Centennial secondary school graduate Sevan Kochkarian will join Coquitlam pianist Maria Hwa Yeong Jung for a comic opera that opens next Friday in Vancouver.
The pair is in the Opera Mariposa production of Gianni Schicchi, a one-act farcical family drama that runs until Nov. 23 at St. Faith's Anglican Church (7284 Cypress St. Vancouver).
Now in her final year of a master’s degree at McGill University in Montreal, Kochkarian is making her role debut as the daughter Lauretta in the Puccini show.
For Jung, Gianni Schicchi was the first opera in which she ever performed.
"I remember it as the opera that really challenged me and helped teach me how to be an operatic pianist, so it's wonderful to bring it to life again especially with such a talented cast and crew,” Jung said in a news release.
Kochkarian and Jung join a cast that includes multi-award-winners from NATS Washington and the Metropolitan Opera Competition as well as artists and alumni from Seattle Opera, Opéra de Québec and English Theatre Berlin.
For tickets to Gianni Schicchi at $28/$24/$18, call 1-800-838-3006 or visit operamariposa.com.
Coquitlam pianist Maria Hwa Yeong Jung
