Northern Ireland Opera has announced the main cast for its upcoming La traviata in September.
American tenor Noah Stewart and Ukrainian baritone Yuriy Yurchuk are set to return to Belfast as Alfredo and Giorgio Germont following their recent success in the company’s La bohème. They join previously announced rising star soprano Siobhan Stagg in her debut appearance with the Belfast-based company as Verdi’s titular fallen woman, the courtesan Violetta Valéry.
Irish talents soprano Ellen Mawhinney and mezzo-soprano Margaret Bridge will sing Annina and Flora Bervoix respectively. Both are previous winners of the Deborah Voigt Opera Prize, with Mawhinney also Northern Ireland Opera’s Young Voice of the Year 2021.
Associate Artist and tenor Owen Lucas will make his debut as Gastone de Letorières, and bass Graeme Danby, a stalwart of English National Opera with more than 1,000 appearances at the London Coliseum, returns to NI Opera to sing Dottore Grenvil.
Joining choreographer Isabel Baquero in her company debut and conductor Rebecca Lang’s return following La bohème are set designer Niall McKeever and lighting designer Kevin Treacy, who last partnered on the company’s acclaimed Into the Woods.
A 24-strong chorus will be supported by the Ulster Orchestra, with NI Opera’s artistic director Cameron Menzies taking directing duties.
Opening on September 10, La traviata marks Northern Ireland Opera’s first return to Belfast’s Grand Opera House since it re-opened in October 2021 following a £12.5 million refurbishment.