The Atlanta Opera opens 2024–25 season with immersive “Bohème Project”

(August 2024) —The Atlanta Opera – “a powerhouse in the Atlanta arts scene” (ArtsATL) and
“one of the most exciting opera companies in America” (OperaWire) – opens the 2024-25
season with two contemporary and immersive Discoveries series productions as part of the
“Bohème Project.” Following last season’s traditional production of Puccini’s La bohème, the
2024-25 Discoveries series will present a modern-day take on the same opera, updated to the
time of the COVID-19 pandemic, running in repertory with Jonathan Larson’s Rent, with both
shows performed at Atlanta’s Pullman Yards (Sep 18–Oct 6). Also this fall, The Atlanta Opera’s
mainstage series at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre opens with Mozart’s The Magic
Flute, featuring Rainelle Krause in her company debut as the Queen of the Night and Santiago
Ballerini as the hero Tamino (Nov 2–10). All mainstage series productions will be livestreamed
and filmed for release by The Atlanta Opera Film Studio.

Discoveries Series: The Atlanta Opera’s immersive “Bohème Project”

Following last season’s traditional production of Puccini’s La bohème, the Atlanta Opera
Discoveries series continues “The Bohème Project” in September with two immersive
productions. Produced by Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. General & Artistic Director Tomer Zvulun with
Ukrainian-Israeli American designer, director, and multimedia artist Vita Tzykun, the Discoveries
series “Bohème Project” comprises repertory performances of a modern-day La bohème – with
the COVID-19 pandemic in place of tuberculosis – with the Broadway show it inspired, Jonathan
Larson’s Rent, which updated Puccini’s story of friendship, passion, and art by setting it in the
midst of the 1990’s HIV/AIDS crisis. Performed on the same set at Atlanta’s Pullman Yards, with
the action taking place in and around the seated audience, the productions will feature different
casts and musical forces and will alternate nights for most of the run. On September 22 and 29,
the two works will be performed back-to-back. Zvulun explains:

“La bohème is such a romantic, sweeping opera that we forget sometimes that the story is about
the impact on a whole generation of a devastating pandemic, in this case tuberculosis, which
ravaged the world in the 19th century. Our own generation has been forever altered by the
COVID-19 pandemic, and its impact will be with us for many years to come. In 2024, The Atlanta
Opera launched an experimental program that we named the “Bohème Project,” using that
timeless story to reflect on three pandemics: tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and COVID-19. Last season’s
traditional presentation of La bohème was part of our Mainstage series. In the fall, we return to
the historic space of Pullman Yards to present immersive, groundbreaking productions of Rent
and a brand-new adaptation of La bohème as part of our Discoveries series.”

La bohème will be sung in Italian with English supertitles, and Rent will be sung in English. A
video of Zvulun discussing “The Bohème Project” can be found here.

The Atlanta Opera Discoveries series has been widely recognized for presenting new works, new
ideas and fresh perspectives, as well as for performances in alternative venues that bring opera to
new audiences across the Atlanta metro area. One of the city’s premier entertainment
destinations, Pullman Yards – where The Atlanta Opera also mounted its recent production of
Cabaret – is now also home to Fishmonger, named among Bon Appetit’s best new restaurants for
2023.

Mainstage operas: the hero’s journey

The Atlanta Opera’s 2024-25 mainstage season, themed to different perspectives on the so-called
“hero’s journey,” begins with Mozart’s The Magic Flute, directed by Tomer Zvulun and starring
Santiago Ballerini as Tamino, the hero prince, and Meigui Zhang as Pamina, the princess he
seeks. Baritone Luke Sutliff sings Papageno, Peixin Chen is the magician Sarastro, Rainelle
Krause sings the Queen of the Night, and tenor Barry Banks sings Monostatos (Nov 2–10).
Verdi’s Macbeth, by contrast, brings to life the tragedy of Shakespeare’s brooding anti-hero.
In the title role is Atlanta Opera favorite Michael Mayes, most recently seen in Bluebeard’s
Castle, Dead Man Walking, and Sweeney Todd. Soprano Sara Gartland sings opposite Mayes as
Lady Macbeth, and Korean tenor Won Whi Choi returns as Macduff after singing the Duke of
Mantua in last season’s Rigoletto (March 1–9).

Also highlighting the season is Tomer Zvulun’s new production of Wagner’s Siegfried, the third
opera in The Atlanta Opera’s Ring cycle, featuring Greer Grimsley, Stefan Vinke, Barry Banks,
Lise Lindstrom, and Lindsay Ammann. Like the previous Ring cycle productions, Siegfried is
directed by Zvulun in collaboration with scenic and projections designer Erhard Rom and
lighting designer Robert Wierzel, with costumes by European Opera Prize-winner Mattie
Ullrich. The team expands on their vision from the first two productions, creating a setting
equally inspired by ancient Germanic folklore and today’s Marvel multiverse. (April 26–May 4).

