Capitol City Opera Company to Present Two Comedic One-Act Operas

Old meets new when Capitol City Opera Company (CCOC) presents the continuing saga of the Donati family in two comedic one-act operas, Giacomo Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Michael Ching’s Buoso’s Ghost on Friday, March 22 at 8 p.m., Saturday, March 23 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, March 24 at 3 p.m. at Conant Performing Arts Center at Oglethorpe University. Tickets are $20 – 40 and are available online at ccityopera.org.

Gianni Schicchi, Puccini’s only comedic opera, tells the story of a greedy family’s fight over their dead relative Buoso's fortune. Fearing that Buoso has left his entire estate to a monastery, the family relies on their cunning neighbor Gianni Schicchi (baritone Iván Segovia) to help. Gianni agrees, but will he keep all the money for himself?

This popular one-act opera contains the well-known soprano aria “O mio babbino caro” (“Oh, My Dear Father”), and will be set in 13th Century Florence, Italy. Gianni Schicchi will be presented in Italian with English supertitles.

Michael Ching’s modern sequel, Buoso's Ghost, written in 1996, continues the story 24-hours after Gianni Schicchi ends, and sets a murder mystery in motion. Gianni Schicchi becomes suspicious that Buoso may not have died of natural causes. He finds evidence instead that Buoso may have been poisoned.

Composer and librettist Ching, “borrows snatches of Puccini tunes,” and weaves them into his own modern score. He, “[tosses] in bits of American pop, and . . . subtly introduces brief tongue-in-cheek quotations from other works, ranging from Mozart to Sondheim [to] Shostakovich.” (Opera News)

Rarely performed, this is the Georgia premiere of Buoso's Ghost. This production, directed by CCOC Artistic Director Michael Nutter, will be set in 1990’s Italy. The one-act opera will be presented in English with Italian supertitles.

True to its mission to provide Atlanta-area classically trained singers the opportunity to perform on a professional level, these productions feature a full cast of Atlanta-based performers including Iván Segovia as Gianni Schicchi, Kayla Harriott as Lauretta, Eva Sullivan as Zita, and Nathan Munson as Rinuccio. This production is directed by CCOC’s Artistic Director Michael Nutter. Music Direction is by Catherine Giel. A six-piece chamber orchestra is conducted by Michael Giel.

Capitol City Opera Company was formed in 1983 to provide Atlanta-area classically trained singers the opportunity to learn and perform complete opera roles, and to continue to develop their post-graduate vocal and acting skills on a professional level. Since its inception, the company has flourished as the only opera company in the Southeast that primarily helps local singers and artists establish their careers. It presents high quality, innovative, and exciting productions.

Capitol City Opera Company, a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization, has created many recurring programs and has toured throughout the United States, and also Italy. Currently, the company performs fully-staged productions, a monthly restaurant series (Dinner and a Diva), a touring Madrigal singers group, a summer pops concert (On the Light Side), and an educational outreach program for children.

Capitol City Opera Company engages an average of 60 singers annually and reaches approximately 40,000 people through its various programs. The Company strives to make opera available to all segments of the population including the underserved and makes a concerted effort to help everyone understand and appreciate opera.