ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. - Opera Pacific presents its final opera of the 2003 - 2004 mainstage season, April 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 2004, at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, with the pairing of Ruggero Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci and Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. The productions will be presented in their original languages with English Supertitles.

 

Opera Pacific revives its tremendously successful pairing of I Pagliacci and Carmina Burana.  Audiences are left at the edge of their seats as this extraordinary evening of opera unfolds.  The vibrant cast includes the Company debut of Canadian soprano Sally Dibblee as Nedda in I Pagliacci and the soprano soloist in Carmina Burana, and fellow Canadian tenor John Mac Master also making his Company debut as the jealous lover Canio in I Pagliacci.  The cast also includes baritone Donnie Ray Albert (who appeared in Opera Pacific’s production of Porgy and Bess in 1987) as Tonio, the Company debut of baritone Malcolm MacKenzie as Silvio and the baritone soloist in Carmina Burana, and tenor Scott Scully as Beppe and the tenor soloist in Carmina Burana. In addition to an exhilarating night of music and theater, this production also features thrilling choreography and dance by the world-renowned dance troupe BodyVox under the artistic direction and choreography of Jamey Hampton and Ashley Roland.

 

Guest Conductor Enrique Diemecke (music director and principal conductor of Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México, the Flint Symphony Orchestra and principal guest conductor of the Orchestre National de Montpellier in France) leads the Opera Pacific Orchestra and Chorus in this innovative production designed by Allen Moyer, with lighting by Stephen Ross and costumes by James Scott.

 

 

 

OPERA PACIFIC begins its 19^th season (2004 – 2005) Tuesday, November 9, 2004, and continues through Sunday, August 14, 2005, at the Orange County Performing Arts Center and the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa. The mainstage season presented at the Orange County Performing Arts Center will begin with Giacomo Puccini’s exquisite Turandot, November 9, 11, 13, 14, 2004; continues with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s timeless comedy The Marriage of Figaro, January 18, 20, 22, 23, 2005; Camille Saint-Saëns’ powerful Samson & Delilah, February 22, 24, 26, 27, 2005; and concludes with Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata May 17, 19, 21, 22, 2005.  The final production of the season, Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, will take place at the Pacific Amphitheatre on the Orange County Fairgrounds August 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 2005.

 

Opera Pacific performances at the Orange County Performing Arts Center are located at 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA. Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. for all performances running Tuesday through Saturday, 2 p.m. for all Sunday matinees. Single tickets for I Pagliacci / Carmina Burana  are on sale now and range from $40 - $185. Subscriptions for the 2004 - 2005 season range from $99 - $985 and can currently be reserved.

                                                                                                                                  

 

For more information or to order tickets, please call 1 800 34 OPERA

or visit us at www.operapacific.org.