Toledo, OH—Toledo Opera has announced a cast change for its production of Il Trovatore. Metropolitan Opera soprano Leah Crocetto will replace Jennifer Rowley in the lead role of Leonora.
Crocetto has portrayed some of opera’s greatest heroines. She made her debut with Opera Australia earlier this year singing the title role of Aida for performances in Sydney and Melbourne. She has performed as Mimi in La Bohème with San Francisco Opera, Liù in Turandot with the Metropolitan Opera, Aida and Madame Lidoine in Dialogues of the Carmelites with the Washington National Opera, and Leonora in Il Trovatore with Oper Frankfurt and Seattle Opera.
Leah Crocetto holds degrees in acting performance from Siena Heights University in Adrian, Michigan and vocal studies from the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois. Crocetto has represented the United States at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition where she was a finalist in the Song Competition. She is also a Grand Finals Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, People’s Choice and the Spanish Prize Winner of the José Iturbi International Music Competition, and winner of the Bel Canto Foundation Competition.
Ms. Crocetto joins Metropolitan Opera tenor Carl Tanner as Manrico, mezzo-soprano Deborah Nansteel as Azucena, baritone Kyle Pfortmiller as Count di Luna, bass Allen Michael Jones as Ferrando, soprano Grace Wipfli as Ines, tenor Brian Skoog as Ruiz, and bass-baritone Michael Colman as An Old Bohemian. Adam Turner conducts the production directed by Jeffrey Buchman.
Il Trovatore will take place at the Valentine Theatre on Friday, October 8 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, October 10 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at toledoopera.org or by calling 419-255-7464.
For more information regarding the production, please contact James Norman, Co-Artistic Director and Director of Production for the Toledo Opera, at jnorman@toledoopera.org or visit toledoopera.org.
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ABOUT TOLEDO OPERA
Founded in 1959, Toledo Opera produces high quality operas and programming, reaching 30,000 people annually through mainstage performances, educational programs, and community outreach.
Each year, Toledo Opera presents three, fully-staged operas at the 900-seat Valentine Theatre, located at the heart of Downtown Toledo. Toledo Opera partners with the Toledo Symphony for its productions, and the Toledo Opera Chorus and Toledo Opera Children’s Chorus participate as needed.
A cornerstone of Toledo Opera’s mission, Toledo Opera’s educational and community programs serve all ages and demographics, including preschool students (An Opera is a Story), elementary school students (Opera on Wheels), middle school and high school students (Student Night at the Opera), and the greater community (Opera Outdoors).
In 2018, Toledo Opera renewed its commitment to diversity, inclusion, and community work through the Toledo premiere of Douglas Tappin’s I Dream, a contemporary opera recounting the final days of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life. In 2020, Toledo Opera convened a Community Engagement Advisory Committee, previously piloted for I Dream, to co-create programs centered on the relevance of opera to contemporary issues, as Toledo-area residents experience them. This season, Toledo Opera will present Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson’s contemporary opera Blue, named Best New Opera of 2020 by the Music Critics Association of North America.
Toledo Opera is at a critical turning point in its history. This year, new mission, vision, and values were written and approved by Toledo Opera’s Board of Trustees. They will serve as guidance for Toledo Opera’s strategy and ongoing work to further the opera art form in the region through artistry of the highest caliber and authentic community connections.
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