Washington Opera Society presents Puccini’s The Girl of the Golden West

Washington Opera Society presents Giacomo Puccini’s The Girl of the Golden West on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 at 6:30pm at the Atrium of the Embassy of France, 4101 Reservoir Rd.,Washington, DC. Student tickets are $25, senior tickets are $100, and all other tickets start at $125. Cocktail attire is encouraged. For more info and ticketing, visit https://www.instantseats.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.event&eventID=ADA2AE25-AF6B-5363-1CC6AB4E29386A8D.

The evening will begin at 6:30pm with food and drinks, with a performance at 8pm. The Girl of the Golden West or La Fanciulla Del West, is an opera in three acts, based on the 1905 play The Girl of the Golden West by the American author David Belasco. In it, Puccini's signature "verismo" style comes face to face with America's Wild West. The Girl of the Golden West features Jonathan Burton as Dick Johnson, Kristin Sampson as Minnie, Kevin Short as Jack Rance, Michael Butler as Nick, Andrew Boisvert as Ashby, Adam Ciofari as Sonora, Aurelio Dominguez as Trin, Josh Bates as Bello, Carl Rosenthal as Harry, Jude Reagan as Joe, Jose Sacin as Happy and Jake Wallace, Solomon Collins as Jim Larkens and Billy Jackrabbit, Anamer Castrello as Wowkle, Noah Mond as Jake Wallace, Jude Reagam as The Pony Express rider, and Maestro Julian Benichou conducting the Chorus & Orchestra of the Washington Opera Society, with narration provided by Robin Phillips.

"I am privileged to be a part of this wonderful production portraying one of Puccini's most brilliant scores. We will embark on a trip through the American west, complete with gunslingers, gamblers, and the rough-and-tumble lives of those who lived in those times. Puccini's masterful verismo score will thrill you with familiar "Pucciniesque" themes as we meander back in time. On a recent visit to the Puccini's hometown in Lucca, Italy and his burial place in Torre del Lago, I was overwhelmed to be in his "presence" as I stood next to his piano and desk where he composed much of his works. I felt that if he were living today, he would be proud of us as we pay homage to him and portray his masterpiece at the Embassy of France on May 28th. We are also proud to remember the centennial of his passing and thankful for his musical legacy. The Washington Opera Society is on the cutting-edge of important music with this production and others yet to be produced.”— Washington Opera Society Executive Director, Michael Reilly

"Following our immensely successful Figaro in December, the Washington Opera Society will again present a cast of the highest caliber and it will be once again a memorable performance. I am so honored and excited to be conducting our upcoming production of Puccini’s masterpiece La fanciulla del West. I saw a few years ago, a terrific production of the piece presented by the New York City Opera with Kristin Sampson as Minnie, Kevin Short as Jack Rance and Jonathan Burton in the Role of Dick Johnson. That was a stellar cast, and it is the same exact one our audience will hear on May 28th.”

— Maestro Julian Benichou

The Washington Opera Society is a 501(c )(3) tax exempt non-profit organization, bringing opera to exclusive, intimate settings including embassies, ambassadorial residences, and private clubs in the Washington, DC area. For more information, visit https://www.washingtonoperasociety.org/.

Jonathan Burton, tenor, is engaged to sing the most demanding roles in the tenor repertoire including Cavaradossi in Tosca, Calaf in Turandot, Dick Johnson in Fanciulla del West, and Radames in Aida. He regularly receives rave reviews for his “…bright, heroic tone, [and] clarion power…”. For his performance as Cavaradossi with Opera Omaha, one reviewer said: “Tenor Jonathan Burton was revelatory as the painter and revolutionary sympathizer. His voice never faltered through the demands of the role and his tortured humanity was palpable.” The 2023-24 season will see Burton on stage as Canio in Pagliacci at Nashville Opera and Austin Opera, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Virginia Opera, a return to Palm Beach Opera in Tosca as Cavaradossi, and he will join the Madison Symphony as the tenor soloist in Verdi’s Requiem. He also debuts at the Washington National Opera as Calaf in Turandot.

Praised by The New York Times for her “bright, sizable and expressive voice,” Mexican-born American soprano Kristin Sampson’s recent and upcoming performances include returns to her signature Puccini heroines, the title roles in Tosca and Madama Butterfly, as well as Minnie in La fanciulla del West, and concert performances with New York City Opera, The Accord Symphony Orchestra, and Washington Opera Society. She made her Carnegie Hall debut with the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony as the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. She has performed domestically with the New York City Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Orchestra of New York, Opera Carolina, Dicapo Opera Theatre, Augusta Opera, El Paso Opera, and the National Lyric Opera among many others. Ms. Sampson has performed internationally with Puccini Festival of Torre del Lago, Teatro del Giglio in Lucca, Teatro Goldoni in Livorno, Teatro Verdi in Pisa, the Magyar Tavak Fesztiválja in Hungary, Opera Society of Hong Kong, Armel Opera Festival, National Theatre of Szeged, Teatro Municipal de Santiago, and Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. 

