Puccini’s melodies in “Madama Butterfly” are filled with soaring emotions – love, hope and sorrow. Cio-Cio-San takes her marriage to an American naval officer, Lt. Pinkerton (Michael Hendrick), seriously. He doesn’t, however, and he sails away not knowing that Cio-Cio-San is pregnant. When he returns, it’s with his American bride, and Cio-Cio-San has only one honorable course of action.

Syracuse Opera’s motto for its new season – “Nothing’s better than homemade Italian” – promises a lot of gusto, and the lineup of shows looks as if it can fulfill that promise.

The opening opera is Giuseppe Verdi’s “Otello,” Oct. 22 and 24. It’s based on Shakespeare’s tragedy about a man who loves his wife deeply, but kills her when he believes, mistakenly, she is unfaithful.

In adapting the story from Shakespeare, librettist Arrigo

Boito trimmed and compressed the action, and many people think it is dramatically superior to Shakespeare’s version.

Laura Alley is stage director, and the conductor is John Di Costanzo, who led the orchestra in Syracuse Opera’s breathtaking “The Magic Flute” in April.

The next production, Gioachino Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville,” March 11 and 13, premiered 30 years later than Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro,” but it’s really a prequel, telling what the characters were doing before the events of “The Marriage of Figaro.”

Shon Sims as the busy barber Figaro gets to sing the lively “Figaro! Figaro!” aria. He also gets to help Count Almaviva

(David Adams) scheme his way to a marriage with lovely Rosina (Adriana Zabala), against the wishes of her old guardian Dr. Bartolo (Matthew Lau), who plans to marry her.

Richard McKee is stage director, and Grant Cooper conducts.

In the final show of the season, Jee Hyn Lim makes her debut with Syracuse Opera singing the role of the Japanese geisha Cio-Cio-San in Giacomo Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly,” April 29 and May 1. Daniel Hege conducts the orchestra.

Puccini’s melodies in “Madama Butterfly” are filled with soaring emotions – love, hope and sorrow. Cio-Cio-San takes her marriage to an American naval officer, Lt. Pinkerton (Michael Hendrick), seriously. He doesn’t, however, and he sails away not knowing that Cio-Cio-San is pregnant.

When he returns, it’s with his American bride, and Cio-Cio-San has only one honorable course of action.

For information, call the Syracuse Opera box office, 476-7372.

Neil Novelli writes about theater events for Weekend and Stars.

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