The First Coast Opera (FCO) presented “Opera’s Most Haunting Melodies” Oct. 27 at the Mark Lance Armory in St. Augustine and Oct. 29 at the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall.
Featuring gypsies, phantoms and other spooky characters, the entertaining, comical and impressive program included diverse excerpts from “Lucia di Lammermoor,” “Carmen,” “Sweeney Todd,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” “The Medium,” “Rigoletto,” “Faust,” “Lakme” and others.
The shows were headlined by soprano Kirsten Chambers, who made her Metropolitan Opera debut in the last year; Clearwater tenor Samuel Hall and New York-based baritone Ron Loyd. Joining them was soprano Brittany Fouché from Jacksonville, mezzo sopranos Janet Rabe-Meyer from Ormond Beach and Sarah Nordin from Tampa and baritone Dirk Gavin McCoy from St. Augustine. New York-based music director Keith Chambers, who conducted last season’s “Madama Butterfly,” played the piano. Curtis Tucker, the FCO artistic director, served as the shows’ emcee and tenor.
The First Coast Opera is now in its 18th season of programs. The EMMA Concert Association will present “Holiday Traditions with First Coast Opera” Dec. 13 at Flagler College’s Lewis Auditorium in St. Augustine.
