Bohème and Beyond – The Legacy of Puccini

As companies around the globe celebrate the centennial of Giacomo Puccini’s death in 2024, Chicago Opera Theater (COT), Chicago’s foremost producer of new and rarely produced operas, presents Bohème and Beyond – The Legacy of Puccini, highlighting how Puccini’s work impacted the evolution of opera and musical theater, at DePaul University’s Gannon Hall at the Holtschneider Performance Center, 2330 N. Halsted Street, in one performance only Saturday afternoon, December 7, at 3pm.  Tickets, priced at $60, can be purchased at chicagooperatheater.org.

This unique concert features beloved arias and ensembles from Puccini’s operas alongside a variety of scenes from operas and musicals by composers who were influenced by the great Italian composer, including Jules Massenet, Franz Lehár, Leoš Janáček, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Samuel Barber, Gian Carlo Menotti, Daniel Catán, Huang Ruo, Richard Rodgers, Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Adam Guettel.

Guest artists bringing this delightful and diverse program to life include Geoffrey Agpolo (tenor), Tracy Cantin (soprano), Meghan Kasanders (soprano), Yasuko Oura (pianist and music director),  Laureano Quant (baritone), and Chaz’men Williams-Ali (tenor). Plus, Chicago Opera Theater Edlis Neeson General Director Lawrence Edelson will be joined by acclaimed dramaturg Cori Ellison throughout the concert to provide insight into the musical selections and the remarkable legacy of Puccini’s work on the composers who came after him.