Madama Butterfly

Soprano Corrine Winters was last seen as Violetta in 2017’s La traviata. Notable appearances include her role and house debut as Cio-Cio San at Opera di Roma, followed by debuts at Oper Frankfurt as Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta, La Monnaie de Munt as Giorgetta in Il Tabarro and the title role in Suor Angelica in Puccini’s Il Trittico, and the Grand Théâtre de Genève as Jenufa. She also returned to Opera di Roma for the title role in Kát’a Kabanová, directed by Richard Jones, and debuts with the Salzburg Festival in a new Barrie Kosky production of Kát’a, conducted by Jakub Hrůša.  Corinne has brought her Violetta, praised by The Guardian as “a wonderful combination of feistiness and fragility, sung with unflagging intensity,” to audiences around the world – at Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Theater Basel, Opera Australia, Seattle Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, English National Opera, Opera Lyra Ottawa, and Opera Hong Kong. Other recent appearances include the title roles in Moniuszko’s Halka (Theater an der Wien) and Katya Kabanova (Seattle Opera), Rachel in La Juive and Desdemona in Otello (Opera Vlaanderen), Tatyana in Eugene Onegin (Michigan Opera Theatre, Arizona Opera), Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte (Royal Opera House, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia), Magda in La rondine (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis), Leïla in The Pearl Fishers (Santa Fe Opera), Mélisande in Pelléas et Mélisande (Opernhaus Zürich, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis), Mimì in La bohème (English National Opera, Washington National Opera, Arizona Opera), Juliette in Roméo et Juliette (Arizona Opera), Alice Ford in Falstaff (City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra), Soong Ching-ling in the American premiere of Dr. Sun Yat-sen (Santa Fe Opera), and Liù in Turandot (Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar de Venezuela) under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel. On the concert stage, Corinne has appeared as soprano soloist in a European tour of Verdi’s Requiem led by Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Les nuits d’été with Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, Bachianas Brasileiras with True Concord, and a featured recitalist with the Tucson Desert Song Festival. She joined tenor Matthew Polenzani in recital for the George London Foundation, and also appeared in recital with the New York Festival of Song, and Vocal Arts DC, showcasing Spanish song repertoire from her debut album, Canción amorosa. She has won prizes from the Mabel Dorn Reeder Foundation, Marcello Giordani Foundation (1st prize, Critics Choice Award, Vero Beach Prize), George London Foundation (George London/Leonie Rysanek Award), Sullivan Foundation (Career Grant), Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation (1st Prize), Palm Beach Opera Competition (1st Prize), Gerda Lissner Foundation (2nd Prize), and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (National Semifinalist, 1st place New England Region), and is a recipient of Wolf Trap Opera’s Shouse Career Grant.

San Diego Opera debut. Tenor Adam Smith made his debut at the Théâtre Royale de la Monnaie de Munt in Brussels as both Luigi and Rinuccio in a new Tobias Krazer production of Puccini’s Il Trittico conducted by Alain Atinoglu. He appeared with the Glyndebourne Opera as Florestan in Fidelio. He also sang Cavaradossi in Tosca in at the Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo in Bogotá. He made his debut with the Opera Theater of St. Louis as Don José in Carmen. From 2014-2017 Adam was a member of the ensemble at Opera Vlaanderen in Antwerp. During his time there he performed a diverse collection of roles including Tamino in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Cassio in Otello, and the Indian Tenor in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sadko. Prizes include First Prize, Audience Prize, Critics’ Prize, and the prize for The Best Tenor at the 2015 Ferruccio Tagliavini International Singing Competition in Austria. In the same year he won Third Prize in the Ada Sari International Singing Competition in Poland and in 2016 he was a finalist in the International Moniuszko Vocal Competition. Adam Smith first came to international attention in the fall of 2019 when he made his critically acclaimed debut at the Opéra national in Bordeaux in his first performances of the title role in The Tales of Hoffmann. In 2019, Smith sang his first Don José in Carmen for his debut with the Seattle Opera. Other engagements included Rodolfo in La bohème at Opera Carolina, the Prince in Rusalka with Opéra de Limoges, Cavaradossi with Austin Opera and in Bogotá, the Duke in Rigoletto at Scottish National Opera, and Carmen with Tulsa Opera. He has worked with a distinguished list of conductors and directors including Calixto Bieito, Mariame Clément, Alexander Joel, Daniel Kramer, Cornelius Meister, Sir Jonathan Miller, Tomaš Netopil, Giacomo Sagripanti, and Alberto Zedda among many others.

