BERKSHIRE OPERA FESTIVAL
Brian Garman & Jonathon Loy, Co-Founders
announces 2025 season
The ambitious company, which has restored world-class, fully-staged opera to the Berkshires with savvy productions and superlative casts, mounts one of the most beloved operas of all time on its Mainstage:
LA TRAVIATA
August 23, 26, 29
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington, MA
Starring
VANESSA BECERRA as Violetta Valéry
JOSHUA BLUE as Alfredo Germont
DARREN DRONE as Giorgio Germont
Conducted by BRIAN GARMAN
Stage Direction by JONATHON LOY
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Plus a spectacular
10th ANNIVERSARY CONCERT
August 14
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington, MA
BOF celebrates its past, present, and future with music from
beloved operas and new favorites
Featuring members of the cast of La Traviata and guest artists
with the Berkshire Opera Festival Orchestra and Chorus
under the musical direction of Brian Garman
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And this spring, BOF presents a recital with rising stars:
YOUNG VERDI IN LOVE
April 27
St. James Place in Great Barrington, MA
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BOF 2025 Calendar
April 27: Young Verdi in Love Recital at St. James Place in Great Barrington
March 2: Free Family Concert at Mahaiwe
June 1: Gala in Lenox
July 24: La Traviata Preview Talk at Mahaiwe
August 14: 10th Anniversary Concert at Mahaiwe
August 23: Pre-show lecture by Cori Ellison before La Traviata at Mahaiwe
August 23, 26, 29: La Traviata at Mahaiwe
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Great Barrington, MA — The "innovative, clever and thoroughly professional" (Bachtrack) BERKSHIRE OPERA FESTIVAL (BOF) announces its tenth anniversary season in Great Barrington, MA, with presentations in spring and summer 2025. The only company of its kind in the Berkshire region, BOF produces opera at the highest level under the vision of esteemed co-founders Brian Garman (William E. Briggs Artistic Director) and Jonathon Loy (Director of Production).
The 2025 mainstage attraction is a new production of one of the most popular operas of all time: Giuseppe Verdi's masterpiece La Traviata. BOF will bring it to the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center on August 23, 26, and 29. The Mahaiwe and BOF formalized a multi-year partnership last year, committing to bring world-class performing arts to the Berkshires.
Brian Garman says: "For the centerpiece of our celebratory 10th Anniversary Season, I'm thrilled to present Verdi's masterpiece of love and sacrifice, La Traviata. I know our audiences will be delighted by the beautiful and passionate singing of our internationally-renowned cast. And the celebration starts even earlier in August with a gala concert to mark our 10th Anniversary. It features many operatic favorites from Handel, Mozart, Puccini, and everything in between. This is a season not to be missed!"
BOF is also excited to produce a special 10th Anniversary Concert at the Mahaiwe on August 14, featuring music from beloved operas and performances by top talent from previous and upcoming seasons along with members of the cast of La Traviata. On April 27, the recital Young Verdi in Love will showcase some of the brilliant young singers that BOF is known for tapping.
A combination of exceptional singers, a great orchestra, and arresting productions, all in a perfectly sized theater for unamplified voices (680 seats) and at affordable prices has led national opera critics to declare "destination" status on Berkshire Opera Festival. And as the local Berkshire On Stage writes: "No longer need we confine our opera-going to HD films—now we have the highest quality productions and performers in our own backyard."
"This festival is garnering a reputation as a showcase for promising young artists.”
— A.Z. Madonna, The Boston Globe
"BOF’s productions rival those of much larger companies.
The BOF orchestra and chorus are always top notch, the cast first rate,
the direction brilliant, the sets elegant, and the costumes gorgeous."
