From the Metropolitan Opera to Jacoby Symphony Hall
La Bohème with Gabriella Reyes and Gregory Keller
Three months. That is all that remains on the countdown for the Jacksonville Symphony to showcase its largest production of the season: Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème. Since its premiere in 1896, performing arts stages across the world have captivated audiences with its narrative that beautifully presents the many faces of love. We follow young artists who learn lessons about passion, joy, sacrifice, and everything in-between. The performances will be held in Jacoby Symphony Hall with the first showing on Friday, April 29, at 7:30 p.m., and the second on Sunday, May 1, at 3 p.m.
With renowned guest stars, an imaginative creative team, and your Jacksonville Symphony, the production is brimming with talent. This is not just another revival of a popular opera, however. Its staging and scenic design created by Metropolitan Opera Stage Director Gregory Keller distinguishes it from anything done before. In addition to putting on acclaimed performances nationwide, he also recently completed his 26th season with the Metropolitan Opera. Keller applies his expertise to the Symphony’s production of La Bohème to accomplish innovative advancements. Instead of keeping the orchestra in the pit as is traditionally done, the singers will be raised onto an elevated playing space built around the onstage orchestra. If that is not impressive enough, there will also be three, 30-foot-tall screens that vividly project elements of the opera’s settings and allow audience members to fully visualize its story.
Accompanying Keller as a featured member of the Jacksonville Symphony’s production is Gabriella Reyes who plays the intelligent and resilient character Musetta. The soprano has been praised by Opera News, selected as one of WQXR’s ‘20 for 20’ Artists to Watch, and recognized in the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. She is also no stranger to the role of Musetta as she performed in the Santa Fe Opera’s debut this past summer. This weekend, Keller and Reyes will display their talents in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of La Bohème. Join the livestream, which can be accessed HERE, to get a taste of the magic in store for the Symphony’s exceptional rendition of a timeless classic.
Gabriella Reyes
With a voice described as “firm” and “lusciously coloured” by Opera News and chosen as one of WQXR’s ’20 for 20′ Artists to Watch, soprano Gabriella Reyes is a rising star on the operatic stage. Currently in her final year of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Gabriella will appear with the company this season as Liù in Turandot and First Lady in The Magic Flute. Other highlights include Cio-Cio in San Seven Deaths of Maria Callas with the Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich, and Behzad Ranjbaran’s Songs of Eternity with the Montclair Orchestra and David Chan.
Highlights of last season include Nella in Gianna Schicchi and the High Priestess in Aida for the Metropolitan Opera, the latter of which was described as “hair-raising” by the New York Classical Review. Gabriella also made her highly acclaimed Santa Fe Opera debut this summer as Musetta in La Bohème. Notable engagements of previous seasons include First Lady in excerpts from Die Zauberflöte with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, led by Gustavo Dudamel, at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and also appearances as soloist with the New York Choral Society, and the New Haven Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.
Gregory Keller
Gregory Keller has directed acclaimed opera and theater productions across the United States. He recently completed his 26th season as a guest stage director at the Metropolitan Opera, where he has staged successful revivals of La Fanciulla del West, Salome, Lulu, Wozzeck, Luisa Miller, Gianni Schicchi, Rigoletto, La Bohème, Die Zauberflöte, Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and La Donna del Lago.
His original opera productions include: Cosí fan tutte for Houston Grand Opera’s Studio Program; Il Turco in Italia and L’incoronazione di Poppea for Wolf Trap Opera; The Marriage of Figaro, Madama Butterfly, L’heure espagnole and The Old Maid and the Thief for Berkshire Opera; Salome and Susannah at Cedar Rapids Opera Theater; Les contes d’Hoffmann and Louisa Miller for Sarasota Opera; Peter Maxwell Davies’ Eight Songs for a Mad King, and Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer with Eos Orchestra in New York.
Greg’s extensive theater background informs the dynamic style in which he directs each one of his unique productions. His production of Mark Crispin Miller’s play, Patriot Act, enjoyed a sold-out run at New York Theater Workshop, was released on DVD, and broadcast nationwide on cable TV.
Keller has been a guest faculty member of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, and has taught master classes at Santa Fe Opera and the New England Conservatory of Music. A native of Los Angeles, he is an alumnus of Columbia College in New York City, and he lives on the Big Island of Hawai`i.
Purchase Tickets and Listen Live
If you are interested in listening to our Musetta, Gabriella Reyes, perform in the Metropolitan Opera’s La Bohème with stage production by Gregory Keller, you can stream the performance Saturday January 22nd at 1 P.M. on WQXR. For more information or to purchase tickets for the Jacksonville Symphony’s production of La Bohème, featuring guest artist Gabriella Reyes and stage production by Gregory Keller, please visit our La Bohème event page.