famous sextet in Act II, and the show stopping Mad Scene!
Rainelle Krause
LUCIA
César Delgado
EGARDO
Timothy Mix
ENRICO
William Guanbo Su
RAIMONDO
Sara Crigger
ALISA
Gregory Sliskovich
ARTURO/NORMANNO
John Hoomes
Director
Dean Williamson
Conductor
Nashville Opera is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Nashville Opera is supported, in part, by federal award number SLFRP5534 awarded to the State of Tennessee by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.