This spring, Opera Philadelphia presents a bold new staging of La bohème, the cherished opera that inspired the musical Rent. This visionary production from MacArthur “Genius” Yuval Sharon is presented in reverse order, giving audiences a fresh appreciation for one of the most frequently performed pieces in opera. Â
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After dazzling audiences in Detroit and Boston, La bohème makes its Philadelphia Premiere April 28-May 7 at the Academy of Music, featuring a stellar cast of virtuosic local talent.
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Among them is soprano Kara Goodrich, an Ardmore resident who is no stranger to the Academy of Music stage. The daughter of Opera Philadelphia Chorus members, Goodrich grew up in Philadelphia and Havertown, and first performed with the company at age 4 as a child supernumerary (extra) in The Capulets and the Montagues. Kara sang in the Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church children’s choir, attended the Girard Academy Music Program as a teen, and attended every Opera Philadelphia production, whether the family was singing or not.
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Following studies at Eastman School of Music and University of Michigan, she returned to Philadelphia, where she joined the Opera Philadelphia Chorus herself before studying at the Academy of Vocal Arts. She made her Opera Philadelphia debut as Countess Ceprano in last year’s Rigoletto, and then was cast as Mimì in this spring’s La bohème.
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“I’m just so excited to be doing this, to be able to sing here at home with the opera house I grew up with and the company I grew up in,” said Kara. “It just feels like family.”