American bass-baritone Kevin Short, joined the Juilliard voice faculty in the fall of 2021, and continues to sing around the globe in repertoire ranging from Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Monteverdi’s L’Coronazione di Poppea to Verdi’s Attila, Bizet’s Carmen, and Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer. His North America appearances include performances with the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Washington National Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Opera Pacific, Florida Grand Opera, Opera Festival of New Jersey, Sarasota Opera Company, Spoleto Opera Festival, Canadian Opera Company, Vancouver Opera, Edmonton Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theater of St. Louis, and the Opera de las Americas. His European and Asian credits include appearances with multiple opera companies, orchestras, and festivals. They include Opera Comique (Paris), Welsh National Opera, Kazan State Theater-Russia, Theatre Caen, Grand Theatre du Luxembourg, Oper der Stadt Köln, Semperoper Dresden, Stadttheater Stuttgart, Theater Aachen, Theater Basel, Theater Bern, Theater St. Gallen, Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos, Teatro di Catania, Teatro di San Carlo, Maggio Musicale, Savonlinna Festival-Finland; Bregenzer Festspiele-Austria, Baden-Baden Festspiele-Germany, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence-France, Festival Montpellier-France, l’Opéra de Rouen-France, l’Opéra de Reims-France, Saito Kinen Festival in Matsumoto, Japan, and festivals in Beijing, China; Hanoi, Vietnam; and Granada, Valencia, Gran Canaria, and Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

Michael Butler is a lyric tenor hailing from Bowie, Maryland. He has been described as possessing a “bright lyric tenor that rings throughout his range,” along with a “plush and resonant middle voice with vibrant high notes” (OperaWire). A few recent accolades include award winner in the Carolyn-Bailey Argento National Opera Competition this past January, First Place in the 2020 Sue Götz Ross Memorial Voice Competition, First Place in the 2020 National Classical Singer Competition, and Encouragement Award in the 2020 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (Capitol District). In March of 2022, Butler debuted the title role in Gounod’s Faust with Washington Opera Society. Selected previous credits include the role of Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Bohéme (Maryland Opera Studio), Miles Teller in Missy Mazzoli’s Proving Up (Maryland Opera Studio), Jimmy O’Keefe in John Musto’s Later the Same Evening (Maryland Opera Studio), Allan Murray in Justine Chen’s The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing (Maryland Opera Studio), Count Tassilo in Kálmán’s seldom performed operetta Gräfin Mariza (Washington Opera Society), Monostatos in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (Maryland Opera Studio), Claudio in the world premiere of Francis Pollock’s Briscula the Magician (Belcantanti Opera Company), Il Messagero in Verdi’s Aïda (Washington Opera Society), Prince Sou-Chong in Lehár’s Das Land des Lächelns (Washington Opera Society), Borsa in Verdi’s Rigoletto (Belcantanti Opera Company), Ivan Lykov in Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Czar’s Bride (Belcantanti Opera Company), the title role in Rossini’s Le Comte Ory (Chicago Summer Opera), and Dancaire in Bizet’s Carmen (Washington Opera Society).

Conductor Julien Benichou is making his mark as a champion for the future of classical music. Currently, Benichou is the Artistic Director of the Washington Opera Society (WOS), and Music Director of the Chesapeake Youth Symphony Orchestra (CYSO). In 2023, he became Music Director of the Accord Symphony in Washington, DC. Before coming to the United States, Benichou studied harmony and counterpoint with Pierre Doury at the Schola Cantorum in Paris. Benichou received a Graduate Performance Diploma from the Peabody Institute and earned a Master’s Degree from Northwestern University. His primary teachers have been Victor Yampolsky, Gustav Meier, and Jorma Panula. As a guest conductor, Benichou has garnered high acclaim through his work with the New York City Ballet, and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s collaborations with Mobtown Modern Synchronicity. Recent guest engagements have included conducting the Portuguese Philharmonic at the Champs-Elysees Theater in Paris, the Dallas Symphony, the Pasdeloup Orchestra in Paris, and the Stellenbosch Music Festival. Upcoming concerts include a return engagement for Christmas with Tim Janis at Carnegie Hall, a Kennedy Center debut with the Accord Symphony.