La Boheme in Belfast: Northern Ireland Opera opens its 2021/22 season

Noah Stewart & Gemma Summerfield

Northern Ireland Opera is launching its 2021/22 season with a new production of Puccini's La boheme, not only is it the company's return to live performance with an audience but it is new artistic director Cameron Mackenzie's first full scale production with the company (he took over in February 2021). The production debuts at Carlisle Memorial Church, Belfast on 18 September 2021.

Casting for the production has now been announced and will feature American tenor Noah Stewart [who was a memorable Osaka in Mascagni's Iris at Opera Holland Park in 2016, see my review] alongside soprano Gemma Summerfield making her role debut as Mimi. Summerfield took the First Prize and the Song Prize at the 2015 Kathleen Ferrier Awards, the Jean Meikle Prize for a Duo at the 2017 Wigmore Hall Inter-national Song Competition, and is the holder of the Susan Chilcott Award for Singers. Musetta is Northern Irish soprano Emma Morwood who is paired with Yuriy Yurchuk’s Marcello, plus Graeme Danby as Benoit and Alcindoro.

The conductor is Rebecca Lang, with a 32-piece orchestra and chorus of 16. The production will also be the first for Northern Ireland Opera to integrate members of NI Opera Studio into a main stage work, giving them training experience within real situations. 

Full details from Northern Ireland Opera's website.