— David Noel Edwards, The Berkshire Edge
LA TRAVIATA
LA TRAVIATA
Music by Giuseppe Verdi
Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave
Saturday, August 23, 1pm
(Free pre-performance talk with dramaturg Cori Ellison at 12pm)
Tuesday, August 26, 7:30pm
Friday, August 29, 7:30pm
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA
Approximate running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes including one intermission
Sung in Italian with projected English translations
Tickets start at $20
CAST
Soprano VANESSA BECERRA - Violetta Valéry
Tenor JOSHUA BLUE - Alfredo Germont
Baritone DARREN DRONE - Giorgio Germont
Mezzo-soprano JOANNE EVANS - Flora Bervoix
Tenor MAXIMILLIAN JANSEN - Gastone
Bass-baritone JOHN CHEEK - Doctor Grenvil
Baritone YAZID GRAY - Baron Douphol
Baritone ADAM PARTRIDGE - The Marquis of Obigny
and featuring the
BERKSHIRE OPERA FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS
CREATIVE TEAM
Conductor BRIAN GARMAN
Stage Director JONATHON LOY
Scenic Designer HANNAH POSTLETHWAITE
Costume Designer BROOKE STANTON
Lighting Designer ALEX JAINCHILL
Hair and Make-up Designer BECKIE KRAVETZ
Choreographer SARA ERDE
Assistant Conductor and Chorus Master LUCA ANTONUCCI
Principal Coach and Rehearsal Pianist TRAVIS BLOOM
Musical Preparation DAKOTA PEREZ
Supertitles Author CORI ELLISON
Production Stage Manager CINDY KNIGHT
On the BOF mainstage this anniversary year is a new production of Giuseppe Verdi's LA TRAVIATA, the timeless tale of love and sacrifice that has become one of the most beloved operas of all time. Violetta lives a life of decadence and grandeur until she finds true love for the first time with Alfredo. They leave high society for a life in the countryside together, but when fate intervenes, Violetta must make an agonizing choice. Verdi’s exquisite melodies and rousing choruses are a perfect accompaniment for this doomed romance.
Stage Director and BOF Co-Founder Jonathon Loy says: “This season will be filled with heightened emotions, not only because we are tackling one of the most popular and tragic operas in the repertoire, La Traviata, but that it coincides with BOF’s 10th anniversary. This is a milestone that calls for celebration, and celebrate we will.”
Three performances take place at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington. Playing Violetta Valéry is soprano Vanessa Becerra, making her BOF debut. Becerra has been praised for her “bold and bright” singing (Opera News), “full, beautifully focused” instrument (Wall Street Journal), and “charismatic and eloquent” presence (San Francisco Chronicle), and she sings with the Chicago Lyric Opera and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center as well as BOF this season. Opposite Becerra is tenor Joshua Blue as Alfredo Germont. Blue returns to BOF after a thrilling performance in the company's 2022 production of Don Giovanni. In addition to BOF, Blue has performed with the English National Opera, Metropolitan Opera, and Opera Philadelphia. In the role of Giorgio Germont is Darren Drone, who has been described as having “a gorgeously warm tone and deep resonance” (Opera News). Drone has sung with the Metropolitan Opera, Cincinnati Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago.
"Energetic maestro Brian Garman wrung every last magnificent,
sensuous drop out of a superb orchestra from start to finish.”
“Electrifying is an apt word for the dynamic, intentional staging
from director and co-founder Jonathon Loy.”
— Quotes from Evan Berkowitz in The Berkshire Eagle
10th Anniversary Concert
10th ANNIVERSARY CONCERT
Celebrating BOF's Past, Present, and Future
Thursday, August 14, 7:30PM
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA
1 hour, 30 minutes (no intermission)
Tickets start at $20
(Premium tickets include an invitation to a post-show reception)
Berkshire Opera Festival invites all to come celebrate its 10th anniversary with a festive concert on the stage of the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center. This spectacular concert features operatic favorites from Madama Butterfly, Carmen, Aida, The Marriage of Figaro, and many others, alongside lesser-known selections that are destined to become new favorites. Joined by esteemed artists from previous and upcoming seasons, including Raquel González from BOF's 2024 Faust, the internationally renowned cast of La Traviata will thrill with their voices and passion. These artists will be joined as always by the talented musicians of the Berkshire Opera Festival Orchestra and Chorus, all under the musical direction of Artistic Director and Co-founder Brian Garman.
CAST
Tenor VIKTOR ANTIPENKO
Soprano VANESSA BECERRA
Tenor JOSHUA BLUE
Bass-baritone JOHN CHEEK
Baritone DARREN DRONE
Soprano RAQUEL GONZÁLEZ
Baritone YAZID GRAY
Tenor MAXIMILLIAN JANSEN
Baritone ADAM PARTRIDGE
Mezzo-soprano ERIN REPPENHAGEN
Young Verdi in Love
YOUNG VERDI IN LOVE
Sunday, April 27, 2:00 PM
Saint James Place, 352 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA
2 hours (including one intermission)
Tickets start at $20
Giuseppe Verdi, the composer of La Traviata, was a man of incredible passion and creativity who transformed the world of Italian opera. And he did it while writing some of the world’s most captivating and beautiful music. The recital Young Verdi in Love will showcase some of opera’s up-and-coming stars, along with BOF’s Artistic Director and Co-Founder Brian Garman, as they take listeners on a tour of the many facets of love through Verdi’s music.
The performers include soprano Kathleen O’Mara, tenor Lawrence Barasa. bass-baritone Alan Williams, and pianist Francesco Barfoed.