Baritone Kidon Choi is a recent graduate of the prestigious Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at The Metropolitan Opera. While in the program he was seen in La fanciulla del West as José Castro, Otello as the Herald, and Madama Butterfly as Prince Yamadori. His recent season began with his return to The Korea National Opera for the Four Villains in The Tales of Hoffmann. Other engagements this season include his role and company debut with Opera San José for Tosca as Scarpia and his company debut with San Francisco Opera for Madama Butterfly as Prince Yamadori and Die Frau ohne Schatten  as Night Watchman #2. Recent engagements include his debut with The Cleveland Orchestra in Otello as Montano, and a return to Wolf Trap Opera for La traviata as Germont, Korea National Opera for La fanciulla del West as Jack Rance and debuts at North Carolina Opera in I pagliacci as Tonio and Opera Idaho in La bohème as Marcello. He debuted at Wolf Trap Opera as the title role in Rigoletto and returned to Chautauqua Opera for Rigoletto following his debut in La bohème  as Marcello. Additional performance credits include in Germont, Amonasro in Aida, Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, Dr. Dulcamara in The Elixir of Love, Rodomonte in Haydn’s Orlando Paladino, and Peter Hänsel und Gretel. On the concert stage he has appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He is a 2019 Sullivan Foundation Grant recipient. He received second prize in the Giulio Gari International Vocal Competition, fourth prize in the Loren L. Zachary Competition, first prize in the Alfredo Silipigni Vocal Competition, first prize/audience prize in the Cooper-Bing competition, third prize in the Opera at Florham Vocal Competition, second prize in the Gerda Lissner Competition, the Major Award in the Opera Index Vocal Competition, and was also a grant winner in the Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation auditions.

San Diego Opera debut. Mezzo-soprano Stephanie Doche has been heard locally in the title role of Ariodante as well as Idamante in Idomeneo, both with Opera Neo. Other notable appearances include Nicklausse/Muse/Mother in The Tales of Hoffmaan with Opéra Louisiane, the title roles of Carmen, Cinderella, and Serse with Mobile Opera, Pacific Opera Project, and Opera Neo, respectively, and to Opera Memphis to perform Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Scalia/Ginsburg (Derrick Wang). A member of the Florida Grand Opera Studio she appeared as Maddalena and Giovanna in Rigoletto, Narciso in Agrippina, and Eunice Hubbell in A Streetcar Named Desire. With Opera Memphis she has appeared as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Cousin Hebe in H.M.S. Pinafore, and Toledo in The Falling & the Rising. Other roles performed include Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Mère Marie in Dialogues des Carmélites, Second Dame in The Magic Flute and La Suora Zelatrice in Suor Angelica. Stephanie also performed as Meg March in Little Women under the guidance and high praise of the opera’s composer, Mark Adamo. She has been a featured soloist with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Riverdale Choral Arts Society, and at Crosstown Arts. She has received awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council and Beethoven Club of Memphis.

American tenor Joel Sorensen made his San Diego Opera debut as Curley in Of Mice and Men in 1999, returning as Camp Williams in Cold Sassy Tree in 2001, Andres in Wozzeck in 2007, Rodriguez in Don Quixote in 2009 and 2014, Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet in 2010, Pang in Turandot and Valzacchi in Der Rosenkavalier in 2011, 2013 as the First Tempter/First Knight in Murder in the Cathedral and Beppe in Pagliacci, Spoletta in 2016’s Tosca, Dr. Caius in Falstaff  in 2017, Pong in Turandot in 2018, the Witch in Hansel and Gretel in 2020, and Spoletta in Tosca in 2023. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2000 in Samson and Delilah, returning for Sly, Madama Butterfly, Der Rosenkavalier, War and Peace, The Barber of Seville, Tosca and The Magic Flute. He made his debut with New York City Opera as Monostatos in The Magic Flute, returning in Madama Butterfly, Falstaff, Turandot, The Marriage of Figaro, Prince Igor, La rondine, The Seven Deadly Sins and Margaret Garner. Other appearances include Vitek in The Markropulos Case, Incredibile in Andrea Chenier, The Doctor in The Fall of the House of Usher, and Balthasar Zorn in Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg for San Francisco Opera, King Herod in Salome with Florentine Opera, Pedrillo in Entführung aus dem Serail for Atlanta Opera and Mime in Siegfried for Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh and Longborough Festival.  Other companies with which he has sung include Seattle Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Portland Opera and Palm Beach Opera.

