Fort Lee Residents to Perform in Verismo Opera's La Boheme at bergenPAC on Oct. 19, 26.

Fort Lee residents Thomas Goldstein, Justyna Giermola, Hyong Sik Jo, Sehjin Jo, and Giovanni Simone will take to the stage in the New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera’s (Verismo Opera) production of Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème. Verismo Opera will present this universally popular classic opera set in the backdrop of Paris, France on Sundays, October 19 and 26 at 3:00 p.m. at the Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC), located at 30 North Van Brunt Street, in Englewood, New Jersey.

Bass Thomas Goldstein joins Verismo Opera in the role of Colline on October 19. He has performed with several companies, including Tampa Opera in Rigoletto, Boheme Opera in La Bohème, and with Shanghai Opera in Aida. The Star Ledger stated, “Thomas Goldstein made the most of Colline’s Act lV farewell to his beloved overcoat, a number that too often sounds like an afterthought. Here the contrast between pomposity and pathos was drawn subtly and affectingly.” In 1996, he was a winner in the Licia Albanese Puccini Competition and a finalist in the Luciano Pavarotti Competition.

Verismo Opera welcomes Justyna Giermola and the father-son duo Hyong Sik Jo on October 26 and Sehjin Jo on October 19 and 26. Originally from Poland, Giermola, who will perform the role of Musetta in La Bohème, made her European debut at the Polish National Opera House in Warsaw, where she was featured in the critically acclaimed concert promoting the works of Stanislaw Moniuszko. During her performance with the Glens Falls Symphony, critics described her as the soprano with a rich, velvety timbre. Giermola has performed several roles, including Auretta in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s L’oca del Cairo with Garden State Opera and Violetta in La Traviata for Teatro Giuseppe Verdi.

Hyong Sik Jo debuts with Verismo Opera in the role of Colline. The bass-baritone has appeared with several companies, such as Connecticut Opera, Bulgaria’s Plovdiv Opera, Aspen Opera Theater Center, and New York Lyric Opera. He has performed title roles ranging from Don Giovanni to Colline and has won several awards, including the National Association of Teachers of Singing Competition and the Peter Elvins Vocal Competition. His 12-year-old son Sehjin Jo will make his operatic debut as A Boy in the second act. The boy soprano attends Saint Thomas Choir School in New York City. At age nine, he was selected to go on a concert tour in Germany and Denmark, and has been broadcasted worldwide as a soloist at many performances, including a concert in Manhattan’s Trinity Church.

Tenor Giovanni Simone will perform the role of Toy Seller. Originally from Italy, he has worked with several opera companies in the tri-state area, including 14 years as Principal Stage Director and Set Designer with Regina Opera in Brooklyn. He has worked with opera luminaries, such as Tito Gobbi, Mario Sereni, Gina Cigna and Eugenio Fernandi, as well as Met Opera conductors Ignace Strasfogel and Richard Woitach. In 1978, he joined the Verismo Productions in New York and in 1989, he co-founded the New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera.

Under Artistic Director Lucine Amara, one of the Metropolitan Opera’s luminary performers, Verismo Opera will present the four-act opera fully staged with a live orchestra. Stage Director and Canadian soprano Evelyn La Quaif directs the new production. The program features Puccini’s unmatched gift for melody and the poignant story of simple joy and heartbreak among a group of young Parisian artists.

Internationally renowned Principal Conductor/Music Director Anthony Morss will conduct the New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera Orchestra and Associate Conductor/Chorus Director Mara Waldman will lead the New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera Chorus. The performance will be sung in Italian with English supertitles. A complete cast will perform in period costumes designed by Bergen County’s Catherine Mirabella and Barbara Konig.

bergenPAC is handicapped accessible. Upon request to the house manager, hearing assist systems are available in bergenPAC’s lobby.

Special Ticket Rates

Verismo Opera’s Bring the Family to the Opera Program announces special discount ticket offers to see the company’s full production of La Bohème on October 19 and 26, 2014. Discount ticket rates for senior citizens, ages 65 and over, and children, ages 12 and under, are available now through October 26, 2014 to see La Bohème. Senior citizens, ages 65 and over, purchasing regular-priced tickets on non-sale dates are entitled to a 10% discount. The company is offering a reduced rate of $10 on all tickets for children, ages 12 and under, when accompanied by a ticket-holding adult.

Special ticket offers are not available online and may be purchased only at bergenPAC’s box office, located at 30 North Van Brunt Street, Englewood, New Jersey, and by calling (201) 227-1030 or toll-free at 1-888-PACSHOW. All special ticket offers must be requested before the purchase.

Group discounts are available on $55 and $45 tickets only with a minimum purchase of 50 tickets. For special group rates only, call 201-224-2809. This discount is not available online.

The 2014 season is made possible, in part, with funds provided by the New Jersey Council on the Arts/Department of State, through grand funds administered by the Bergen County Department of Parks, Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs. Other supporters include Children’s Aid Foundation, Robert J. Campbell, MD, Cesare L. Santeramo, KSJ, Paul Weiss Matching Fund, The Gerda Lissner Foundation, Inc., and Vanguard Charitable Endowment Fund.

For more information about the nonprofit, tax-exempt organization, visit Verismo Opera’s web site, www.verismopera.org; follow the company on Facebook, http://bit.ly/9JXTP8, or Twitter @NJVerismoOpera; or call (201) 886-0561