Press Release:

When Seattle Theatre Group presents a Lyric Opera Northwest production of Puccini’s immortal opera La Bohéme at Seattle’s historic Moore Theatre on March 27, West Seattle veteran international baritone Craig Heath Nim will sing the role of Colline.

The single performance is on Sunday, March 27, 2011, 4:00 PM at the historic Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Avenue (2nd Ave. & Virginia St.) in downtown Seattle.

The West Seattle-based opera company began its move from the Meydenbauer Center Theater in Bellevue to the Moore Theatre in downtown Seattle with its launch of its musical theater product with a highly successful OLIVER! last fall. With performance of La Bohéme, LONW not only completes the geographic move, but also restores an operatic voice to the West Coast’s only surviving Italian-style opera house from America’s Gilded Age.

Mr. Nim, a New York City Opera and Broadway veteran and co-founder of Lyric Opera Northwest, anchors a stellar all-Pacific Northwest cast. Seattle favorite tenor Gino Lucchetti leads the cast as Rodolfo, and his beloved Mimi is Lyric Opera Northwest favorite Dohee Kim. Metropolitan Opera chorus veteran Carissa Castaldo brings incredible life to the role of Musetta, while Jason Fowler (Sykes in LONW’s production of Oliver! last October) sings Marcello. Superb tenor and character actor Andrew Mayzak plays both Benoit and Alcindoro, while baritone Ryan Bede enlivens the action as Schaunard. Parpignol’s clownish antics are brought to life via the extraordinary talent of the Redmond’s Kim Cooney.

Fully costumed and accompanied by a full orchestra conducted by Brian Davenport of the Federal Way Symphony, and directed by Nim’s wife and LONW co-founder Pamela Casella, this full-throated production features more than 30 of the greater Seattle area’s most talented children, and full chorus.

Written by the beloved Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, with libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, La Bohéme has been the choice vehicle for scores of young singers desiring to strike their vocal impressions upon discerning audiences.

Nim, an internationally recognized baritone, has performed extensively across the United States and Europe.

He sang leading roles with New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Francisco, and Seattle Opera companies and toured twice with their National Company, singing Mephistopheles in Gounod's Faust and Monterone in Verdi's Rigoletto. He sang the role of Jochanaan in Strauss's Salome with the Bremen, Germany Opera, Figaro in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro and Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen. At Santa Fe Opera, he and bass James Morris sang Wagner's Flying Dutchman and covered Michael Devlin as the Kommandmant in Strauss' Friedenstag. Critics acclaimed his Verdi Requiem in Basel and Lucerne, leading to engagements at Victoria Concert Hall in Geneva as bass soloist in Handel's Semele. He toured the country in La Bohéme and Don Giovanni.

He sang Scarpia in Puccini's Tosca with Opera Omaha and Westchester Opera (Eve Queler, conductor) of the Opera Orchestra, N.Y. Baltimore Opera saw him perform Escamillo inCarmen. Nim received a 1988 William Matheus Sullivan Foundation Grant, and won second prize in the 1989 Bruce Yarnell Voice Competition of baritones and basses from across the United States. He was a prize winner in the 1996 Lauritz Melchior Heldentenor competition in N.Y. Nim toured the country as guest soloist with the Salt Lake Symphony, Portland Symphony, St. Louis, New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony and Seattle Symphony.

He appeared on Broadway in Patience (the Duke), Pirates of Penzance (Frederic) and The Gondoliers (Luiz). Recent roles include with Rainier Lyric Opera in The Marriage of Figaro (Basilio and Don Curzio) and with Lyric Opera Northwest's Carmen (Escamillo), Madama Butterfly (Sharpless), La Traviata (Germont), Le Nozze di Figaro (Bartolo), Cavalleria Rusticana (Alfio), and Oliver! (Mr. Brownlow)

Tickets are available through STG at www.stgpresents.org. Or, charge by phone at 1-877-784-4849. Tickets can also be purchased on the day of the show at the Moore Theatre. To learn more about the mission of Lyric Opera Northwest, visit online: www.lonw.org .