Maestro Yves Abel is San Diego Opera’s Principal Conductor.  He made his Company debut in 2013 for performances of The Daughter of the Regiment. He returned in 2014 for Pagliacci, in 2016 for Madama Butterfly, in 2019 for Carmen, in 2022 for Roméo et Juliette, and last season conducted the Puccini Duo of Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi.   He is the Chief Conductor designate of the NordwestDeutsche Philarmonie, Germany. A frequent guest with the world’s great opera companies, Yves Abel has conducted performances at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; La Scala, Milan; the Metropolitan Opera, New York; Lyric Opera of Chicago; San Francisco Opera; Seattle Opera; Glyndebourne Festival; Bayerische Staatsoper; Opéra National de Paris; Netherlands Opera; Grand Théatre de Génève; Teatro San Carlo, Naples; Teatro Communale Bologna; New National Theatre, Tokyo; Welsh National Opera and Opera North.  He has conducted new productions in Liceo (The Pearl Fishers), Munich (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Geneva (Les Vêpres Siciliennes), Barcelona (Madama Butterfly), Bilbao (Norma), Toulouse (Lalo’s Le Roi d’Ys and The Tales of Hoffmann), Lisbon (Il Turco in Italia), Naples (Gounod’s Faust), Dallas (Ermione), Seattle (Il trovatore and Heggie’s The End of Affair), Monte Carlo Opera (Il Turco in Italia) and Santa Fe (Così fan tutte), and at the festivals of Pesaro, Caramoor, the Menuhin festival in Gstaad, and the Spoleto festival in Charleston and Spoleto, Italy. As Principal Guest Conductor of the Deutsche Oper, Berlin from 2005 to 2011, he conducted new productions of Don Pasquale, Simon Boccanegra, d’Albert’s Tiefland, and Carmen, as well as performances of The Marriage of Figaro, La traviata, Dialogues des Carmélites, La bohème and Carmina Burana. He is a frequent guest at the Vienna Staatsoper where his repertoire includes The Daughter of the Regiment, The Elixir of Love, Carmen, Madama Butterfly, Simon Boccanegra, A Masked Ball, and L’italiana in Algeri. In concerts he has performed with the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra at the Tivoli Festival, the RTE National Symphony Orchestra, Dublin, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Orchèstre du Capitole de Toulouse, the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, and the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini in Parma. He has also conducted the Toronto Symphony, Montreal Symphony, Netherlands Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Orchèstre National de Lyon, Orchestra of St. Luke’s New York, the Royal Liverpool, the Haydn Orchestra in Bolzano and the orchestras of Genoa, Naples, and Palermo among others. A Franco-Canadian, he has a particular affinity with the French repertoire and has won significant critical acclaim for his achievements as founder and Music Director of L’Opéra Francais de New York, with whom he has regenerated rare French operas and also performed the world premiere of Dusapin’s To be Sung. Since 1994, the company has performed regularly to capacity audiences at the Lincoln Center. He conducts at various festivals around the world including the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro and the Glyndebourne festival, among others. His recordings include Thaïs with Renée Fleming and Werther with Andrea Bocelli (Decca), Madama Butterfly with the Philharmonia Orchestra (Chandos), and two discs of French arias, one with Susan Graham and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (Erato) and the other with Patricia Petibon and the Orchestra of the Opera National de Lyon (Decca). His most recent recording, ‘Romantique’, is a disc of romantic arias with Elīna Garanča on Deutsche Grammophon. In 2009 he was awarded the title Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government.