Rome School’s Production of La Bohème Expertly Blends New Voices with Seasoned Veterans

Image Courtesy of Patrick Ryan

By Anthony Curioso

In what is likely its final opera performance as an independent academic institution at CUA before the upcoming merger with the School of Arts and Sciences, the Rome School of Music, Drama, and Art presented La Bohème, the renowned opera by the legendary Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, in the main auditorium of the Hartke Theater complex from March 27 to 30.

Like nearly all opera productions at the Rome School, La Bohème was a collaborative effort involving the vocal performance, conducting, and orchestra departments. Before each performance, audience members heard an address from Sharon Christman, the head of the vocal performance department, praising the vocal students’ efforts, followed by another address from Maestro Simeone Tartaglione, head of the Orchestral Instruments and Conducting department, who commended the work of the graduate student conductors and outlined his choices for who should conduct the other musicians during each act of the opera that night.

During the March 29 performance, each graduate conducting student took a turn conducting an act. Among them were Faith Foster, a doctoral conducting student who is set to complete her studies this May, along with first-year graduate conducting students Enrique Victoria-Obando, Filippo Boschini, and Simeon Morrow.

The Rome School has traditionally double-cast its opera productions, with a few roles performed by the same individual across all performances. La Bohème continues this tradition, featuring several singers who have previously performed in Rome School operas alongside other students making their debuts at the Rome School. 

Among those making their Rome School debuts with La Bohème was one individual portraying Rodolfo: Jason Guerrero, a vocal performance undergraduate student who transferred to CUA this year; the understudy for the roles of Alcindoro and Benoit: Jason Desilva Jr., a junior vocal performance major who switched to that major this year after previously being an architecture major; and six ensemble members: Tammy Justine Pattugalan, a freshman psychology major with a vocal performance minor; Elise McClorey and Ava Seastrom, freshmen vocal performance majors; first-year vocal performance doctoral students Zhe and Linyan Luo; and first-year graduate vocal performance student Georgia Sigler.

Several current students and recent alumni returned to the Rome School stage for La Bohème, including Natalie Barsoum, a doctoral student in musicology who previously earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees from CUA. Other returnees included Keegan Brush, a 2020 graduate with a BM in music education, who came back to CUA for a master’s in vocal performance. The production also featured Joseph Chee, a 2022 graduate in vocal performance, as well as Nora Spring, a 2024 bachelor’s recipient in vocal performance who is currently pursuing a master’s degree. Several doctoral students in vocal performance and undergraduate vocal performance students such as Sophia Spencer and Katherine Mackenzie (seniors), Daniel Campbell (junior), and Gabriel Thompson and Miguel Villalobos (sophomores) also returned.

The cast for the March 27 and 29 performances exhibited considerable enthusiasm in their respective roles, especially those singing in the ensemble. The March 29 performance highlighted the importance of hosting the opera shows in the Hartke Theater complex’s main auditorium, the Rome School’s largest venue; this necessity was clear as audience members filled nearly every seat in the auditorium.

The upcoming performances for the remainder of the semester at the Rome School are as follows:

• The final event of the Washington International Piano Series is scheduled for April 3-4 in Ward Recital Hall.
• The final thesis productions, crafted by two students pursuing their Master of Fine Arts in Playwriting, will premiere in the Lab Theater space at Hartke Theater from April 3 to 5.
• An event featuring Sir James MacMillan, in collaboration with the School of Theology and Religious Studies, will take place on April 9 in Heritage Hall.
• The Wind Ensemble Spring Concert will take place on April 15 in the main auditorium of Hartke Theater.
• The Rome School will present the musical “Bright Star” in Callan Theater from April 25 to 27. 
• The Composition Area Concert will take place on April 29 in Ward Recital Hall.
• The Spring University Singers Concert is scheduled for May 1 in the main auditorium of Hartke Theater. 
• Lastly, the Spring Orchestra Concert will take place on May 3, also in the main auditorium of the Hartke Theater.

To reserve tickets where applicable or for more information about these events, please visit the Nest links in each of the above-listed bullet points.