Audiences will travel to Paris this weekend from the seats of the historic Soo Theatre to watch art and love unfold before their eyes in La Bohème.
Soo Opera produces a fully staged professional performance once a year and the time is here. La Bohème is the highly anticipated, long awaited Soo Theatre opera of 2022.
Highly trained, world famous musicians have traveled from around the nation to perform this classic opera in Sault Ste. Marie, MI.
Among them is University of Nebraska-Lincoln's (UNL) Assistant Professor of Voice, Suna Avci Gunther, who will play La Bohème's Musetta. Avci Gunther looks forward to sharing the stage with her husband, Thomas Gunther, and their five-year-old daughter.
The opera's director, conductor, singers and pianists all arrived the day after Die Fledermaus was last performed on Sunday, July 31.
Mexican and Hungarian-American opera and theatre director Anna Rebek of New York City will be directing this weekend's La Bohème performance.
Avci Gunther was happy to introduce Rebeck, explaining that she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from Yale University. Rebeck went on to receive a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from Anne Bogart’s Columbia Directing program. She has acted on the professional stage and in films for approximately 20 years, having toured the world with the "first female inclusive cast" of Terrence McNally‘s Corpus Christi.
"Anna was awarded the Directing Fellowship at Juilliard and studied opera in their vocal arts department with Stephen Wadsworth," said Avci Gunther. "Last year she was elevated to faculty status there as well, and assisted their five main stage operas, including Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress and Rossi’s L’Orfeo. Anna made her opera directing debut this summer with the Prague Summer Nights Festival, directing Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro in the historic Estates Theater in Prague."
Conductor John Nardolillo earned degrees in violin and conducting from the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Peabody Conservatory. He has, since, conducted concerts with more than thirty American orchestras.
Avci Gunther proudly listed off: San Francisco Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Dallas Symphony, National Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Nashville Symphony, and the Boston Pops Orchestra at Symphony Hall in Boston and on tour.
"Mr. Nardolillo has also conducted concerts at Carnegie Hall in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, Smetana Hall, Rudolfinum in Prague, National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing and the Oriental Arts Center in Shanghai," Avci Gunther added.
Nardolillo’s collaborators are said to have included well-known names like Lang Lang, Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Gil Shaham, Sarah Chang, Lynn Harrell, and several more. He is the artistic director and conductor of the Prague Summer Nights Festival.
"Highlights have included concerts and operas at the Prague Proms Festival, Smetana Hall, Dvorak Hall, the Estates Theatre and the Mozarteum in Salzburg," said Avci Gunther, crediting numerous other opera repertoires. "Mr. Nardolillo has led the premiere performance and first recording of Thomas Pasatieri’s opera God Bless Us Everyone in New York, the first recording of Pasatieri’s Hotel Casablanca, and the premiere of Joseph Baber’s River of Time."
Nardolillo made his professional conducting debut at the Sully Festival of France in 1994. He has also appeared in the United States, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Czech Republic and China.
"Since 1998, John Nardolillo has served as music director and conductor for folksinger Arlo Guthrie’s appearances with symphony orchestras. Mr. Nardolillo and Mr. Guthrie have performed together with orchestras around the country, and the program has been featured by the Boston Pops on the television programs," said Avci Gunther.
Perhaps you have heard him on popular television and radio stations, like NBC, ESPN, NPR, PBS, BBC, CBC, etc.
According to UNL's Assistant Professor of Voice, Nardolillo has led orchestras and instructed conductor masterclasses at leading universities and conservatories, such as the following: Eastman School of Music, Yale University, the St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia, and Central Conservatory in Beijing, China.
Nardolillo is currently the Director of Orchestras at the University of Kentucky School of Music. His university biography reads:
"Mr. Nardolillo is the Founder and Music Director of the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC, an orchestra of top young professional musicians, drawn from the ranks of the world's leading orchestras, who travel from around the United States, Canada and Europe to perform together each season."
This weekend, the world famous conductor is at the Soo Theatre to perform La Bohème.
The world-renowned La Bohème was first composed by Giacomo Puccini around 1894 to later become an Italian opera. It was based on scenes from "La Vie de Bohème," written by French novelist Henry Munger in 1851. "La Vie de Bohème" translates to English as "Scenes of Bohemian Life."
Avci Gunther described the four main characters of La Bohème as a poet, painter, philosopher, and musician.
Poet Rodolfo falls in love with his neighbor, Mimi, while painter Marcello finds himself "falling in and out of the good graces" of lover Musetta (Avci Gunther). Meanwhile, philosopher Colline and musician Schaunard "find all kinds of ways to play one another’s yin and yang."
"Ultimately, all six characters direct their passions toward one another in ways that are funny, heartfelt, and tragic," said Avci Gunther. "This show is fabulous theatre on so many levels. Its music is gorgeous; its humanity will make you laugh and cry; and the performers are doing a phenomenal, beautiful job capturing this exquisite work. There are truly world-class artists involved in this production on stage, in the pit, and in every aspect of its preparation."
La Bohème was produced in just two weeks. Therefore, Avci Gunther said it was essential for everyone to know their roles inside out. Lines must be memorized and understood.
"Singing with this caliber of performers and musicians is such a treat, and one that’s allowed me to grow in really meaningful ways. I am proud beyond words to be a part of this show, and I can’t wait to share it with audiences."
This is Avci Gunter's fourth summer coming up to Sault Ste. Marie, MI, and she completely loves everything about it.
"Every time I come, I find new things to love," she said. "This time, since we brought one of our daughters for the first time, I discovered gems like Sherman Park, Project Playground, and hidden beaches. I got to rediscover the Soo Locks and downtown through the eyes of a very excited five-year-old. And, of course, the part of visiting Sault Ste. Marie I love most is strengthening the relationships I built in previous visits and forming new ones. My husband has been telling me for twelve years that this is his “happy place.” Every time I join him here, I understand that even more deeply."
La Bohème performances will play at the historic Soo Theater on 535 Ashmun Street, Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783. Showtimes are scheduled on Friday, Aug. 12 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 14 at 4 p.m. Tickets cost $25 for adults and $10 for students.
La Bohème will show again at Mackinac Island at Mission Point on Monday, Aug. 15 at 4 p.m.
