Anna and XiXi
Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly will open Saturday night, June 26 at the Central City Opera House, but there are no butterflies in the stomachs of XiXi (pronounced “see-see”) Brinkhuis and Anna Marshall. The soon-to-be 5th grade girls are good friends, and in addition to singing with the Chorale (they were both just promoted to Concert Choir), they have danced together at the Joyous Chinese Cultural Center for many years. Make no mistake, these two young performers are used to being on a stage with lots and lots of people in the audience.
The girls are on stage during Act I of Puccini’s well-known opera, alternating the roles of Young Butterfly and a Young Geisha. While the roles are non-singing, each of them has an opportunity to let their stage presence really shine.
Ready for stage
The Chorale is proud of its many members, like Anna and XiXi, who have performed throughout the past 36 years with area arts organizations. In fact, the Colorado Children’s Chorale was founded in 1974 by Duain Wolfe in order to fufill a Central City Opera need for a children’s chorus for its production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Because of its history of providing well-trained young performers, the Chorale regularly shares the stage with not only Central City Opera, but the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Opera Colorado, Colorado Ballet, and the Aspen Music Festival, to name just a few of the many professional arts organizations in the region.
Madama Butterfly opens this Saturday evening, June 26 with 14 performances through August 8. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact www.centralcityopera.org or call 303-292-6700.
