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Man of La Mancha Caps Commonwealth Opera Season

NORTHAMPTON, MA: For its final production of the season, Commonwealth Opera of Western Massachusetts will stage “Man of La Mancha” in three performances in May at the Academy of Music Theatre in Northampton, Mass.  “Man of La Mancha” is a musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, lyrics by Joe Darion and music by Mitch Leigh. Under the orchestral baton of E. Wayne Abercrombie, the show opens on Friday, May 9 at 8:00 p.m., with additional performances on Saturday, May 10 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, May 11 at 2:00 p.m.

Sponsors for the production include Florence Savings Bank, the Daily Hampshire Gazette, WGBY-Public Television, Advocate/ Preview Magazine, and 88.5FM-WFCR, NPR News & Music for Western New England.

The fully staged production features stage direction and sets by the company’s artistic director, Ron Luchsinger; lighting design by John Bartenstein; costumes by Cynthia James; and combat scene choreography by Michael Chadwick.

“Man of La Mancha” is set in 16th-Century Seville and portrays a play within a play based on Cervantes’ “Don Quixote," the most influential work of literature to emerge from the Spanish Golden Age. The original Broadway production starring Richard Kiley ran for 2,329 performances and won five Tony Awards in 1965-1966 for musical, composer and lyricist, director, scenic designer and actor. Among its prominent musical numbers are “Dulcinea,” “I’m Only Thinking of Him,” “Little Bird,” and “The Impossible Dream.”

Commonwealth Opera's cast is topped by Anthony Leathem of Hartford in the role of Cervantes and his invented character, Don Quixote; Antoine Dolberry of New York City in the role of Cervante’s manservant, Sancho Panza; and Mara Bonde of Concord, Mass. returning to the Commonwealth Opera stage as Aldonza (Cervante’s fantasy character “Dulcinea”).

Leathem has performed numerous roles including Offenbach’s “Opheus in the Underworld” and Lehar’s “The Merry Widow” with the opera program at the Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford. He has also performed with the Connecticut Concert Opera. A winner of the 2005 College Division Mendelssohn Club of Albany Vocal Competition, Leathem studies voice with Cherie Caluda of the Hartt School.

Dolberry, who studies at the Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford, began his vocal training in the world-renowned Boys Choir of Harlem at age 10. At Hartt he has performed in Lehar’s “Merry Widow” and Offenbach’s “Orpheus in the Underworld.”

Bonde has performed throughout the United States and Europe. A national semifinalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, she has performed with Opera Omaha, Glimmerglass Opera, Opera Company of North Carolina, National Opera Company (Raleigh, N.C.), Commonwealth Opera in the lead female role in “Kiss Me Kate,” and the Lake George Opera Festival in works ranging from Mozart to Sondheim. Next season she debuts with Sarasota Opera in Donizetti’s “L'Elisir d'amore.”

Abercrombie, a conductor and former professor of music and director of choral programs at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, received the Doctor of Music degree in choral conducting from Indiana University with highest honors. He has been assistant conductor and chorus director of the Johnstown (Pa.) Symphony Orchestra and conductor of the Elkhart (Ind.) and Springfield (Mass.) Symphony Orchestra Choruses. He was a member of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chamber Chorus under Robert Shaw.

The Academy of Music Theatre is wheelchair-accessible. Admission cost ranges from $50 for champagne reception seats to $39, $30, and $20 with senior/student discounts and group rates. Tickets may be purchased through the Commonwealth Opera box office at 413-587-0067. Further information is available at www.commonwealthopera.org.