Boston Lyric Opera is celebrating its 50th anniversary the hardest way possible: staging Gioachino Rossini's William Tell, a demanding epic whose current production runs 2 hours and 50 minutes, plus a 20-minute intermission, and which hasn't been performed in the city in 150 years. The production runs through October 4 at the Emerson Colonial Theatre, pairing more than 50 cast members, 50 crew members and 55 orchestra members for a work that most opera houses consider too logistically punishing to attempt in full.
The revival, as reported by CBS News, marks the first time William Tell has appeared on a Boston stage in a century and a half. The opera was originally produced in French, and Boston Lyric Opera is using projected subtitles to help modern audiences follow the story. Cast member Brianna J. Robinson told the outlet the show explores family, love, despair and oppression, themes that have kept the piece relevant even as its sheer scale has kept it off most programming slates.
A Score Too Big for Its Own Premiere
Rossini's William Tell premiered on August 3, 1829, at the Paris Opéra's Salle Le Peletier, according to Wikipedia. It was the composer's 39th opera and, remarkably, his last: Rossini stepped back from writing operas at just 37 years old and didn't return to the form for nearly four decades. The piece was so unwieldy that it was subjected to major cuts after only three performances during that original Paris run, per Opera lirica Roma, which notes the role of Arnold is widely considered one of the most demanding tenor roles in all of opera. That reputation for difficulty is exactly why a full staging remains rare among modern companies.
Boston Lyric Opera CEO and General Director Bradley Vernatter called the piece's overture one of the most famous musical moments in all of opera, per the CBS Boston report. The current production keeps things fully acoustic: there are no microphones anywhere in the show. Vernatter said the production is unamplified and that neither the orchestra nor the singers are miked, a choice that puts the full weight of the four-hour score on live musicians and singers alone.
A Dystopian Twist on a Swiss Legend
Boston Classical Review's September 28 review found that the new staging leans into a modern, dystopian aesthetic reminiscent of the Hunger Games while preserving Rossini's original 1829 score intact. The 2026 staging is co-directed by Vita Tzykun and David Adam Moore, according to Boston Lyric Opera, and stars Georgian baritone George Gagnidze in the title role alongside soprano Anya Matanovič as Mathilde and tenor Konu Kim as Arnold, with BLO Music Director David Angus conducting.
Artistic Director Nina Yoshida Nelsen, who also performs in the production as Hedwige, described William Tell as an ambitious opera to perform and framed its story as one about communities uniting against authoritarianism and tyranny. Nelsen was appointed to the artistic director role in January 2024, according to Boston University, and continues to balance that administrative post with an active performing career. She told CBS Boston that opera singing requires extensive training and physical stamina, a point underscored by a score built around one of the genre's most punishing tenor roles.
Come as You Are, Company Says
Nelsen has also made a point of stressing that Boston Lyric Opera has no dress code, telling the outlet that audience members can wear sweatpants, jeans or formal clothing to a performance. The company has framed the policy as part of a broader goal: it wants everybody to experience opera, regardless of what that means for the wardrobe. For this run, the company also partnered with Think Outside the Vox to provide culturally competent audio descriptions for blind and low-vision patrons at every performance.
The company traces its own history back to 1976, when it formed through the consolidation of three local opera companies and grew over five decades into the largest opera company in New England. William Tell is just the opening act of a much longer celebration: Boston Lyric Opera is marking its 50th anniversary with an extended 18-month season stretching into 2027, with upcoming productions including André Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire and Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades.
A Historic Stage for a Historic Score
The production is staged at the Emerson Colonial Theatre, which opened on December 20, 1900, with roughly 1,700 seats and stands as Boston's oldest continuously operating theater, according to ATG Entertainment. The venue has long served as a launching pad for pre-Broadway tryouts, giving William Tell's Boston return a fittingly grand backdrop.
Ahead of opening night, former BLO General and Artistic Director Esther Nelson hosted an educational lecture at the French Library in Boston on September 23 examining the historical hero myth behind Rossini's work, according to the French Library, an event that also featured live preview performances from cast members. William Tell continues its run at the Emerson Colonial Theatre through October 4.