Closing out the season is the story of an anti-heroine, Handel’s Semele (June 7–15), which sees
the return of soprano Lauren Snouffer to the Atlanta stage. Praised by Opera for a voice that is
“lovely, pure, and flexible,” Snouffer takes the title role in Handel’s moving work taken from
Ovid’s Metamorphoses about a love triangle between the mortal Princess Semele, Jupiter and a
jealously raging Juno. Semele loses her life, but from her ashes is born her son, Bacchus.

About The Atlanta Opera

The Atlanta Opera’s mission is to break the boundaries of opera to create exceptional experiences
for audiences everywhere. Founded in 1979, the company works with world-renowned singers,
conductors, directors and designers who seek to enhance the art form. Under the leadership of
internationally recognized stage director and Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. General & Artistic Director
Tomer Zvulun, The Atlanta Opera has expanded from three to four mainstage productions at Cobb
Energy Performing Arts Centre and launched the acclaimed “Discoveries” event series, as well as
the innovative 96-Hour Opera Project. In recent years, the company has been named among the
“Best of 2015” by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and was nominated in 2016 and 2023 for
International Opera Awards. It also received ArtsATL’s 2019 Luminary Award for Community
Engagement in recognition of its successful Veterans Program in partnership with the Home
Depot Foundation, while the 2023 Governor’s Award for the Arts and Humanities recognized the
excellence of the 96-Hour Opera Project. In addition, The Atlanta Opera was featured in a 2018
Harvard Business School case study about successful organizational growth, and Zvulun
presented a TEDx Talk at Emory University titled “The Ambidextrous Opera Company, or Opera in
the Age of iPhones.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, The Atlanta Opera was one of the only
companies in the world to create a full, alternative season, consisting of no fewer than 40 live
performances in two different outdoor venues, including a revolutionary custom-designed circus
tent. The critically acclaimed productions and concerts were streamed in HD on the newly created
“Atlanta Opera Film Studio” streaming platform, which continues to allow The Atlanta Opera to
reach a global audience. National media coverage of the “pandemic season” included features in
the Wall Street Journal and on PBS NewsHour. Reflecting on the company’s achievements over the
past decade, Musical America declared, “The Atlanta Opera has arrived.” For more information,
visit atlantaopera.org.

High-resolution photos are available here.

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Atlanta Opera: 2024-25 45th Anniversary Mainstage and
Discoveries season

All performances take place in the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre unless otherwise specified

Sep 18–Oct 6
Pullman Yards
DISCOVERIES SERIES: THE BOHÈME PROJECT
Giacomo Puccini: La bohème
Sung in Italian with English supertitles
Libretto: Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa
Jonathan Larson and Billy Aronson: Rent
Sung in English
Co-directors: Tomer Zvulun and Vita Tzykun
La bohème: Sep 18, 20, 22m, 25, 27, 29m; Oct 1, 3, 5
Rent: Sep 19, 21, 22, 26, 28, 29; Oct 2, 4, 6m

Nov 2, 5, 8, 10
W.A. Mozart: The Magic Flute
In German with English supertitles
Libretto: Emanuel Schikaneder
Conductor: Arthur Fagen
Director: Tomer Zvulun
Tamino: Santiago Ballerini
Pamina: Meigui Zhang
The Queen of the Night: Rainelle Krause
Papageno: Luke Sutliff
Sarastro: Peixin Chen
Monostatos: Barry Banks

March 1, 4, 7, 9
Giuseppe Verdi: Macbeth
In Italian with English supertitles
Libretto: Francesco Maria Piave and Andrea Maffei
Conductor: Iván López Reynoso
Macbeth: Michael Mayes
Lady Macbeth: Sara Gartland
Banquo: Morris Robinson
Macduff: Won Whi Choi

April 26, 29; May 2, 4
Richard Wagner: Siegfried
In German with English supertitles
Libretto: Richard Wagner
Conductor: Roberto Kalb
Director: Tomer Zvulun
Siegfried: Stefan Vinke
Mime: Barry Banks
Wanderer/Wotan: Greer Grimsley
Brünnhilde: Lise Lindstrom
Alberich: Zachary Nelson
Erda: Lindsay Ammann
Fafner: Alexander Köpeczi

June 7, 10, 13, 15
George Frideric Handel: Semele
In English with English supertitles
Libretto: William Congreve
Producer: Tomer Zvulun
Revival Director: Nora Winsler
Semele: Lauren Snouffer
Athamas: Nils Wanderer

June 20–23
96-Hour Opera Festival

© 21C Media Group, August 2024