Dana Bramane, Raimonds Bramanis and Ilona Bagele will make their new roles in the opera “Madama Butterfly” / Article / LSM.lv

In the production of Giacomo Puccini’s opera “Madama Butterfly” on the stage of the Latvian National Opera on September 20 and 23, three debuts are expected – Dana Bramane in the role of Cho-cho-san, Raimonds Bramanis in the role of Pinkerton, Ilona Bagele in the role of Suzuki. Mārtiņš Ozoliņš will be at the conductor’s stand in these performances, the representatives of the Latvian National Opera and Ballet (LNOB) informed.

“Three debuts in the opera” Madama Butterfly “on the stage of the Latvian National Opera is a big challenge.

We can be proud to have our new local line-up for such complex roles as Cho-cho-san, Pinkerton and Suzuki.

In the conditions of a pandemic, the soloists have had time to prepare such large-scale roles, experiencing personal growth that would be more difficult during a stressful season, ”says Mārtiņš Ozoliņš, the chief conductor of the Latvian National Opera.

Soprano Dana Bramane made her debut at the Latvian National Opera in 2008 in the role of Michael in Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen. The singer’s repertoire includes Tatiana (“Eugene Onegin”), Liu (“Turandota”), Rosalind (“Bat”), Violet (“Traviata”), Maruta (“Werewolf Heiress”), Mizete (“Bohemia”), Donna Elvīra ( Don Juan) and other roles. In June 2009 she became the finalist of the BBC competition “Cardiff Singer of the World”.

Tenor Raimonds Bramanis is one of the leading soloists of the Latvian National Opera. He made his debut at the Latvian National Opera in 2008 as Papageno in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute. Raimonds Brahman’s repertoire includes roles such as Tott (“I play, dance”), title role in the opera “Faust”, Alfred (“Traviata”), Duke (“Rigoleto”), Ismail (“Nabucco”) and others. In 2015, the singer received the Latvian Gas of the Year award for the opera in the category “Best Opera Soloist”. In 2019, he performed with the DDR Orchestra under the direction of conductor Risto Josta at the Gewandhaus Hall in Leipzig and the Erfurt Theater, as well as sang the role of Duke at the Rigoleto Opera House in Hong Kong.

Ilona Bagele has been a soloist at the Latvian National Opera since 2003 and one of the most sought-after concert artists in Latvia with extensive experience in academic, jazz and popular music. Ilona Bagele’s extensive list of roles includes such bright characters as the Countess (“Lady of Spades”), Flora (“Traviata”), Mercedes (“Carmen”), Babysitter (“Eugene Onegin”), Marseille (“Figaro’s Wedding”), Piggy Gebgeba (“Bird Opera”), Martha (“Faust”) and many others. In 2018, Ilona Bagele received the Latvian National Opera Foundation’s Annual Award for Opera in the category “Best Opera Soloist”.

The production of the opera “Madama Butterfly” preserves the original scenography and costume design of the historical 1925 production of the Latvian National Opera by Eduards Vītols, as well as the setting of the direction of Sofia Maslovska. The play, which heralds the impossible love of a Japanese girl and an American officer, is considered to be one of the oldest preserved opera performances in the world.

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