It’s known to be one of the most frequently performed operas of all time, and it’s coming to Fresno State.
The Fresno State Symphony Orchestra and Opera Theatre will present “Madama Butterfly”, a three-act opera by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, set in 1904 in Nagasaki, Japan.
Performances will be on March 8 at 8 p.m. and March 10 at 2 p.m. at the Fresno State Concert Hall.
Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for faculty and seniors and $5 for students. Tickets may be purchased through the Department of Music website.
Music professor Dr. Anthony P. Radford is the producer of the opera, with Dr. Thomas Loewenheim as the conductor of the orchestra and Dr. Cari Earnhart as the chorus master.
“I love introducing this opera to other people and seeing their face when they realize how cool it is,” Radford said.
The role of Madame Butterfly will be played by Dr. Maria Briggs, an assistant professor of voice and soprano at Fresno State, followed by the role of B.F. Pinkerton, which will be played by guest tenor Jonathan Yarrington, assistant professor of voice at the University of Southern Mississippi.
The production will feature a 60-piece orchestra and a cast of students and professionals, including Fresno State alumni and professional opera singers Limuel Forgey and Tiffanie Trujillo. Professional singers will fill the main roles with students supporting them in smaller roles
“I have put on about 25 shows and eight full opera productions,” Radford said. “Putting on an opera is a big deal. It involves a lot of people, almost 80 people and five faculty members.”
Radford describes the performance as a unique experience for the students, being that most of them have never been in an opera. For about 90 percent of the participating students, this performance will be a first.
A stage that rises above the orchestra has been purchased, so the 280 seats in the hall will be able to experience the performance close-up.
According to Radford, there is nowhere in Fresno to see an opera. The goal was to put on an opera at Fresno State to keep the art form in our community, even with limitations.
“We don’t have the budget for sets and there is also no theater in Fresno for opera with orchestra, but we do what we can with what we have,” said Radford. “Art and music benefit the community by making it a better place to live. It gets us out of the house to see each other perform.”
Opera performances happen every semester on campus, and every other year a big opera with an orchestra is organized.
“An opera is such a big undertaking that it needs many faculty to run it,” Radford said.
Radford added that next year before election day, the music department will be celebrating the one hundred years since women were given the right to vote, with an opera about Susan B. Anthony. “The Mother of Us All” production will be a joint venture with the Fresno League of Women voters.